Urgent - 2nd Consultation Period For Vic Breeding Code Of Practice End

[Aphra]

I should have been clearer - I'm not disputing that there is evidence that commercial breeding of dogs leads to poor pets. But in Victoria there is no evidence about the numbers of puppy farms, legal or illegal; the numbers of dogs with health and behavioural issues bred by them; how many dogs are coming into pet shops and etc from the commercial breeders.

So the Victorian Government has created a complex bit of legislation without evidence (and they've used very little of the international research). Where the evidence could have been used to develop meaningful guidelines (such as socialisation of puppies and kittens) they've done very little with it.

There's no baseline research to be able to evaluate whether the code will improve things and the evaluation criteria they have won't be able to tell them anything.

I can't speak for Victoria, but puppy farming remains a huge problem in Q'ld. It's perfectly legal to have huge numbers of dogs on one location in areas designated for primary industries. Cruelty laws only kick in when the conditions are horrific. But the research base is clear.....huge numbers of dogs on one location (often with adequate but minimal care) is linked with much higher risk for health & behavioral problems. Both AWL Qld & RSPCA Qld are aware that there's a huge gap between what cruelty laws can cover & what should be minimum but well-evidenced standards for breeding puppies.