Gormley promises 'end to backstreet dog-breeders'

LAWS TO ensure the registration and supervision of so-called “puppy farms” will be enacted in the new year, Minister for the Environment John Gormley has said.

Details of the long-awaited Dog Breeding Establishments Bill were published yesterday in response to the concerns of animal welfare groups who have complained for years about the lack of legislation.

Under the terms of the Bill, a local authority will be empowered to issue a closure notice requiring a dog-breeding establishment to cease breeding or keeping dogs.

It will also be an offence to operate an unregistered dog-breeding establishment except in specified circumstances where there is an application submitted or where it is subject to appeal.

Legislation to regulate large-scale puppy farms was promised by Mr Gormley’s predecessor, Dick Roche, following a report in 2006 into the mistreatment of dogs on puppy farms.

Speaking at the launch of the legislation in the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) offices yesterday, Mr Gormley said it would stop “backstreet dog-breeders” and also benefit those commercial breeders who do a good job and treat their animals humanely.

The Government had intended originally to amend the Control of Dogs Act 1986 to 1992, but decided, instead, on a new piece of legislation following legal advice.

“We’ve been aware of some cruelty in some dog-breeding establishments. This was a matter of serious concern. They will be registered and policed by the local authority. We think those bad old days will be left behind,” the Minister said.

The legislation has been welcomed by the DSPCA which has housed thousands of dogs which have been bred in puppy farms.

DSPCA operations manager Orla Aungier said the regulation and licence of dog-breeding establishments would end the practices whereby Ireland has become the “puppy-breeding capital of Europe” because of a lack of regulation.

The society estimates that up to 1,000 pups a week are being exported from Ireland to countries where there is much greater regulation.

“We have seen animals in appalling conditions bred purely for commercial gain. By introducing this Bill, we are affording protection to those animals allowing for inspection, accountability and traceability,” she said.

“We see it as a first step for bringing animal welfare legislation in Ireland up to international standards.”