Page 3437 - Week 11 - Thursday, 15 November 2007
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DR FOSKEY: I move amendments Nos 2 and 3 circulated in my name together [see schedule 2 at page 3507].
These amendments deal with the exception to the requirement to have a permit for a sexually entire dog. The concern arising from the current bill is the continuation of proposed section 74 (4) (b) which excludes dogs and cats born before 21 June 2001 from the requirement that they be desexed or that the owner have a permit to keep them entire.
But, unless the dog has a pedigree, which means there is paperwork, it is impossible to tell when it was born. Determining the age of a dog is far from an exact science, and there is simply no way of determining with any accuracy the age of an adult dog. There could quite reasonably be three years variation in any determination of a dog’s or a cat’s age. Just as an example, when my daughter and I got our dog from the pound last year we were told by the pound that they had the dog down as five years of age. It was not desexed, which is pretty amazing at that age, and when we took him to the vet the vet said, “We think this dog is three,” and then other people have said they think it is two. They look at the teeth, and a dog’s teeth vary according to how well it has been fed and cared for. So we have an issue with determining the age of a dog. This is a wonderful opportunity to tell all our dog stories.
Furthermore, a seven-year-old dog or cat is still sexually active and ought to be desexed for the same reason as for every other dog and cat. As I outlined in my previous speech, there are too many animals and not enough good homes. It is therefore reasonable to remove this section so that all dogs and cats over the prescribed age must be desexed unless it is against veterinary advice to perform the operation. Remember that if the owner does not want to get the dog or cat desexed they can simply get a permit to keep their pet entire. What it means, though, is that they have to make a decision and take some action. We cannot just let each period of being in season pass. Leaving the bill without the amendment will make it very difficult to enforce and will continue an artificial distinction that simply does not need to be there.
My amendment No 3 seeks to remove proposed section 74 (5) (b). There is no need to provide this exemption. Remember that dogs do not need to be desexed until they are six months of age and cats three months of age. Furthermore, anyone can have an animal for 28 days before they must get a permit or get the dog desexed. If someone does not comply with these requirements they can simply get a permit to keep the animal sexually entire. When the animal is sold the new owners will also need a permit or to desex the animal.
To leave the bill as it currently is defeats the purpose of the permit system. In fact section 76 of the current act provides that the registrar must issue a permit if the dog is used for breeding. These people should already have a permit. Again as I said in my first speech, we ought not to be allowing those that profit from any special exemption to do the wrong thing. We need to be sending a strong message to the community about what we need to do to be responsible pet owners, and the first step to that end must be to get our pets desexed.
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