Dogs NSW agrees with call for Parliamentary inquiry………

The peak breeders group in NSW, Dogs NSW agrees with calls for a public inquiry

 Recently, they have sent this letter to all Ministers in the Legislative Assembly of NSW:

 \”Dear Member of Parliament

Why I oppose the Animals (Regulation of Sale) Bill.  I as a member of Dogs NSW support a well-regulated pet industry that protects the welfare of animals and preserves the right of people to own a pet of their choice. This bill does not do that. The danger of this Bill is that it gives the appearance of solving a problem when it may actually make things worse. The proposed Bill could actually cause more unnecessary deaths of dogs and cats and drive the development of a black market in pets.”

 DRP comment:what on earth could possibly be worse than 60,000 healthy animals killed each year in NSW?? What are they thinking?

 ”I support the government in the implementation of strong, enforceable codes of practice for pet shops, breeders and shelters and pounds.

 The major issue that the Bill tries to address, and is of concern for our organisation and the public, is determining a way to reduce the number of unwanted dogs and cats in NSW that are euthanased yearly.”

 DRP comment:And what are Dogs NSW doing about the problem? What actions have been taken so far?

 ”However no credible evidence or statistics have been provided by the proponents of the Bill to substantiate its proposed solutions to the problem. 

 Urgent research to obtain accurate evidence is required. Until this information is available, policy will be made on anecdotal, emotive information that may lead to worse animal welfare outcomes.

 The euthanasia of unwanted companion animals is a complex issue. Only a range of complementary strategies can achieve the objective of reducing the euthanasia rate of unwanted cats and dogs. These strategies must be based on a sound understanding of the local situation supported by well-researched evidence for effectiveness, and adequately resourced to evaluate their effectiveness. “

 DRP comment:we agree with you exactly and that is the purpose of the Parliamentary inquiry. Thank you Dogs NSW!

“The proposed legislation is also perceived by many as simply regulating the sale of pets in pet shops. The Bill in its current form goes much further than its stated intention, setting up regulatory powers that have the potential to impact on all owners, breeders, sellers and exhibitors of dogs. The impact of the Bill on professional dog breeders is wide reaching and restrictive potentially eroding a dog owners basic rights .”

DRP comment:Ah so now we are getting to the bottom of it! – what about the 60, ooo dogs and cats killed each year? Don’t they have a say?

“This overregulation could have the reverse effect to that intended by the bill  and drive dog breeding further into unhealthy ,unregistered backyard \”puppy farm\” environments.”

 DRP comment : Dogs NSW are correct. We need far more detailed and accurate information on the pet industry which is the purpose of the Parliamentary inquiry. As we\’ve said all along, people who have nothing to hide will have no fear of an open and honest inquiry.

How do you think a detailed Inquiry will help?