End Puppy Farming in South Australia

South Australian Government

End Puppy Farming in South Australia!

‘Puppy farms’ are industrial breeding mills that often see dogs kept in appalling conditions in order to produce as many as possible. Dogs in these mills are kept in confinement for the majority, and sometimes entirety, of their lifespan. They often suffer from untreated health conditions such as infections, tumours, and dysplasia. Dogs that are kept for breeding purposes are repeatedly impregnated until they are no longer useful, and then often are terminated. Too often dogs who are kept on puppy farms end up suffering from psychological damage and need to receive rehabilitation before they are able to be rehomed.

Puppy farming is not entirely unregulated in South Australia, with the state government introducing a Code of Practice in 2017; however, this code allows abusive behaviours such as keeping the dogs confined for 23 hours and 30 minutes a day. Additionally, it allows the farmers to kill the dogs however they wish to (with the exception of drowning) so long as it “causes death or unconsciousness as rapidly as possible”.

Locally in South Australia there has been multiple proposals to erect new puppy farms. These industrial grade dog-breeding complexes – if approved – would seek to house hundreds of dogs in less than half as many kennels (one example is in Two Wells If approved, 300 dogs would be housed in 114 kennels). The RSPCA Chief Executive Officer Paul Stevenson spoke about the Two Wells proposition, claiming that the mill would have to operate “seven days a week 24 hours a day” in order to properly care for the animals, and stated that he was “horrified” with the proposal.

Australia has a dog overpopulation problem with tens of thousands of dogs being destroyed every year due to shelter overcrowding. This tragedy can be accredited to the fact that we breed thousands of dogs for profit, despite the ongoing epidemic of dog homelessness. The sinister nature of puppy farms is multi-faceted as not only do they seek to keep dogs in sub-par living conditions in order to exploit them for profit, but these farm’s existence adds to the problem of overcrowding in shelters and the needless execution of innocent and unloved dogs and puppies.

The ‘adopt don’t shop’ initiative has done a brilliant job in promoting the grassroots movement of adopting dogs in need rather than contribute to the dog production industry; however, as a community we must put our foot down when we see exploitation at our doorstep.

The Animal Justice Party SA seeks to ban all puppy farms in South Australia in order to expel the exploitation from our state and reduce the needless death toll.

You can find more information and resources on https://www.oscarslaw.org/what-are-puppy-factories.htm

Petition by
Animal Justice Party
Hutt Street, Australia

To: South Australian Government
From: [Your Name]

I support the Animal Justice Party SA in seeking to ban all puppy farms in South Australia in order to expel the exploitation from our state and reduce the needless death toll.