Dogs and cats are wonderful companions, not commodities to be treated like breeding machines for profit.
Puppy and kitten farms flourish because they operate in the dark, with lax regulation on breeding and poor planning laws providing protection to even the most notorious intensive breeding facilities.
NSW is falling behind the rest of the country in regulating and preventing animal cruelty, and with neighbouring states tightening laws and their puppy and kitten farms moving across the border to NSW, it’s more important than ever for legislative change here.
The Greens are committed to protecting companion animals from exploitation by the callous commercial pet breeding industry.
We will shut down puppy and kitten farms by:
▲ Mandating breeder registration and introducing regular compliance requirements.
▲ Raising welfare standards in the breeding Code of Practice and making them enforceable.
▲ Capping animal numbers, with limits on fertile female animals per breeder, total animals on a single property and total litters whelped per female animal.
▲ Restricting breeding of brachycephalic (short snouted) breeds.
▲ Banning surgical artificial insemination.
▲ Giving power back to councils and local residents to oppose intensive commercial breeding facilities in their community.
▲ Establishing prior animal cruelty charges as grounds for breeding facility development application refusal.
▲ Banning pet shops from selling companion animals except in partnership with animal shelters and rescues, ending the puppy farm to pet shop pipeline and ensuring the animals most in need are rehomed.
▲ Resourcing RSPCA and Animal Welfare League inspectorate programs.