No way to treat man's best friend

 

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Where Do Puppies Come From?

 

SPECIAL REPORT: Just how much is that doggy in the window?

Cute and cuddly, with big button eyes, and a waggly tail, puppies of all breeds and mixes are now big business.

Where once people would get their pets from the pound, a registered breeder or a neighbour whose bitch happened to get knocked-up by a wandering dog, they now see pooches as a fashion accessory.

And like high-end fashions, these designer dogs come with hefty price tags for what is essentially a mixed-breed dog with little or no attention paid to the genetic integrity of the breeding stock.

Mixed breeds sell for as much as $800, making the return for puppy farmers far higher than those that breed livestock for human consumption.

By comparison, registered and pedigreed dogs from legitimate breeders can cost just a few hundred dollars more and come complete with health guarantees and ongoing advice for owners.

But those cute puppies in the pet shop window soon grow up.

And at the end of the line is the local animal shelter, where designer breeds end their lives as they started in a small kennel staring out through mesh at the passing parade of humans.

"We usually see the adult dogs, once they have health problems or are no longer wanted," Geelong Animal Welfare Society assistant manager Marie Willers said.

"It's heartbreaking to see them with legs that are crippled or jaws that are so misaligned they can't eat or drink anymore.

"We are talking about people breeding dogs, as if they were breeding cows, and it's just wrong.

"No one should be breeding man's best friend in such a way."

In 2009 the shelter had 2777 dogs and puppies through its kennels.

About half were claimed by owners, 852 were killed and 513 found new homes.

"From what I've heard I would say the numbers this year will be higher," Ms Willers said.

In Victoria, the Domestic Animals Act 1994 defines how councils manage and register domestic animal businesses, including those that are involved with intensive animal breeding programs puppy farms.

In Victoria, councils require puppy farmers to comply with a Code of Practice, a document written and prepared by the Victorian Government's Bureau of Animal Welfare within the Department of Primary Industries.

The legislation provides scope for councils to impose strict registration and licensing conditions, but its interpretation by individual municipalities varies.

The RSPCA is often called to investigate puppy farms but can not prosecute because of insufficient evidence under its over-riding legislation, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

In January, the RSPCA released a discussion paper on puppy farms, as it ramped up its campaign to have them banned across Australia.

"Dogs in puppy farms are treated as production animals," the paper stated.

"To maximise productivity and profit, bitches are usually mated as soon as they are able to breed and then bred as frequently as possible.

"They are constantly either pregnant or feeding pups.

"In addition, breeding bitches are often left to whelp unassisted and when complications arise they are often not provided with the veterinary assistance they urgently require."

The RSPCA found that adult dogs in puppy farms were often not usually bathed, groomed or cared for, leading to a host of skin, eye and ear conditions.

But perhaps one of the biggest problems for new owners is the lack of social interaction for the puppies, according to the RSPCA's paper.

Pups need to be socialised with other dogs and domestic animals during their critical formative age of three to 17 weeks.

Research has shown that dogs not socialised during this time may become aggressive towards humans and other dogs due to underlying fear and anxiety.

Trainer Tina Button, also a registered breeder of border collies and a member of Dogs Victoria, said she was seeing more and more problem animals at her weekly puppy kinder classes.

"Generally, most of the pups from puppy farms have not been socialised enough, with their own litter, their mums, humans and other animals," she said.

"A majority of them are sold around the five-to-six week mark, which is too young.

"The may have not been fed correctly, which can lead to health problems.

"It's very easy to tell the difference between a pup that has come from a puppy farm to one that has been bred in a proper home environment.

"I work with these people and have to tell them that we might never be able to fix their dogs' problems, but we can manage them."

Moorabool Shire Council recently found itself in the media spotlight when it was revealed that conditions at a Beremboke puppy farm, north of Anakie, were so bad that dogs were dead on chains and were living in pens coated in their own filth.

A council investigation of the puppy farm, owned by Les and Melinda Paxton, found conditions were so bad that photographs taken by rangers were deemed too distressing to be released to the public.

Animal Liberation Victoria went in under the cover of darkness, and released graphic images of dogs cowering in their cages, rotting meat and filthy conditions.

The resulting public outrage led to council ordering the Paxtons remove the dogs and stop breeding them.

Last month, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal member Dalia Cook banned the Paxtons from keeping more than five animals on their land and ordered they remove junk from the property.

"Council is pleased to see that issue has been resolved and that the ill-treatment of the dogs that had been kept on the property can not continue," shire acting chief executive David Serpell said.

"This was an issue that council was keen to pursue after council officers witnessed the condition the animals were kept in.

"The Paxtons will also have to clean up the property by removing the tyres, car bodies and gas cylinders."

The City of Greater Geelong said it was currently investigating allegations of an illegal puppy farm at Anakie after receiving numerous complaints from residents and animal activists.

On July 21 Moorabool councillors will consider a proposal from Melbourne puppy farmer Robert Attard to expand his kennel empire by building pens for 100 dogs on a rural Ballan block on the Geelong-Ballan Rd.

That application asks for permission to build a house and pens to keep 15 dogs and 85 bitches in an area which is predominantly farm land.

About 1300 objections have been received by the council, including three adjacent landowners, Barwon Water and the RSPCA.

 

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Reference: Geelong Advertiser

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