Puppy farms and backyard breeders
The lack of mandatory animal welfare standards for dog breeders, and failure to clamp down on unscrupulous practices, has meant that Australian puppy farms and backyard breeders are thriving, but our much-loved pets are not. Ultimately, the best way to shut these facilities and breeders down, is to stop buying from them. Remove the demand and you stop the trade.
Puppy farming is the term used when unscrupulous breeders prioritise profit over animal health and welfare. Dogs are often kept isolated in small pens and used to produce multiple litters a year. Backyard breeding is the practice of breeding animals in unsafe and irresponsible conditions, often by people with little experience or knowledge.
Impact of irresponsible breeding
Puppies bred in these atrocious conditions and taken away from their mothers at an early age, do not receive the veterinary care they need and have no ability to exercise, socialise, play or interact with humans. The result is disease, behavioural issues and a raft of health problems.
Mother dogs can suffer in isolation for years, with their babies taken away from them when they are only a few weeks old. They are kept in a cycle of breeding until they can no longer produce enough puppies to be profitable. Only a few are lucky enough to be offered to a good home, with breeders legally allowed to shoot their dogs.
Outcomes for pets
Problems associated with poor pet socialisation include fear, aggression and anxiety. Often, psychological or physical health problems are not identifiable upon purchase, with new owners ill-equipped to manage deeply traumatised dogs.
The result is pets being surrendered to pounds and shelters, where many will simply be put to sleep.
How you can help
Research – every puppy purchased from a puppy farm enables this unethical trade to continue; never buy from a pet shop or pick an animal up from a neutral location, like a carpark. Check adverts for indications they might be selling multiple breeds or regularly advertising litters.
Adopt – adopting from a pet rescue organisation over purchasing ensures we’re decreasing direct funding to this industry whilst saving the lives of homeless pets.
Advocate – lobby government for compulsory breeder ID tagging. This will help transform the puppy breeding industry by allowing us to trace puppies with health and behaviour problems back to breeders – a crucial step towards banning these inhumane facilities. Minimum animal welfare standards for breeders are currently only in place in Victoria and NSW. And only Victoria and the ACT have laws that require breeders to be registered. In Victoria this only applies to breeders with more than three fertile dogs, or, for members of an ‘applicable breeding organisation’ such as Dogs Victoria, to breeders with more than 10 fertile dogs.
Report – if you suspect a puppy farm may be operating nearby, report them to your local shelter or RSPCA for investigation.
Donate – donating to the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation (APWF) will help us to increase awareness and tackle these devastating practices at an institutional level.
