Internet purchases - get the facts
Modern puppy mills - get the facts
What to look for in your new puppy
Puppy mill articles from
around the world
The Puppy Mill - a new Australian documentary
Australian puppy mills
Courier Mail - RSPCA gives seized poodles a new start
AFTER myriad court cases and more than $1 million in veterinary treatment, food, boarding, medication and legal bills, more than 100 poodles seized from a puppy farm in January last year are looking at bright futures.
Sydney Morning Herald - Call for enquiry into pet industry
"Our campaign is nothing to do with closing pet shops. We dearly want to keep them open. We just don't want them mass breeding animals, cruelly transporting them, selling them undesexed to anyone who has money then they (or their babies) either repeat the cycle or are dumped in our shelters. Even if pet shops supply 5 per cent or 50 per cent of the market, they have a multiplier effect of 6:1 through new litters and poor rehoming."
The real cost of internet pups
The Saunders family of Sippy Downs claim they have been sold a pup in every sense of the word. They followed up a classified advertisement on a pet sales website, but instead of buying a 10-week-old rottweiler of "pure breed, excellent quality and temperment (sic)", as the ad claimed, the female pup, which they have called Loki, has extensive jaw and dental problems requiring up to $2000 in veterinary bills.
Puppy farms activist has charges dropped
An Animal Liberation Victoria activist has vowed to continue her campaign against puppy farms, after several charges against her were dismissed in court yesterday. Deborah Tranter, 43, was part of a raid on the ACA Breeders Kennel Farm, at Stradbroke, last April.
From stars in the pet shop window, to unwanted and dumped pets
One former pet shop worker, who did not want to be identified, confirmed many pet shop puppies come from large dog breeders and are distributed by air freight. "I'd put my order in one week and get them delivered the next week," she said. "They were meant to be eight weeks of age; some were five weeks, some were dead. The condition was absolutely disgusting. In one dog crate there might be eight puppies shoved in there."
Warning on puppy farms
Dogs sold through pet shops or newspaper adverts can be a costly time bomb of health and behavioural problems, a pet advocacy group has warned. 'Where do puppies come from?' spokeswoman Vickie Davy said dog training experts had long warned against purchasing pets produced in 'puppy mills", which were often sold en masse through pet stores and newspaper advertisements.
PetRescue and PETstock join forces
A PET rescue organisation and a pet supply store are taking a stand against puppy farms. Vickie Davy, from the umbrella animal rescue organisation PetRescue, said it had teamed with PETstock to increase awareness about puppy farms which she said are like battery-chicken farms but for dogs and are prevalent nationwide.
A Current Affair - puppy farmer exposé
Richard Barry from the RSPCA warns that some people, such as the lady A Current Affair investigated are selling puppies to make a profit, and aren't considering the animals welfare.
RSPCA investigate QLD couple over record rat seizure
Animal welfare authorities have confirmed a North Queensland couple is under investigation after more than 600 rats and dogs were seized from a single property last week. The RSPCA has made a desperate public appeal for help to care for the animals, including 507 rats and 120 small "toy" dogs and puppies seized in the raid on a home near Calcium, 50 kilometres south of Townsville.
Triple J - No pets in pet stores
"We all know people like to get those little puppies from the pet shop, but they don't go into what it takes to look after that pet for the rest of it’s life." Trish, a council pound worker shares the reason why she euthanases dogs.
Townsville puppy farmers fined for animal cruelty
Animal welfare authorities have confirmed a North Queensland couple is under investigation after more than 600 rats and dogs were seized from a single property last week. The RSPCA has made a desperate public appeal for help to care for the animals, including 507 rats and 120 small "toy" dogs and puppies seized in the raid on a home near Calcium, 50 kilometres south of Townsville.
CHOICE magazine investigation into puppy mills
The RSPCA now includes an information page advising people of the dangers of puppy mills. "The RSPCA will continue to lobby government to amend laws to have these puppy farms banned. We also conduct campaigns to encourage the public not to purchase puppies or other pets from pet shops and instead consider adopting animals from animal shelters or responsible breeders."
Channel nine's sunday program - death row pets
RSPCA speaks out on puppy mills
The RSPCA now includes an information page advising people of the dangers of puppy mills. "The RSPCA will continue to lobby government to amend laws to have these puppy farms banned. We also conduct campaigns to encourage the public not to purchase puppies or other pets from pet shops and instead consider adopting animals from animal shelters or responsible breeders."
Australian puppy mills under fire for cruelty
A public appetite for accessory dogs has encouraged the growth of 'puppy mills', where animals are bred in cramped conditions before being transported across long distances. The farms, which are legal in Australia, keep puppies in conditions comparable to those suffered by battery hens, critics say.
The reality of the backyard breeder
Many of the dogs were suffering conjunctivitis, fractured bones, skin problems and the living conditions were "unacceptable", RSPCA inspector Graeme Crowdon told the court. The floor was covered in dog faeces up to 10cm thick and the only source of drinking water found for the dogs was a tyre filled with sludge. There was no food.
Queensland raid - 101 dogs in "abysmal" condition
Dogs on the property including pure-bred poodles, labrador pups and a pomeranian were in filthy enclosures with matted faeces and urine in their fur and maggots in their orifices. RSPCA veterinarian Anne Covill said the living conditions were "abysmal", with many dogs suffering skin inflammations and riddled with worms.
Mongrel owners abandon posh dogs
So-called "designer dogs" are being dumped in unprecedented numbers by families unwilling to pay the high cost of caring for them.
ALV investigation into ACA breeders - "breeding machines"
Pet shop owners depend on love at first sight when people, especially kids, see the adorable little puppies as it prompts people to make an impulsive purchase. What the consumer can't see is the puppy's mother imprisoned miles away in her small pen awaiting repeated pregnancies.
Puppy mill raids - the shock and horror of Aussie puppy farms
Think puppy mills are just something they have in the United States? Sadly not - everyone needs only to read this interview with dog rescuer Debra Tranter about her experiences raiding Australian puppy mills to reminds us exactly why people should say no to animals in a pet shop.
Another Australian puppy mill raided - 70 Chihuahuas seized
More than 70 mistreated and sick chihuahuas have been seized by RSPCA inspectors in a raid on a property in south-east Queensland. RSPCA Queensland spokesman Michael Beatty said the owner, from Biggenden, west of Maryborough, has previous convictions for animal mistreatment.
Designer dog breeding disaster - hip dysplasia, eye problems
Animal Welfare League spokeswoman Donna Sullivan said its shelter received designer-dog disasters daily, including puppies with genetic defects and others that had been used excessively for breeding. "They are abandoned when they are unable to produce more pups."
Queensland puppy farm raids cancelled - no room left at RSPCA
RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said the organisation last week had to cancel a raid on a property suspected of neglecting a large number of dogs because there was no room left in its shelters. The charity group is caring for more than 160 dogs, taken after raids on two separate breeding farms.
Fury over controversial puppy trade - Australian puppy mills
Thousands of puppies raised in squalid cages are being sold with genetic health problems to unsuspecting owners. The RSPCA investigated 21 separate breeders across Australia last financial year.
Sold and surrendered - not yet six weeks
Although six-week old Coco is too young to be away from her mother, she has already been sold from a pet shop and surrendered to an animal shelter.
Today Tonight story - designer dogs
The clever marketing of these designer dogs is a reason unscrupulous puppy farmers are mass-producing dogs like they're going out of fashion. But don't be tricked: none of the breeders for these dogs can legally be registered.
The high cost of a mass bred dog
Vineyard Vet Hospital doctor Rob Zammit blamed the rising numbers of sick dogs on mass breeding from parents with hereditary illnesses. Debbie Jordan spent nearly $140,000 raising two sick dogs bought from breeders she claims were unethical.
Dogged by bad health - demand for labradoodles, cavoodles, pugaliers leads to backyard breeders
Siobhan Sheppard was distressed to learn her $675 designer dog, a cocker spaniel-golden retriever cross, carried a genetic kidney condition that has cost a small fortune to treat. She is among a number of disgruntled animal lovers for whom buying a designer dog has turned out to be a financial and emotional disaster.
Melbourne pet retailer stops selling cats and dogs - provides rehoming/adoption facilities
One pet retailer has decided to remove all puppies and kittens from sale to highlight the risks associated with consumer impulse purchasing, which contributes to the abandonment of more than half a million puppies, kittens, dogs and cats each year nationally.
The Puppy Mill interview
Interview with Director William Wolfendon on his new Australian documentary, looking into the facts of Puppy Mills in this country.