NSW New Rules for Dog Breeders

Companion Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms) Bill 2024

Private Member's Bill

15 May 2024: MPs in the first house are debating whether this bill is a good idea in principle.

Legislative Council

Legislative Assembly

Assent

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Topics

animal breeding animal welfare companion animals pet shops puppy farms

Introduced by: Emma Hurst MLC (AJP)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

All dog breeders must obtain a Breeder Identification Number through the NSW Pet Registry.
New Requirement: A cap of 20 fertile female dogs over six months of age per breeding establishment. Breeders exceeding this limit can apply for a temporary exemption to house up to 50 fertile females, allowing time to scale down operations over ten years.
Each female dog is limited to a maximum of five litters in her lifetime, or up to three caesarean litters, whichever occurs first.
Breeding establishments must maintain a minimum staffing ratio of one staff member for every 20 adult dogs to ensure adequate care.
Breeders are required to include their Breeder Identification Number in all advertisements for dog sales
Breeders must adhere to the prescribed code of practice for dog breeding, which outlines standards for animal care, housing, and management.

News articles and press releases

Companion Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms) Bill 2024

The Hon. EMMA HURST — 2024-05-15

The starting point of the bill is that all companion animal breeding businesses will be required to register with their local council in order to legally operate. Right now the dog and cat breeding industry in New South Wales is essentially entirely unregulated by government. It has been a space that has been entirely neglected and left to self-regulation. If we introduce a new regime to ban puppy farming, we need to ensure that someone is going to enforce it. Our view is that it should not be left to private charities like the RSPCA or the Animal Welfare League, which are already not properly resourced to enforce animal cruelty laws.