toy dog

i dont' doubt what you are saying and like you guys i do read up on things i am not completely ignorant, but because some reg breeders might agree in principle of the PURE one action and not with anything being tacked onto it to abolish puppy farms and to stop sales in petshops of dogs doesn't mean that i or anyone else is following ALL of the stuff that they say with ALV or any other organisation, RSPCA are also saying the same things yet i dont' agree with the other stuff they are promoting against breeders no. so what do we do go with petshops hold hands with them because it might be us next. do we turn a blind eye to these large bloody puppy farms where cruelty reigns supreme and we've had first hand experience of this being in the same area. perhaps you are right one day it will be the thing of the past showing dogs/breeding dogs.....fair enough i hear you both. and i will take heed. on its own and oscars law yes i agree and i know alot of other reg breeders that were at the rally and agree too, but it doesn't mean we follow to the letter anything ALV say or any group. it amazes me too that this message is not getting across either. because reg breeders believe in abolishing puppy farms and pet shop sales of cats and dogs, i didn't think it has anything to do with registered breeders, in victoria here it is against our code of ethics to sell to a petshop and if you are any kind of breeder you wouldn't anyway, inthe eyes of the law yes we are one and the same but its up to us all to change this isn't it? or do we do nothing and just sit there? they are mentioning reg breeders in this RSPCA proposed law, council include reg breeders like us even at a shire that supports these farms and has done so for years. so yes sure, there is always goingto be anti purebred and its usually the ones that see us as a threat to their livelihoods the ones that want to make the dosh uninhibited like our lovely little friends the dog farmers aided by their partners in crime, unfortunately some petshops.

steve are you talking about the same laws from RSPCA? asking for the shutting down of puppy farms and banning sales of dogs and cats in shops is this the same as giving more rights to RSPCA to place more laws out there? i dont' think so myself. i don't agree with what RSPCA are saying putting more laws in place. no. i think they should leave it the way it is actually. the way it is now these farms are left to the councils to police and they aint policing them at all, now if we had no puppy farms at all there'd be nothing to police now would there. there'd be no need for animal groups made up of concerned joe and jane public BTW, to go into these farms and seize the dogs to protect them. i think RSPCA are mad to try to make up laws to stop backyard breeders, in my opinion they'll never do it, we'd have to stop being a free country we'd have to go to communism for them to come in by law and do what they want to do. NO WAY. and to blanket us all in the same boat. see thats the thing too, you know and i know, that a reputable ethical breeder does not make money if breeding dogs the right way, most of the time we run at a loss. and i have records to prove this. i keep all my veterinary receipts, thousands upon thousands of dollars to prove that its not a money making business but in the eyes of the law and people that dont' know any better we sell our dogs for alot of money so we must be making money, i hear this every day from ordinary people, you sell dogs for $1000 don't tell me you don't make any money they say! but they never stop to consider the expense of using the stud, pedigree papers, show entries, vet fees esp. if you have a C-S, thousands of dollars gone there and the list goes on until you are left with ZERO. so the difference between peple like us and people like them is we aren't in it for profit we are in it for other reasons, they are in it for a business and if they checked they'd be able to see, but they aren't checking they are just assuming because they dont' know any better and they're not being pulled up by anyone, no one is defending. its like poor kylie who got her chi stolen and the article on the net with the comments below, there were alot of people brandishing showing dogs and registered breeders as bad people until a whole heap of registered breeders got on there explained some things to the public what we are about. some of them got an education. there's not enough out there about what we really do so authorities like RSPCA, MP's, politicians just put us in the same group as backyarders and puppy farmers then. we all know its not like that. then there is the ones that quote from PDE......more bad publicity. but still one by one i will sit there and explain to whoever will listen. so what do we do Steve, what are you saying we do? any solutions? if its no good all the suggestions i've put up do we just sit there and roll over and die? join MDBA? or do we get together and talk to our controlling state body, who is asking for solutions from members, i wonder how many have actually completed their online survey? puppy farmers are a big problem in our society.

do i ring up the same shire that also houses 14 puppy farms in our region? we've had a permit with them for the last 26 years to house showdogs, we have a showdog permit i.e. dogs registered with DOGSVICTORIA. i asked the question when it was stated how many farms in our region, does this include registered breeders? the answer was no it does not include registered breeders. so we in this shire at least we are being exempt from being treated like the animal businesses in this region. This region as i've said many times before is puppy farm central and supplies the rest of the country. this shire does not check any people with permits no one came near us when our permit was granted we did not have to comply with anything, they did check our immediate neighbors and some did even know we had dogs. so if they didn't check us like they are supposed to imagine the large farms in the area? they get away with no checking as the shire stated themselves at the RSPCA puppy forum. not in wellington shire. don't know if its a good or bad thing. and i think you will find that most shires are like this, the country ones they are flat strapped to find help and don't have specific staff to inspect. they only have 2 people doing this for 14 farms, i did ring the DPI to ask if they inspect these properties to get told that they don't have funding to do this and they just assist councils and if they need help then they might assign inspectors but they rarily do. its left up to the councils who don't inspect as we found out about wellington shire with their 14 farms, remember i said, all the sheets were blank for 5 years, 5 years of records these farms were to keep there was nothing on them! the 2 people in this shire that are to inspect farms also double as traffic wardens. The council did try and shut down a farm or farms its not clear but the VCAT keeps ruling them back in again, i see another one went to court only to be told to get rid of half their animals some were seized by RSPCA because they were in appauling condition 150 dogs were left on the property. VCAT has a habit of favouring the farmers and leave them to remain open to breed up more dogs in misery when in actual fact the law states that if they violate the code which they have on a number of accounts, council can shut them down permanently when the council try to do that, the VCAT rule they can stay open. the laws are inadequate and very ridiculous! so the farmers go through loopholes so more laws aint gona do jack shit for those dogs stuck on farms living like battery hens. i really don't agree with tweaking the current laws we have which are failing the dogs and having more laws, i think its stupid the farmers will find ways of getting around it anyway and still there'll be thousands of dogs from these farms saturating our pounds. What the PUBLIC is asking for not registered breeders or anyone else is the shutting down of these places because we have enough animals trying to find homes in shelters society has no need to breed up more, and also the PUBLIC are asking for banning of sales of dogs and cats in petshops because this is where these farms 95% of the time are getting rid of their stock. what that has to do with people like us under a showdog permit i don't know. as far a i am concerned it has nothing to do with us. this is what the public want. whats wrong with a bit of education about mixed breed pups from these farms not being health tested adn having a bit more knowledge breeding dogs yourselves to add to the debate? and at the same time encouraging people firstly to go to shelters to get a pet and if they want a pure bred to go to a registered breeder? whats wrong with telling people about non-shedding and shedding coming from a breeders persepctive as many of the public don't know the aspects of grooming and the staff at petshops don't know either. no one knows the only people that know is experienced breeders. i have many people through my website, face book or what have you, asking me questions about where to get their next pet, so whats wrong with helping them out a bit sharing my knowledge and steering them in the right direction? then they tell someone else who tells someone else adn they might read the info on the internet using all medias just like the designer dog people (??) have done, fight fire with fire. to many registered breeders jsut sit back and yes, think they are better and don't share any information, promote promote promote its in our hands. not to keep quoting doom and there's nothing we can do. there's plenty we can do....without donating heaps of money, i don't donate money i feel like i am doing something and it feels good to talk to the public about the benefits of our pedigree dogs. it feels good to write letters to the premier, MP's, anyone that will listen about the problems about breeding these mixed breeds for money alone no other purpose as opposed to a well bred socialised pedigree dog. in the eyes of the law yes we are no better but that can be changed if people would just open up their mouths once in a while and have positive stuff coming out of it. this is the problem they don't think anything, i get heaps of enquiries about where to get a puppy from so you are wrong there, most people don't know about ETHICAL REPUTABLE registered breeders, so thats when you advise there are some good breeders there are bad registered breeders you have to learn the difference adn you give them the tools to learn the difference don't you. all this is in my website. i have had many visitors over the years and i have members of the public wanting help so i help them. i feel like i am doing something positive. why would you want to do this being a registered breeder?????? i dont' understand where you are coming from there. there is no distinction between our organisation and pet breeders in some shires is there? thats when the residents that are ANKC breeders/exhibitors must stand up and be counted then. i did move to a shire that didn't recognise DOGSVIC at all, so i write them a letter and they responded by saying its up to DOGSVIC to push for its members. what is causing all this big caffuffle in our communities some of the people in it who are breeding their little pet mixed breed dogs for pure profit without the welfare of their dogs without testing this is what is causing the filling up of our shelters. This is how i see it anyway. Thats the problem organisations like that are using their political gains or what not, to talk in the ears of peple in power because people in power have no idea they don't know any better, about anything and they dont want to have an idea. who speaks the loudest is based on who has the money. so far they are not listening to what the voters want. i had a long conversation (half an hour) about the pros and cons of pedigree dogs versus puppy factory mixed breeds dogs and in the end the guy said he only ever goes to a breeder for his puppies i said what sort of breeder, he said, DOGSVIC breeder. or a shelter, he will not go to a petshop, why not i said, because they usually come from a farm. lol meanwhile he quoted what all the councillors and a mayor has quoted direct from these farmers and that is, there is a market for these dogs so why not. i responded by saying there is a market for any type of dog but meanwhile we are killing quarter of a million dogs in the shelters. we had a nice conversation that ended well with the guy thinking about what i said, i've had similar conversations with lots of people through work and now people are coming up saying its bad to buy a pup in a petshop so the message is geting through down here anyway. we've had big billboards in Melbourne from RSPCA across the whole city telling ppl not to buy from petshops ad now people are actuall quoting it wanting to shut these farms down. my mother and i from the day dot, before the animal libbers came in to give us more media coverage, were trying to do something about the heaps of dog farmers who advertised in the local rag for years and years. puppies wanted, hundreds of adverts for mixed breed puppies we knew all this was coming. push out the old pedigree dog, in with the designer dog, out with the pedigree. so should we just sit there and think we have been beaten. i sure as hell aint gona give up......i refuse to just sit there and do nothing. anythign is better than just sitting there. i mean some think the animal libbers are bad but at least they've highlighted these farms in our community the farms we always knew were there. put up signs they did, we'd follow them around take them down, they'd put them back up. lol we'll never give up and ofcourse poor old mum is still writing to the wellington shire telling them to stop supporting this mass producing of our dogs. poor old mum. she's like me we will never give up promoting our pedigrees even if all the cards are stacked against us Steve. i think its good that the VCA has managed to get in the ears of the govt as pushed by its own members. thats something because the average person like us, has no hope of ever getting these politicians to listen. as they said, the government need to listen to the people that know how to breed dogs and dealt with genetics in dogs for years (the organisation and its members) not groups that only deal with pet issues not the breeding and genetics side.

they are saying that because they don't know about registered breeders and what we/they do. no one is blowing our horn telling them. go on the facebook page there needs to be more reg breeders in amongst people saying "we want oscarslaw" i mean i want that too but these polies also need explanations why its not a good idea to buy a cross bred not health tested the parents not health tested and just breeding anything to anything and getting anything then passing it onto the consumer. we need more registered breeders on here talking about genetics and what happens when we buy crosses not genetically tested for anything. we need people that know what they are talking about...... so far all thats speaking is RSPCA, and organisations representing the pet owning public/shelters etc..

Well, I'm not quite sure who you're really addressing here. Future buyers of puppies? Registered breeders have their canine councils, lobby them to act on your behalf, isn't that why you elect them? Registered breeders have to fight the fight themselves, they have to stand up and separate themselves.....in the eyes of the puppy buying public....from puppy farms, backyard breeders etc. And they have to tell the public loud and clear why it's better to buy a puppy from them. it is true, the majority don't care just whinge amongst themselves when the ones with the loudest voice are often heard. there's alot a registered breeder can do amongst the general public to promote ourselves but sadly not many are interested. lobby your breed club to conduct a friendly members comp to include members with pets to educate them about the pros of pedigree dogs. talk to your workmates about it, on facebook, on public forums, write to your councils, MP's the government,there is heaps you can do rather than telling each other, its not going to get us anywhere. you are preaching to the already converted. in our state the state controlling body IS doing something after they were bombarded by its members, they are holding a puppy farm forum, have invited its members to have input on how to deal with this issue. They are one of 5 approved organisations i hear to advise the government on canine issues. So the RSPCA is pushing their agenda but i see their proposed legislation does exclude Registered breeders of DogsVictoria. So Dogs Victoria are pushing for its members too. all the things RSPCA listed on their proposed legislation is what registered breeders are already doing. this is why they did set up this companion dog club thats going very well i see in Victoria. it promotes us in the general public and something for the average pet owner to join and learn about what we do best in a positive light. and all the while most registered breeders at shows that i talked to were grumbling about the general public coming in ruining their shows. how ridiculous, its getting us out there amongst the general public pushing something positive....but no, grumble grumble grumble..... sometimes i just don't understand the negative attitudes its not helping anyone at all isn't it any wonder that anything is said about us is just negative stuff ....!!! i get sick of hearing negative stuff its really depressing im sorry that way but i really do...... and i don't really agree with US and THEM policy of saying its animal libbers against US registered breeders. people who are against puppy farmers are not hard core animal libbers i will say it again. it is just normal people that want to see dog and cat sales banned in petshops and also puppy farms banned nothing else tacked on the end. becuse they believe in this they are called the dreaded "animal libbers" are they? its not a coo against registered breeders and stopping anyone breeding nothing has been said about this. if i can't find anything out in plain sight written about stopping registered breeders im sure no one of the average community can too.

yes you are completely right. all mine eat like horses never had a trouble with fussy dogs but if i was to give them to someone else its a different story. always is. until they get use to the new person. this boy has been hand reared from day dot so i don't think a dog like that will ever get over a new owner or different house suddenly.

he's been missing for almost 3 weeks looking at the calendar on my desk, so in that time it doesn't sound like they fed him well.

i'd say so.....only reason they recognised him was from the extensive media coverage. i know what i'd like to do to those people who stole him!!!

thank god for that! i am so relieved.........i spent countless nights just thinking about the poor little tyke.

i dont know whether you'd call it bagging dd breeders and DD dogs, i'd call it educating people about them telling them the truth as a breeder and knowing the pitfalls of buying and breeding a cross bred as compared to a pedigree. promoting yes. thats just the problem, many don't bother to do anything just sit there in their knowledge that a pedigree dog is better meanwhile DD's are being promoted all over the place and the pedigree dogs are being run down, this is in the media where the majority of people listen to what is said. meanwhile DD's are taking the homes that a pedigree could fill tht is because the public is being given incorrect information about DD's from the DD breeders and owners themselves. the pedigree gets put on the back burner because there is nothing but crickets chirping i am sorry to say the majority of the time. no one is asking ANKC breeders to join forces with anyone.....individual people who happen to be registered breeders just support the cause of closing down puppy mills the majority that they are wanting to close down and what oscar law people are talking about are in Gippsland in Welllington shire where the raid took place the same place my family lives, most of these farms have DD's so i do not fully understand why pedigrees were brought up and why many feel reg breeders are being targetted. they also want to ban sales in petshops but i myself do not support banning online and newspaper advertisements as it was pointed out. Some may not support or agree with laws that RSPCA are trying to bring in either adn i still don't have any idea if Oscar Law people are standing with the RSPCA on getting that bill through, people on here seem to think so but i need hard evidence and i still don't see it on their website where they do state all those things i've put down above. but because a person loves animals and would like to see these things happen (banning sales in petshops and banning puppy farms) doesn't mean they have to be a hard core animal libber and be called you guys and us.......in this form only without all the other crap tacked on from the RSPCA though i do support those two things. sure it might be a few years to see this done but we can hope can't we? what is wrong with hoping that this might happen? with demanding from our polies to get it done? its all about those little dogs in those farms and suffering being bred to buggery everyday that is a seperate issue from US you a right?

that might be so for breeders already there, but for new members many seem to think it is the money factor. i tend to think it is the DD factor taking over the popularity contest.

is the little person beside the sign, you? don't look that happy. ;)

had a talk over the years about that very thing, why did they (breeders) think there was a decline? got many answers, from the economy, to fuel prices going up and not many people interested in showing and can't afford to pay for studs. but basically the answer centred around money. if that is true why is sale prices of DD's going up and many people buying them as opposed to a pedigree. what i can't work out too, if people buy these DD for alot of $ say 1200 bucks why then are we seeing an increase of dumped DD's in shelters when most cost that much?

hmm yah i think the older more experienced breeders are already doing all that they listed there. maybe newies might want to do that but the more experienced won't fall for it. bit of a waste of money is how i see it. this is how the public see us, we are a bunch of snobs and dog shows are only there to judge the prettiest dogs. it has no other function. i get lots of people telling me how poorly bred pedigrees are. most breeders they think breed dogs for $ no other reason. so i go around trying to explain and most people are surprised. if we aren't approachable to the public and friendly and explain and educate people in what we do, no one will ever know and go straight into the arms of a petshop or DD breeder instead. i've had breeders hang up on me when i decided to go into another breed besides the one in my avatar, hardly a good experience for me so imagine a new person what they'd think about that. and this is people who had their phone number listed. the breed club was not much better, all the in fighting amongst the members. as a consequence this breed did not get many new people starting off showing and breeding they are a breeds future and they did not have members comps for the public to view the breed and us to showcase our breed. puts people off and gives them a stunted view of pedigree dogs in general i believe. think it starts at breed club level.

what did they do, thats very interesting? are you in vic? dogsvic had a dog show in the middle of federation square in melbourne and they plan to have more in the future, it was a virtual dog show to demonstate to the public about dog shows and it was apparently a great hit. wasn't many toys there but if they do it next time i think i will ask our club to participate with our chihuahuas and get a few people together. No I'm not in Vic. As far as I can remember they held the show in a Shopping Mall. Appeared to be a great success. sorry it says it right there, TAS. that would be a lot of fun! good idea too.......hmmmmmmmmmmm

i guess they are speaking about ordering a puppy from a factory online sight unseen. i get alot of emails from the public because i invite it on my website and i had one lady tell all the breeders (cc'd everyone) that she'd been cheated ordering a puppy online from a bogus breeder but when you think about it DOL is linked to breed assoc, kennel clubs and ANKC gives out contact details so people can contact us direct and see parents. so hopefully people will know the difference but it is a bit vague really isn't it. I have in my site "screening breeders" etc. maybe they should put that on so people know the difference.

terribly sorry there is more here i went to the next page: be warned, puppy factories can misled you by calling themselves "registered breeders" they title themselves as such as they are a registered breeder with the council but they are not registered with any kennel club or breed association. Make sure you ask the question so you are informed to make a decision. Ofcourse another option is to adopt a dog from either the RSPCA or another animal shelter at www.adoptapet.com.au. to ensure you are not supporting the puppy factory industry, you should not purchase your puppy from classified advertisements in newspapers, online or from a petshop.

what did they do, thats very interesting? are you in vic? dogsvic had a dog show in the middle of federation square in melbourne and they plan to have more in the future, it was a virtual dog show to demonstate to the public about dog shows and it was apparently a great hit. wasn't many toys there but if they do it next time i think i will ask our club to participate with our chihuahuas and get a few people together.

i did it again DOUBLE POST AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

how about this one, does this sound a bit better, got this from the close puppy factories.org site. I am typing it as i see it so bear with me, you cannot cut and paste this it is a java application, WHERE SHOULD YOU BUY A PUPPY FROM? Purchase your next puppy without fear of supporting puppy factories. find a reputable breeder through your state kennel association i.e. Dogs Victoria. Generally these breeders will ask questions about your circumstances and environment to ensure you are chosing the most suitable dog for your lifestyle. They provide very high standards of care for their animals and will happily let you meet the parents of your puppy also. By requesting to meet the parents of the puppy and the allowance of you to do so, you can reliably tell if you are purchasing from a reputable breeder. no mention of coming to a breeder's home? at least they are mentioning an ANKC breeder that is something. usually what we have done recently is meet the people at a dog show, they get to meet other breeders and see the breed and learn a bit more then we get to know them before they are coming around to our individual houses. other breeders have said it is a case by case situation and you take it from that initial meeting at the show.

perhaps breed clubs should be pushing PR alot more to the general public, take out yellow page adverts like the chi club in vic did many years ago. state controlling bodies take out adverts to get to the joe and jane public. start thinking positive instead of all this negative thinking thats not going to really get us anywhere, preaching to the already converted does no good. float our boats, blow our trumpets like the gardener did, fight fire with fire. it sure worked to get to the general public through media. but one reg breeder complaining can't do much it needs a whole group of like minded people to push the points through. yes sometimes with ANKC and state controlling bodies i swear i can only hear crickets chirping.....

thats what nightmare's are made off i think ;)

just getting back to this, had a conversation with others some time ago, and apparently there was a couple going around in Victoria reg breeder to reg breeder homes, and asking to take the puppy/dog for walk outside their homes, and trying to nab the dogs. dont' know if they were ever successful. they apparently came to my parents home and asked my mother if they could take the little dog we had for sale outside to give it a walk, mum said, yes i will walk her for you so you could see. mum thought it was a bit odd but we never give over dogs fully in someone's arms ever. the couple said to mum they'll be back with the money, they never returned they disappeared, i said did anyone get a description of this couple? pretty scaring stuff thats there's people out there wanting to nab dogs like that and they could end up anywhere on a farm being bred to buggery or anything.

There is no bill - yet.Since the rally both labour and liberal have said they will introduce harder laws to legislate breeders and RSPCA more power in Victoria the results of the talks we attended wont be seen for a while as the aim is to push for Australia wide laws, however the things that were discussed in those talks will be seen all over the place as they inject what they can now. For example the pilot program thats running on the gold coast. on ted ballieu's facebook page there are many people calling for a ban on sales in petshops and close farms down. many are saying we don't need more tightening of laws thats not the answer. but yeah any more bloody laws and it will become communism.

ok up until this post i was wondering what your angle was. i get it now. i still think someone is going to have to shoot me again i am sorry to say, put me out of misery. this is really doing my head in good. yes they have neglected to mention about mandatory desexing in oscar's law..... souff, you are saying me and oscar law people like as though i am part of that group, i am not, i am not part of any group, i just support closing of farms and banning sales in petshops, all the other stuff, sounds like hidden agendas, bills put forward by RSPCA and oscar law people may or may not be partnered with them don't know, i hope not.......it all sounds deeply political to me and really the reason why i say its doing my head in is because i despise politics......kennel clubs that get political absolutely despise it, it can get like that at work places too i am of the mind that i don't need it, don't want to play in it, Dogsvic are having a forum on puppy farmers in october so it will be interesting to go along and just see what will be said, they are asking what is the best way to tackle this issue, they are asking for input from their members. like DogsQLD are obviously doing, they do name and shame breeders who don't follow the code of ethics they do publish names in the gazette every month i see, and also fine the breeders in some cases or suspend their membership just depends, it seems to be different for each member. i.e. if a breeder breeds a bitch before 12 mths of age or has more litters than they are supposed to according to the rules. also i heard down the line that breeders who have bred alot of litters are being questioned why they are having so many litters. breeders that i've known for many many years. again, it is within the toy group i am speaking about not any other group. i have no idea what is going on with other groups and other breeders of these other groups. dogsvic did say in one monthly gazette that they do have a dialogue with government departments so maybe RSPCA are pushing for their stuff and dogsvic are counteracting it. so dogsvic are trying to address this situation of farmers within our ranks i see. but its a very hard issue to address i feel.....who is a farmer who isn't.....who's ethical and who isn't? how do you categorise a farmer thats reg with the ANKC? RSPCA are trying to address puppy farms and also Backyard breeders in the one hit but the problem i have with their bill and what i have read is they are trying to get through to govt by grouping reg breeders in with backyarders and farms. i think RSPCA should just concentrate on backyarders and farms and let the state controlling bodies deal with their own members RSPCA from what i have read so far have no idea about pedigree dogs but they think they know because UK put out a negative doco on them. so how would you guys address the issue of farmers within our ranks, what is the best way to deal with them? well you would understand this one asal, with our breed, they have a molera some chis? well we all got into discussion at a show one day and apparently one breeder sold a puppy with a molera, young puppy to a person who took it to a vet, and you know what the stupid vet said, put it down dogs should not have a hole in their head, so the poor pup was put down! so you can get idiot vets. i've had timid chihuahuas.....just the genes its nothing we've done to the animal all our dogs get treated the same, all end up with different personalities just like humans. but inexperienced people might see it as the dogs been hit or abused. think its important to recommend your own vets for new owners to go to rather than just randomly picking a vet that might turn out to be an idiot. The issue has already been dealt with at that level. Everyone who will be involved in making laws already knows how they will do it and what THEIR definition of a puppy farmer is.What your definition or any one else's definition isnt counted except that because most think its someone who breeds lots of dogs commercially we rally for laws which will stop people breeding dogs on farms in high numbers and we snuggle up with animal lib to do that. Do you really think animal lib and RSPCA dont know this ? The defininition of a puppy farmer is someone who breeds puppies in substandard conditions. Substandard is defined by anyone who is breeding dogs who isnt doing so according to mandatory codes for breeeding establishments [via the DPI] and anyone who isnt according to planning laws applicable in your shire. The fact is that every person in this country who breeds dogs is already under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,state companion animals laws, mandatory codes for breeding establishments,and council planning laws. This has nothing what ever to do with whether they are breeding purebred or cross bred dogs, whether they are breeding one or 1000 dogs. So when they bring in laws which affect commercial puppy farmers those laws will affect everyone who owns a fertile bitch. So far in Victoria breeders have a bit of a blank bit there because state companion animals laws say if you own less than 5 fertile bitches you dont have to worry about laws which tell you what floors you have to have, where you put your poo, how often you clean up, how your dogs can sleep.It also says you dont need a government permit to run a domestic animal business if you are ANKC and have less than 10 fertile bitches but more than 5 and the planning laws cut in anyway for you to be able to breed dogs on your premises. Any one can be an ANKC member and being an ANKC member doesnt stop you breeding non registered dogs as long as you arent doing that with registered dogs. In NSW its anyone who ever breeds a litter.In Queensland they have a pilot program running on the gold coast which they think is the answer and RSPCA want bought in Australia wide and it is anyone who owns an entire dog they come under the laws. $379 for a licence and an inspection of your home before you get approval to keep an entire dog. In Victoria you break the law if you dont vaccinate your dogs every year , in NSW you break the law if you dont get a note from your vet to get you out of vaccinating every year. In NSW they have laws and guidelines - when I asked them when the guidelines cut in - answer - when there is a complaint. These guidelines tell me I have to feed my puppies as Im weaning them in individual bowls, they tell me I cant keep my cats water bowl in the same room as the cats feed bowl! 100% of what is going on here is a desire for the RSPCA to have more police powers Australia wide. That is they can come in seize your dogs,and any paperwork you may have which might prove your case,say anything they want about you and your dogs without you having the right to a second opinion, kill your dogs and destroy the evidence, charge you a massive bond to be able to retain ownership while its coming to court and leave you with no where to go to have them answer to anything you might say in your defence. There are many many things working against purebred breeders including the one that's been hovering to stop us breeding some of our breeds and being answerable to another agency which will over rule the ANKC and all other groups on welfare issues as has been recommended in the Bateman report and snuggling up to animal liberation and calling for the RSPCA to have more power to police more laws without adequate answerability is folly. Whats more I promise you that any minute private rescue will be under this gun too. i dont' know what to say to that except :D why don't they bring in hitler.....they might as well. getting to be a communist country with all the laws, bans and what you can have and what you can't. people making laws that benefit themselves it sounds like ;) without getting background knowledge....just point fingers. many years ago in the 80's when i was still at school there was a paper going around, fascism will come to Australia watch out. think it is already here! we all scoffed at that.