Page 131 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 15 February 2012
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problems. The lack of socialisation leads to behavioural problems, which in turn often leads to abandoned animals. Pets bought on impulse are also more likely to be abandoned.
The Greens would like to see every pet purchase as a planned purchase. When we have animals that are not desexed, as I mentioned, we will get accidental litters, and these tend to end up on our streets or in our shelters or pounds. The Greens believe that animals are sentient beings that should be respected, and this is why we support strong animal welfare policies. The ACT was a leader in animal welfare laws for a long time, but we are now lagging behind other jurisdictions. This bill is one way of turning this around.
The explanatory statement goes into greater detail of what the bill does, but in summary a key feature of the bill is a scheme for a mandatory licensing of breeders of cats and dogs to ensure that only licensed breeders may breed cats and dogs for sale. The new licence requirements will ensure that breeders in the ACT meet appropriate standards of animal welfare, do not exploit or over-breed animals and that the public, regulatory authorities and animal rescue organisations have a reliable guide to determine which animals are being bred in appropriate, ethical conditions. This part is similar to the new Victorian legislation in that it proposes regulation of puppy farm breeders.
A breeding facility must be inspected before it is awarded a licence. To get a licence it must meet strict ethical breeding criteria. These include specific requirements such as adequate opportunities for exercise and socialisation for physical and mental wellbeing, appropriate space and cleanliness et cetera, as well as consideration as to whether or not the breeders are likely to be able to find homes for all the animals they are breeding. The intention is to get rid of breeders, regardless of whether they are puppy mills or just small-scale backyard breeders, who compromise the welfare of animals.
As well as breeding, the other major area the bill deals with is the sale of animals. The bill restricts the selling of cats and dogs to a limited group of approved sellers. These are licensed breeders, animal welfare organisations and the government’s Domestic Animal Services agency. There are exemptions for people rehoming a rescued animal or making a one-off sale of their own pet. The bill specifically bans the sale of cats and dogs from stores and markets, again with limited exceptions for animals being sold on behalf of animal welfare organisations and shelters. This, I believe, will encourage pet stores to establish relationships with animal welfare organisations and to facilitate the rehoming of abandoned animals.
Some pet stores already have moved away from selling cats and dogs on principle and they use this model. Regulating sales is important to ensure that the new breeder licensing legislation regime can be enforced. If selling is not regulated, pet stores or markets can continue to sell animals that have been bred in other states where breeding is not regulated. Another important reason to restrict sales is to reduce impulse buying of animals by not displaying animals for sale in store windows, which can also be stressful for animals on display, by provision of care information in advance and by not selling animals to children.
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