Crackdown on
cruel puppy farms
October 23, 2011 Heraldsun.com.au
BIG fines, jail terms and unprecedented powers to shut down
illegal puppy farms will be introduced in Victoria in a crackdown on animal
cruelty.
Premier Ted Baillieu will announce the toughest dog and cat
laws in Australia today, with legislation to be introduced in State Parliament
next week. "We are not going to tolerate cruelty to animals," he told the Sunday
Herald Sun.
The new legislation - to take effect
this year - will include powers to seize the assets, property and profits of
people operating illegal puppy farms, fines of up to $146,000, 10-year bans on
people owning a pet if they are found guilty of animal cruelty and strict jail
terms for unlawful breeders.
RSPCA and council inspectors will also be given new
policing and confiscation powers and a $1.6 million Animal Welfare Fund will be
created through money raised by the sale of confiscated assets.
Maximum penalties for illegal puppy farms will rise by
more than $18,000 and penalties for operators who commit acts of cruelty will be
doubled to $30,000.
Individual breeders will also face penalties of up to $30,000 and 12 months'
prison and fines of up to $60,000 and two years' jail for aggravated cruelty.
Corporate businesses busted under the new
regime will be slapped with fines between $73,300 and $146,688.
Mr Baillieu said the laws had been drafted in
response to puppy farms found in Victoria where dogs had been kept in cages,
tied up for days and carcasses left to rot. He said the far-reaching action
would send a clear message to dodgy operators that they faced massive fines,
loss of assets and imprisonment as well as having farms shut down.
"These are some of the strongest laws ever introduced to protect animals from
abuse and neglect."
The new laws build on a Coalition commitment to smash illegal puppy-breeding
rings following several public protests in favour of harsher penalties.
In another major shake-up, it will become
compulsory for every dog and cat sold in Victoria to be implanted with a unique
microchip number that must be quoted in advertisements and at points of sale.
A new offence will be created to punish breeding houses
not using the technology and fines will apply to any pet store, farm or
individual caught selling a cat or dog without the chip, putting the onus on
the seller rather than the buyer. Industry sources said the crackdown could
lead to a shortage in puppy numbers and potentially push up the price of pets.
The Government concedes the clampdown could raise puppy prices slightly at pet
stores but believes the public will be happy paying a little extra if it means
knowing that their dog has not be treated cruelly.
Mr Baillieu, who has three pet dogs, said he was determined to make operators
accountable for the welfare of animals in their care. "I have been touched by
the passion in the community on this issue and the efforts of so many who have
written to me," he said. "As a dog owner, I am appalled by images I have seen of
abused and helpless animals."
It is not known how many illegal puppy farms exist in Victoria but there are 64
approved breeding houses where an average of 45 dogs each breed a litter of six
each year.
Until now, RSPCA inspectors have had limited powers
even when they have evidence of farms mistreating animals, with their only
course of action to refer concerns to councils.
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