Clover Moore, a legislator in New South Wales, a state of Australia, has proposed new legislation to ban the sales of any animals from pet stores.

The bill has motivated the Pet Industry Association of Australia (PIAA) to fight.

"The Bill blatantly discriminates against highly visible and increasingly regulated pet store retailers as a legitimate place to sell pets", says Colin Bransgrove, CEO of the PIAA. "Pet shops account for an estimated 6% of pet sales in Australia while unregulated internet; classified and market pet sales proliferate. The unregulated market is where government should be putting its energy." he said.

Not just pet sales, but this bill also makes it illegal to give pets as gifts.

Ms. Moore explained that too many people purchase animals from pet stores as impulse buys, without giving a lot of thought into the lifelong care that animals need. However, Brangrove countered that puppies sold through pet stores costs between $500 - $1,500 each, hardly making them an impulse buy.

I have to agree with the PIAA that pet shops are hardly the problem. It's the classified ads. While puppy mills certainly do use some pet shops as their outlets, the bulk of these animals are sold through cheaper avenues, particularly newspapers. Newspapers don't screen breeders to figure out who's ethical. Instead they shift the burden to the reader, telling them to figure out who to trust. These days, newspapers are desperate to boost their classified sales.

But the REAL problem is lack of law enforcement. There already are laws against animal cruelty, and there are plenty of laws to put puppy mills out of business. It's just that government can't afford to track them down and prosecute their cases. Legislators prefer to spend money on entitlement programs instead of going after the bad guys. They opt for the cheaper solution, putting the burden on law abiding citizens.

For more information, visit...
http://www.petnews.com.au/

Labels: Australia Dog Laws