ACA/Banksia Park puppy farm breed over 2500 puppies a year to supply around 18 pet shops around Australia.
The dogs live in outside dirt pens that are surrounded by electric fencing wire, to stop the dogs trying to escape. When the female dogs are due to give birth they get a change of scenery and are moved into one of four tin sheds. Here they are placed in a concrete cell with a cardboard box for approximately 8 weeks until they birth and wean their puppies. They are then shoved back in the electrified outside pens with the males. The male dogs never get a change of scenery until the day comes when they are taken out of the pen to be killed. The females are killed once their litter numbers begin to get smaller.
This is life on a puppy farm for over 400 dogs on this one property.
ACA/Banksia Park puppy farm are endorsed by the Pet Industry Association of Australia.
Interesting that ACA/Banksia Park puppy farm have registered them selves as “Pet Boarding Members”. Could it be that the Pet Industry Association doesn’t believe puppy farms exist?
“Pet shops do not buy from puppy mills because the pets are of poor quality and often not well,” says PIAA chief executive officer Dr Joanne Sillince. “And that’s the last thing a pet shop owner wants at the window — an animal that isn’t in a peak of health. Most of the pictures you see in the media are old footage — more than half a decade old — because puppy farms are now so rare and are not being supported by the industry.” March 2009.
Help change the way Australia gets their pets. Don’t let the Pet Industry of Australia tell us how our pets can be kept, bred and sold.
Oscars Law
- Abolish the mass production of dogs. Make factory farming of dogs illegal
- Ban the sale of animals from pet shops, online and in print media
- Encourage people to adopt animals from shelters, pounds and rescue organisations
- Work on increasing the re-homing rate in pounds and shelters and introduce the no-kill philosophy which has proven to work in USA. http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/
- Tell the Government to commence running a REAL campaign about true and responsible companion animal care
You only need to read some of the ‘Survivor Stories’ and then the incredibly accurate ‘Adopting a puppy mill survivor (old breeding stock)’ article to understand the soul destroying, emotional and physical cruelty and suffering this type of existence causes our companion animals. This is in addition to countless thousands of unhealthy pets being bred, sold inappropriately on impulse, and not to ever forget the 250,000 healthy, loving dogs and cats euthanized in Australian pounds and shelters each year to know how wrong this all is, and to demand big changes.
http://www.wheredopuppiescomefrom.com.au/survivor-stories/
http://www.wheredopuppiescomefrom.com.au/survivor-stories/adopting-a-puppy-mill-survivor/
The first-hand experience of seeing the imprisoned dogs at ACA (or Banksia Pk- what an inappropriate name !) was a horrible one. Nameless & timid -if not aggressive due to fear; these dogs are starved of affection. It is not profitable to employ adequate staff to provide individual care for these poor animals.
On every level - from the shocking environment of the puppy farm to the problem of overbreeding and consequent killing of abandoned dogs in their hundreds every day in Victoria- this farm, along with all puppy farms, MUST be closed down ASAP. OSCAR’S LAW has to be introduced
Just entirely out of curiosity Debra, what is yours/ALV’s stance on registered, small-scale breeding? Not to say pedigree breeding, as it’s now moved away from breeding good healthy dogs to aesthetically-pleasing-but-inbred-to-hell dogs, but simply breeders with a good ethic?
I understand the push for wanting everyone to adopt from shelters, but it can be a precarious issue for people who may not be experienced dog owners/trainers, especially with dogs who may not have been properly socialised or abused.
So, yeah. Small scale breeders - yay or nay?
Thanks Ellie,
Never had a problem with ethical registered breeders, they dont factory farm to supply the pet market.
Cheers
Ellie I would like to respond to your comments which imply that pedigree breeding I assume make reference to an ANKC registered breeder who is also registered with their local council as opposed to a non ANKC breeder who is registered only with their local council, or as you state a small scale breeder.
Your comments that “pedigree breeding, as it’s now moved away from breeding good healthy dogs to aesthetically-pleasing-but-inbred-to-hell dogs” is both offensive and in the main factually incorrect. The vast majority of responsible ANKC breeders do not breed for the pet market and do not breed “aesthetically-pleasing-but-inbred-to-hell dogs “. They breed to a pure breed standard which is continually reviewed as it must be for the health and welfare of all dogs. They also breed on a solid foundation of legislated and mandated and fully accountable health testing schemes depending on the breed. It is perfect – no it is not. Are there those who may not have the same approach or concept of breeding ethics, yes of course there are. Is it improving and regulated and accountable unlike small scale breeders – yes it is. I still do not understand why non ANKC small scale breeders with good ethics or not, are breeding under any circumstances.
Does anybody know which pet shops are selling their puppies??
YES I DO,HAVE BROUGHT TWO COCKER SPANIELS FROM, PETS ON SEMPHORE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AND BOTH HAD HIP DYSPLASHIA AND JUST HAD MY 18MTH OLD GIRL LAID TO REST,AND MY BOY IS ON MEDICATION EVERYDAY,AND HE TOLD ME HE HAS A LADY FROM VICTORIA WHO BUYS HIS PUPPIES AND FLYS THEM OVER,AND JUST FOUND OUT THAT ANOTHER LADY BROUGHT A GIRL COCKER WITH HIP DYSPLASHIA AND HAD HER LAID TO REST AT 6MTHS OF AGE!