Woman calls for puppy farming laws to be fast-tracked after sharing ‘devastating’ story of Albany purchase

A Perth woman is calling for WA’s proposed anti-puppy farming legislation to get the green light after sharing her “devastating” story of buying a dog from an Albany breeder. But WA’s peak body for pure-bred dog owners and breeders, Dogs West, has slammed the legislation, saying it will do nothing to stop puppy farming. Meg McTaggart said she bought her Labrador retriever puppy Rufus from what she thought was a “reputable” dog breeder in Albany during October last year. She said the one-year-old dog had since been diagnosed with the most severe kind of hip dysplasia and would have to undergo two hip replacements. “Rufus was advertised as both parents being ‘pure-bred’ and that was enough to put my mind at ease,” Ms McTaggart said. “I believed that for pedigree dogs of certain breeds with increased predisposition to hereditary hip problems such as hip dysplasia, all parents used for breeding are to have their hips scored to ensure this painful condition cannot be passed on.” The Dog Amendment (Stop Puppy Farming) Bill 2020 is still going through Parliament after it was introduced in February. Currently, dog owners are not required to register with a government authority to breed dogs. Under the proposed new laws, a pet owner would be required to obtain approval to breed dogs if their dog was not de-sexed by two years old or if they intended to use their dog for breeding — or even if their dog bred unintentionally. A local government would have the ability to grant, refuse to grant, or cancel an owner’s approval to breed dogs. Last week, Local Government Minister David Templeman once again called on the Liberal Party to support the legislation. The Bill is due to be debated in the Upper House this year. “You will be assured that the dog you are purchasing does not come from a puppy farm,” Mr Templeman said last week. Ms McTaggart said she had warned others about the Albany breeder, who she believed was a “puppy farmer”. RSPCA WA confirmed a report had been received from Ms McTaggart. “RSPCA advises anyone looking to bring a puppy into their home to do their research thoroughly,” a RSPCA WA spokeswoman said.. “It is also essential to research any inherited disorders that might affect specific breeds and ask the breeders what actions they take to prevent passing those disorders on to their litters.” Ms McTaggart said she did as much research as she could. “It’s really brought to light for me how laws in WA are very lax and have failed us a little bit because there are no regulations for breeders of dogs that aren’t pedigree breeders,” Ms McTaggart said. Dogs West chief executive Ann Rushby was blunt in her criticism of the Bill. “The legislation will actually do nothing to prevent puppy farming as puppy farms or mills will continue to ignore the regulations, as they do now with the legislation that is already in place,” she said. “The only part of the legislation that refers to puppy farming is the title — there is not even a definition of puppy farming or milling in the legislation.” A spokeswoman for Mr Templeman said the Bill took a “multi-pronged approach”. “The legislation, combined with an education campaign, is designed to stop puppy farming by the tracing of all dogs and ensuring that consumers know to purchase dogs from breeders who have an approval to breed and who comply with animal welfare requirements,” the spokeswoman said. “In the event that a person is identified as not having an approval to breed, or is not breeding in accordance with the standards, there will be appropriate enforcement tools in the Dog Act and Animal Welfare Act to deal with those situations,”