Puppy Mills

Produced by Acacia Meehan

Commercial Dog Breeding in NZ

Objectives• Puppy mills and their prevalence in New Zealand

• The consequences of puppy mills for those running them, other dog breeders, the animals affected and consumers

• The legal and ethical issues and implications of puppy milling

• Actions being taken in response to puppy mills

This presentation will examine:

What is a Puppy Mill?• Puppy mills, also known as puppy farms or factories, are commercial dog breeding

facilities focussed on producing large quantities of animals to be sold for profit

• In many of these mills, animal health and welfare is sacrificed in favour of profits

• These breeders may keep dogs in crowded and unclean pens or cages where receive little to no care, exercise and stimulation

• Bitches can be breed very frequently- as often as every season and puppies may be removed from bitch and sold earlier than recommended

• These facilities may breed popular companion purebreeds but are most well known for their large scale breeding of crossbreed ‘designer’ dogs- including Labradoodles and other “-oodles,” and “teacup” breeds

What is an Ethical Breeder? • A breeder that always complies with the minimum standards set out in the

Animal Welfare Act 1999 and the Code of Welfare for dogs, and preferably complies with the guidelines for Best Practice in the Act and code and also:

• Ensures the breeding animals and puppies have their Five Freedoms met and are healthy, and avoids breeding from animals that are too young or too old

• Screens animals for health issues before breeding and avoids breeding from animals highly likely to pass on inherited diseases such as hip and elbow dysplasia

• Screens potential buyers for suitability and sells only to owners they believe can care for the puppy correctly, and gives owners advice on care

• Lets potential buyers meet puppies while they are still with the bitch and both of their parents, and sells only healthy, well socialised and appropriately aged puppies

Puppy Mills in New Zealand

60 Minutes Footage of NZ Puppy Mills:

Puppies bred by commercial breeder located on Gladstone Road, Levin

http://www.3news.co.nz/Making-oodles---inside-NZs-puppy-farms/tabid/309/articleID/162135/Default.aspx

• One of the largest scale commercial breeding facilities known of in NZ was found in Dannevirke, being run by an ex dog show judge and his wife. SPCA inspectors found 161 cats and 87 dogs on the property

• Another large breeding operation in Levin, run by vet nurse Julie Poulton, houses 100 registered (older than 3 months) dogs and an unknown number of puppies in a 200 m² barn

• The Gisborne region is thought to be home to a number of puppy mills- several of these were filmed by television show 60 Minutes in 2010

• The SPCA and NZKC are concerned that mill breeders may be using sites like TradeMe as an easy way to sell puppies

Benefits and Costs

• For puppy mill breeders the main benefit is profit

• Their intensive breeding methods allow them to produce more litters more often from their bitches

For Breeders: For Animals: For Consumers:Benefits: Benefits: Benefits:

Costs: Costs: Costs:

• Breeders not following legal standards risk being found out and prosecuted

• Ethical breeders have to compete with puppy mill breeders as they cannot breed as efficiently

• Puppies bred are popular and in demand so may be more adoptable than other dogs

• Some of the Five Freedoms are met- have food and water, some shelter and some ability to express normal behaviours

• All five freedoms are not met

• Less opportunity for shelter pets to be adopted

• Poor quality of life for the breeding dogs

• Health issues

• Demand for ‘designer dogs’ is met

• Convenience- puppies are constantly available in shops and will be sold to anyone

• Can be purchased on impulse

• Popularity of ‘designer dogs’ has pushed up price of dog breeds that would have previously been seen as mutts

• Puppies may have health issues due to improper care or inherited diseases

Ethical Issues in Puppy Mills• The health of animals, conditions they are kept in and the extent to which the

Five Freedoms are met varies between different breeding facilities

• A study(1) has shown that being kept in intensive breeding environments can cause psychological issues in dogs such as fears and phobias, repetitive or compulsive behaviours or heightened sensitivity to being touched

• The Dannevirke facility shut down by the SPCA was found to be unclean, smelt of urine and faeces and half the animals were euthanized due to acute disease

• The Levin breeder sold 11 puppies to pet stores that died of hypoglycaemia, giardia and parvovirus and were thought to be less than 8 weeks old when they were sold

• Vet Allen Probert from Miramar Vet Hospital reported two puppies purchased from a Manawatu breeder dying, one of seizures that started hours after the puppy was brought

Ethical Issues in Puppy Mills• One of the Gisborne facilities that sells about 60 puppies a year had large pens

for the dogs with heated kennels, and the animals were in good condition and were all regularly handled by the breeder

• Another had approximately 100 dogs with 5-6 litters of puppies at a time, did not provide much shelter or space and kept dogs in muddy yards

• A third breeder, who admitted to being a puppy farmer and keeping her animals in poor conditions, kept dogs in small crates or crowded, unclean yards and had one dog tied to a tyre to prevent it jumping the fence

• Another facility in Gisborne with about 60 dogs that was supplying puppies to Animates stores kept them in muddy yards with electric fences, did not provide clean water or bedding for dogs and puppies and was using electric bark collars on some dogs

Legal Issues in Puppy Mills• All dog breeders must legally comply with the minimum standards set by the

Animal Welfare (Dogs) Code of Welfare (2010) and the Animal Welfare Act 1999. If minimum standards are not met the breeder may be prosecuted under the Act

• The Act states that all animals must have their Five Freedoms met in a way that is appropriate for the animal’s species, environment and circumstances

• The Code of Welfare for dogs also includes minimum standards for breeding, stating that whelping bitches must be provided with a safe, warm and quiet environment and veterinary care if required, that puppies must be in good health when sold and that the purchaser must be informed of any potential inherited conditions

One of eleven puppies from Levin mill that died in Pet Centre stores

• The Dannevirke breeders sentenced under the Act and were ordered to pay $25000 in fines to the SPCA and banned from owning animals for 20 years

• Other cases such as the Levin mill were not prosecuted as although there were ethical concerns they were not proven to be violating legal the minimum standards

What is Being Done?• The New Zealand Kennel Club has developed the Accredited Breeders Scheme that

aims to encourage responsible breeding practices and assist consumers in finding ethical breeders

• TradeMe is reviewing its animal listing policies after consulting with the SPCA, SAFE and the NZKC

• Animates stores, in conjunction with the SPCA, have introduced the Saving Lives Programme, selling puppies and kittens from SPCA shelters rather than commercial breeders and raising funds for the SPCA

• Animal Advocacy organisations like SAFE and Paw Justice run campaigns to raise awareness about commercial dog breeding facilities and call for them to be banned

Conclusion• The discrepancies between how commercial breeders and

breeders considered reputable keep and use animals highlight the ethical issues that exist in many large scale breeding facilities

• It is more difficult to maintain adequate standards of welfare when large numbers of animals are involved, therefore breeders should be limited in how many breeding dogs they can own

• Expansion of the legal requirements for breeders and those selling puppies to include some of the best practice guidelines as minimum standards instead would encourage more ethical breeding practices and allow unethical but currently legal breeders to be prosecuted and prevented from continuing

• Pet shops and internet sites demanding higher ethical standards of breeders will benefit themselves, the animals and the consumers by avoiding unwell animals being sold and having to be refunded later

References“The Five Freedoms” RNZSPCAhttp://rnzspca.org.nz/animal-care/important-reading/the-five-freedoms

“SPCA Secures 20 Year Ban for Puppy and Kitten Farm Cruelty” RNZSPCAhttp://rnzspca.org.nz/about/news/press-releases/421-spca-secures-20-year-ban-for-puppy-and-kitten-farm-cruelty

“Ban Puppy Mills” SAFE http://www.safe.org.nz/Campaigns/Ban-puppy-mills/

“Puppy Milling” Paw Justicehttp://pawjustice.co.nz/newsletters/tuesday-march-14-2013/

“’Battery Farm’ Puppies Die in Pet Stores” Fairfax NZ Newshttp://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8715808/Battery-farm-puppies-die-in-pet-stores

“Groups Look to Tighten ‘Puppy Mill’ Laws” 3 Newshttp://www.3news.co.nz/Groups-look-to-tighten-puppy-mill-laws/tabid/423/articleID/299084/Default.aspx

“TradeMe Reviews Animal Listing Rules” Fairfax NZ Newshttp://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/8734370/Trade-Me-reviews-animal-listing-rules

“Inside Puppy Mills” 60 Minutes Producer’s Bloghttp://www.3news.co.nz/Inside-puppy-factories---60-Minutes-producers-blog/tabid/209/articleID/162390/Default.aspx

“Accredited Breeders Scheme” NZKChttp://accreditedbreeders.nzkc.org.nz/Main/Home

“Summary of Code of Welfare for Dogs” NZ Companion Animals Councilhttp://nzcac.org.nz/images/stories/PDF/dog_code_brochure.pdf

“Animal Welfare Act 1999” NZ Legislationhttp://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1999/0142/latest/DLM49664.html

“Vet Urges Caution on Buying from Breeders” Fairfax NZ Newshttp://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8719547/Vet-urges-caution-on-buying-from-breeders