Pet Shops, Dog Breeders Irate At Cost Of Plan To Stop Puppy Farms

[Steph M]

Article here.

Melburnians will struggle to buy a purebred puppy or kitten when the Victorian government's little-known plan to ban their sale in pet shops takes effect, the dog breeding industry says.

The government quietly announced the proposed ban in the lead-up to the state election last year, although it is yet to specify a time for the ban's introduction..

Industry groups are irate , claiming the policy will destroy their businesses and drive the trade underground.

"You will not buy a dog under $5000 shortly," said Greg Kirby, owner of Upmarket Pets at the Queen Victoria Market. Mr Kirby expects to lay off 15 staff when the ban comes into force.

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Matt Hams, owner of one of Victoria's biggest dog breeding operations at Banksia Park, says the changes – part of a suite of laws designed to crack down on puppy farms – will put him out of business.

"It's my belief that nobody will be able to breed professionally," he said.

"The average family ... they simply won't be able to afford a dog.

The ban comes among other measures designed to end the business model of puppy farms:

Breeding dogs will be limited to only five litters in their lifetime;

Facilities will be limited to a maximum of 10 breeding females;

Pet shops will be able to sell animals only from registered animal shelters

The legislative package has been welcomed by the RSPCA.

"The deplorable conditions of puppy factories have made ... a large part of the general public angry at pet stores that may/most likely obtain their puppies from these factories," a spokeswoman for the society said in a statement.

"Some pet shops continue to be the primary supporters of illegal intensive breeding enterprises"

Upmarket Pets' Greg Kirby buys 30 puppies a week from breeders and online, as well as taking back puppy litters from dogs already sold, to supply his business.

"Yeah, we do get puppies from puppy farms," he said.

"But registered puppy farms, not illegal ones that have been run out of the backyard or something like that."

Mr Kirby also said he bought some dogs from registered pure-bred breeders on a "without papers" basis, because members are not legally allowed to sell them to him. Dogs Victoria, who hand out registrations, deny this.

His puppies fetch between $1200 and $6000 each, with long waiting lists for his most popular breed, the French bulldog. He says his legitimate business will be harmed in the pursuit of puppy farms, which he has nothing to do with.

The industry claims pet shop sales make up between 5 and 15 per cent of all dog sales in Victoria, the vast majority of transactions being arranged over the internet.

"The problem has never been pet shops," said Bob Croucher, acting CEO of the Pet Industry Association of Australia.

"The public want an eight-week-old pup, they want it for their kids. Shelters do not sell eight-week-old pups."

At Banksia Park Puppies, Matt Hams employs 15 full-time staff to care for about 200 dogs. He expects the legislative changes will put him out of business and push the price of a new dog to more than $7000.

"If they take the professionals out of the industry, it's going to leave the industry back in the hands of underground backyard breeders."

Smaller breeders of pure-bred puppies , who often own only a single breeding pair, are represented by Dogs Victoria. The chairwoman of the organisation's working group on puppy farms, Sylvia Power, welcomed the new legislation – but said when the big commercial breeders went out of business her members would not be able to keep up with demand.

"The conditions the pups are kept in in the pet shop ... it's impossible to look after the welfare needs of the animal in those conditions.

"The main problem I have with this legislation is who is going to fill the gap for the demand for the puppies."

I have never read so much BS. Seriously. No more purebred dogs available under 5k. I have less than no sympathy for this guy.

I also love his differentiation between legit puppy farms and those dodgy ones. Seriously.

And that Poor guy from Banksia Park! Not.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Steph M

[sunny1shine]

little known plan? It was one of their main points this election!

also nice of them to take a snippet of what Sylvia said and twist it to make it seem like she was concerned people wouldn't be able to buy lots of puppies anymore.

edited to add

this article would have been better served letting people know how to look for purebred dogs if that was what they were after.

Edited February 27, 2015 by sunny1shine

[The Spotted Devil]

"You will not buy a dog under $5000 shortly," said Greg Kirby, owner of Upmarket Pets at the Queen Victoria Market.

[Steph M]

"You will not buy a dog under $5000 shortly," said Greg Kirby, owner of Upmarket Pets at the Queen Victoria Market.

What an absolute tosspot. Keep in mind his article states he sells dogs up to $6000. Uh. Hardly the robin hood of puppies, giving to the poor children etc there.

The whole article almost read like satire, I was expecting a punchline any moment there! Poor diddums.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Steph M

[LisaCC]

"The average family ... they simply won't be able to afford a dog."

Petshop dogs cost more than probably any other place to buy a dog!

"The public want an eight-week-old pup, they want it for their kids. Shelters do not sell eight-week-old pups."

What? Yes they do!

[Stressmagnet]

What a load of absolute codswallop. Rescues sell dogs for under that.

Oh.

You won't be able to buy a PUREBRED dog for under that. Ernie's as purebred as they come, with impeccable lines going back 6 generations and he was much less than that.

Oh.

You won't be able to buy the 'dog of the month' for less than that?

My neighbour just paid $4k for a beautiful Frenchie.

Oh.

HE won't be able to sell dogs.

Now I understand.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Stressmagnet

[melzawelza]

"The average family ... they simply won't be able to afford a dog."

Petshop dogs cost more than probably any other place to buy a dog!

"The public want an eight-week-old pup, they want it for their kids. Shelters do not sell eight-week-old pups."

What? Yes they do!

Exactly! Plus, it wouldn't hurt some families to consider some older dogs with known temperaments... then it isn't a crap shoot!

The whole article is a ridiculous farce that is to be expected from the people who profit from this industry. Cries of 'the sky is falling' abound, yet so many pet shops already make a living without buying puppies from farmers like old mate Banksia Park. Not to mention all the countries that banned pet shop puppy sales long ago.

If you're set on continuing to sell animals, then source them from the local animal shelter where they're going out already vetworked and helping to increase live release rates.

Kittens, especially - there are more than enough cute kittens in shelters to go around all the pet shops.

Edited February 27, 2015 by melzawelza

[LisaCC]

What a load of absolute codswallop. Rescues sell dogs for under that.

Oh.

You won't be able to buy a PUREBRED dog for under that. Ernie's as purebred as they come, with impeccable lines going back 6 generations and he was much less than that.

Oh.

You won't be able to buy the 'dog of the month' for less than that?

My neighbour just paid $4k for a beautiful Frenchie.

Oh.

HE won't be able to sell dogs.

Now I understand.

My show dog cost less than his "minimum" sell.

Douchewad.

[Lhok]

The public will be able to buy anything they want. They will just need to research and won't be able to just walk by the pet shop look in the window and go "Oh I'll take that one please, The maremma cross. A maremma is just like a golden retriever right?" (I am using a real life scenario here) then 12 months later there it goes into the local shelter. I personally think it is a good thing.

--Lhok

[*kirty*]

This legislation won't stop BYB, so yes there still will be crossbred and cheaper puppies. It will just stop these disgusting puppy farms.

[Lhok]

Also why can't that business guy look at doing rescue adoption drives at his shop? They would bring people in and the rescues can deal with the adoption process ie house check etc.

--Lhok

[LisaCC]

Also why can't that business guy look at doing rescue adoption drives at his shop? They would bring people in and the rescues can deal with the adoption process ie house check etc.

--Lhok

Can't sell a rescue dog for $4000?

[Little Gifts]

You've all said what I wanted to say. That article made me laugh so much I nearly peed my pants! Gosh, it sounds to me like without those amazing puppy farmers and pet shop owners dogs are going to become extinct! I'd better rush out and stock up on them while I can!

Excellent, factual and balanced news reporting as usual.

[Pjrt]

Yet again proof positive that the PIAA support puppy farming....you know, only the nice big shiny registered ones though.

I want to have a massive rant but will just say to everyone dealing with any aspect of the pet industry.....pet shop, grooming, boarding, trade shows, magazines etc etc. Please be aware of what memberships they have or who is running/sponsoring them and make up your own mind whether you support them in turn.

[tdierikx]

Also why can't that business guy look at doing rescue adoption drives at his shop? They would bring people in and the rescues can deal with the adoption process ie house check etc.

--Lhok

Can't sell a rescue dog for $4000?

Why not? Dogs of unknown breed mix or background really aren't all that different from factory farmed crossbreeds of dubious quality... except that most rescues have been vetted and deemed safe for adoption...

Plenty of young pups in rescue too... dog knows I fostered enough of them, and that was only for one rescue...

T.

[WreckitWhippet]

drive the trade underground

Yep, where they won't be monitored at all. At least those out in the open can be inspected.

[Little Gifts]

drive the trade underground

Yep, where they won't be monitored at all. At least those out in the open can be inspected.

And what difference are those inspections and all the rules in place making now? The shiny big farms are getting shinier on the outside and bigger on the inside. BYBers are still openly advertising online, in papers and on their fences. Even with monitoring so few are being penalised for breaching any regulations, yet we all know what is really going on. The next step is to hit them where it hurts. You cut off their biggest and easiest selling option. Trade wont cease but it will affect it. You stop people being able to buy companion animals without any thought going in to it. And you give companion animals a chance at having a good life by making them available through sources willing to assess the suitability of any potential owners.

These are living things that might be here for 10 to 15 years. Some people put more thought into what phone they are going to buy. So if pets become difficult to impulse purchase I have absolutely no problem with that.

[Mum to Emma]

Upmarket Pets is appalling. I was there a few weeks ago on a hot day. What looked like a 16 week old German shorthair pointer was squeezed into one of their glass boxes. It was noticeably lethargic. The place stunk. They're notorious for selling swf's to Asian students to keep them company in their shoebox apartments. They then dump them at local pounds when they return home. When I was there I overheard a couple of customers whose comments summed it up. One said 'you just want to buy them to get them out of here', and another (a young boy) was upset because as he said to his mum, 'they can't breathe in there'

[Little Gifts]

I just realised two things. That wanker of a pet shop owner will use this to up the price of the dogs he does have even more, telling customers how hard they are to come by and driving those impulse purchase emotions to get a sale. And second, I work in a fairly large store that probably needs 15 staff on but can't afford it. So if he can afford to employ 15 staff what does that tell you about the volume of dogs he has going through his business? All coming from puppy farmers, which apparently has nothing to do with his legitimate business. Nope! He's just the good guy giving needy puppies homes with people who have more money than sense!

Is anyone else a little shocked to think people are spending $6000 on un-papered dogs? And where are they getting this money from? That's the cost of a second hand car or part of a house deposit!

[Simply Grand]

Almost all the comments on the story on the paper's website are supportive and saying its a good thing, hopefully that's reflective of the general public not buying into the crap the pet shop and puppy farm people are spouting

I don't really understand the argument that not having puppies and kittens for sale in pet shops will drive things underground Buying from a pet shop already seems like the least transparent method possible, the consumer has absolutely no idea where the puppy came from and most likely the staff you talk to don't either. Even if you buy sight unseen over the Internet you still have SOME sort of contact with someone who either bred the puppy or knows who did. Still far from ideal but hardly less "underground" than a pet shop.

And there are already plenty of random BYBers breeding "underground" without following any regulations, that's not going to be something new from banning pet shop sales.

Re. Puppy farms I don't see how it makes a difference to them being monitored whether they sell to pet shops or not. The same requirements are still in place for the breeding establishments whether they sell to pet shops or directly via the internet or whatever. Whether they actually are inspected and held to the standards doesn't depend on where they sell their puppies. And having to make a bit more effort to bring their money in rather than just shipping off bulk lots to pet shops might make some places decide it's not worth their while anymore.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Simply Grand