PUPPY MILLS IN AOTEAROA
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN THE PAST?
Popular auction website TradeMe provides consumers with the option to buy or sell almost anything online, previously being a hotspot for irresponsible breeders to get away with such behaviour. In June of 2015, the company introduced multiple regulations to reduce irresponsible breeding.
Potential dog owners are reminded of the responsibility of bringing a dog into the household and caring for it correctly. Prompts found on auctions of cats and dogs are based on whether or not potential owners are confident that their home and lifestyle are suitable for a pet, and if they are able to commit to caring for such animals as long as required.
For example, sellers now have the option to tick a voluntary code of Animal Welfare. This is where sellers can attest that both the puppy and mother have been cared for in accordance with legal requirements - that the mother was in good health at the time of conception, that the puppy has been examined by a vet and had the required vaccinations, worm and flea treatments, that the puppy is not the offspring of dogs related within two generations (inbreeding), and that the puppy is not released to the buyer before it is 8 weeks old. TradeMe stated that it is voluntary to declare this because ‘such a code can not realistically cover all circumstances under which a sale or free rehoming of an animal may occur.’ When the seller does not tick this code, buyers are made aware and encouraged to check with the seller to ensure that the dog meets personal animal welfare standards.
In order to address the issue of overbreeding and minimise the chances of animals from irresponsible breeders being sold, they also introduced a cap on the number of litters and animals able to be listed within a 12 month period. Each membership will be able to list a maximum of 5 litters per year or a total of 40 cats and dogs. This cap applies to animals being sold, and not animals that are being rehomed for free.
A new listing process was established requiring users to add information like birth dates and microchip numbers for all animals listed (if the puppy is younger than 3 months and hasn’t been microchipped, the microchip number of the mother must be provided), as well as a veterinary report if the seller is code compliant, requiring the animals to have a health check by a registered veterinarian prior to being listed on the site. Owners and animal-welfare organisations are also able to list a dog for adoption for free or at very little cost.
There are also restrictions on the sale of particular breeds, such as pugs, English bulldogs, and French bulldogs. To promote better animal welfare on the site, selling these breeds is banned. These breeds are known to suffer from Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome, a condition that is described as “spending your whole day trying to breathe through a pillow,” caused by the shape of their skull making their nostrils too small and therefore obstructing airflow, leaving the dogs gasping for breath. Expensive surgery is often required to treat this condition, and is only likely to happen if the owner understands the suffering their pet is going through. TradeMe has stated that it does not want to contribute to the breeding and selling of these dogs online.
Helping You Help Animals, known as HUHA, is New Zealand’s leading ‘no-kill’ shelter. The organisation is committed to finding an answer to stamp out animal abuse everywhere in all of its forms. They are dedicated to teaching empathy to the community and providing shelter for those less fortunate animals that struggle to survive in today’s disposable culture. In relation to their Puppy Protection Campaign, they created a petition at least 7 years ago to stop the sale of puppies in pet stores and through online traders, stop the sale of underage puppies, and establish an enforceable code of conduct and licensing system for breeders. This petition has a current 19,034 signatures out of 25,000 to The New Zealand House Of Representatives; (Ministry of Primary Industries). On the official HUHA website, people are encouraged to do their part to stop the unnecessary deaths and suffering of the hundreds of puppies being bred bought and sold for profit each year in NZ. This includes signing the petition, not buying from pet stores that sell puppies, and instead buying from reputable breeders and visiting the puppy with its mother during the adoption process.
The HUHA petition can be found here.
Information about HUHA's Puppy Protection Campaign can be found here.
The Animal Welfare Act is based on the five freedoms of animal welfare. This should ensure that all people in charge of animals provide them with:
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Proper and sufficient food and water
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Adequate shelter
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The opportunity to display normal patterns of behaviour
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Physical handling in a manner which minimises the likelihood of unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress
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Protection from, and rapid diagnosis of, any significant injury or disease
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In 2015, New Zealand's Animal Welfare Act was updated, and animals were officially legally recognised as sentient, meaning they were finally seen as being able to perceive and feel things. However, there is a lack of enforcement of the Act. Enforcement is divided between the SPCA and the MPI - Ministry of Primary Industries. According to SAFE.org.nz, less than 1% of complaints received by the SPCA and the MPI ever lead to a prosecution, and compared with the money made from the export of animal products (which was $28 billion in 2018), the MPI spends less than 0.02% of that figure on the enforcement of animal welfare legislation.
CODE OF WELFARE: DOGS
The code of welfare for dogs, issued under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, came into force October 2018. The code exists to encourage all those responsible for dogs to adopt the highest standards of husbandry, care and handling. It sets minimum standards for the care and management of dogs, as well as recommendations for best practice to encourage standards of care better than just the minimum. It applies to anyone responsible for the welfare of dogs, such as people who use dogs for shows, sport, work, breeding, or companionship. Failure to comply with the standards in this code can result in evidence used to support prosecution for offences under the Animal Welfare Act. Minimum Standards 1 through 10 are seen as directly in relation to irresponsible breeding and puppy farming even though it is common sense that dogs deserve better treatment than the minimum standards.
The full Code of Welfare: Dogs can be read here.
