The smell of a puppy factory is unforgettable, an overwhelming stench of urine and faeces. The simultaneous barking of hundreds of dogs creates a wall of sound that makes it hard to think, let alone converse.
Factory farmed dogs get no veterinary intervention when they need respite from their pain and suffering. They live in filth, sometimes without adequate food or water. Their coats are often matted with faeces and stained with urine. Ear infections and ear mite infestations are common as is painful dental and gum disease.
Many dogs slowly go insane. They spin in circles or pace back and forth in their cells, some never see daylight, and the outside world is a foreign place to them. Should any dogs be lucky enough to be rescued once outside in the open they still circle and pace as if they are still incarcerated. They shy away from human hands as they have never known kindness. The dogs are deprived of even their basic needs as the current law is only concerned with food shelter and water. The dog’s psychological and social needs are ignored on factory farms.
Breeding dogs are kept in large dirt pens surrounded by electric fencing wire to stop them escaping, the same way farmers keep cattle. Some factory farms keep their dogs hidden away in large tin sheds with rows and rows of concrete stalls, the same way farmers keep pigs. Whilst other dogs are kept inside sheds in rows of raised wire floor cages just like egg producers keep battery hens. Puppy factories and backyard breeders can have 30-40 dogs and some have up to up to 700 animals on one property. The dogs are kept in these horrific conditions for their entire lives and are constantly bred to supply pet shops and internet sites with cute fluffy puppies. Once the breeding dogs are no longer profitable, and after years of confinement and continual pregnancy they are taken out of their cages, pens and sheds and they are killed. Our best friends forgotten.
This large scale extreme cruelty that takes place day after miserable day in the name of commerce. Puppy factory farmers, pet shops, puppy brokers, veterinarians, advertisers and even the Government all take their blood money from this horrendous cruelty.
The puppy buying public are misled at every turn and picture the tiny pup they have just purchased has come from a loving environment — when nothing could be further from the truth.
There are hundreds of puppy factories in Australia confining thousands of dogs right now.
Pet Shops
DON’T BE AN UNSUSPECTING LINK IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN OF CRUELTY.
Don’t you want to be able to adopt your next "best friend" without being deceived? Don’t you want your rights as a consumer respected? Then don’t go to a pet shop that sells animals, or purchase one over the internet, it’s that simple.
Consumer Affairs receives hundreds of complaints annually from consumers who have been knowingly sold sick animals and have incurred large vet bills. The fact is, pet shops and the factory farmers cut corners at every step of the way to maximise their profits, as a result, the animals and customers suffer.
You do not need to visit a council pound to see why we need Oscar’s Law. All you need to do is visit a pet shop in your local shopping centre.
How many times have you walked past a pet shop and seen a sick or distressed animal for sale; or an animal who looks too young to be away from its mother; or an animal without access to food and water? What you have witnessed is cruelty.
Pet shops actively encourage impulsive behaviour in customers. The following excerpt has been taken from the Entrepreneur Business Centre: ‘Pet Shop Business Start Up Guide’.
"The scenario is simple: Someone will walk by, fall in love with an animal and buy it. These sorts of impulse sales can add dramatically to your profits. Time browsers in a pet shop will not necessarily jump at the thought of spending $50 to $500 to bring a dog home… However, if your shop is accessible and your sales and service ability is convincing, it will not be long before you convert walk-in traffic into buying customers.”
Every day in Australia a dog is killed every 4 minutes in Council run pounds. We, the tax payer, are paying local Government to kill healthy dogs, dogs who just need a home. Meanwhile Local Governments are issuing more and more permits to puppy factory farmers to breed more and more dogs. Local Government are failing to properly inspect these puppy factories or enforce the mandatory Code of Practice.
The State Government tell us "Pet Registration - Value for your dollar. Every dog and cat three months of age and over must be registered with your local council" They then tell us "What you get for your registration fees". It includes the following "Council monitoring of pet shops, boarding kennels, catteries, pounds, shelters, and pet breedingand training businesses. This ensures they meet basic animal welfare standards required by law”. So why aren't local councils enforcing the mandatory code of practice? What are they doing with our money?
This is an absolute misuse of public funds as Local and State Governments have failed to use this money to enforce the law both at puppy factories and back yard breeders and consequently the breeding dogs are suffering.
How totally irresponsible it is to allow the mass production and then the mass killing of companion animals. How effective is the Governments Responsible Pet Program which is financed by you — the tax payer.
Oscar’s Law will change the way that animals are kept, bred and sold.