What is a Domestic Animal Business
It is irresponsible to breed dogs in your suburban back yard at the present moment but unless you are a registered Canine Council member and are showing dogs, this is permitted. Only two dogs per household are allowed in suburban back yards in Australia. To have three or more, a permit from the Council must be obtained.
The difference between Billabong Creek Farm, and a puppy factory, backyard breeder / unregistered breeder is that they don’t have a “domestic animal breeding business permit / license (DAB) or a ’planning permit' and their residence is not zoned for this activity.
Not having a state / council license to conduct a business from their homes for breeding purposes is illegal. Billabong Creek Farm is opposed to people breeding dogs in their lounge room, bedroom or under the kitchen sink, as this is also illegal and against department of health regulations within their state.
New laws currently being formulated between government and the RSPCA will prevent backyard breeding by anyone who does not have the relevant permits whether or not they breed one litter a year or more, they will be considered " puppy farmers" and this includes hobby farmers, illegal breeders, breed association members and shelters (if they breed pups from rescue dogs and sell them.) Quote: definition of a puppy farmer is anyone “in the business" of breeding dogs whether it is for profit or non-profit according to proposed legislation. The breeding “not for profit" clause has been a big loop-hole with those breeding dogs in towns or allotments and this new law is designed to capture this and seal the loop-hole. Another definition of a “puppy farm" is where dogs or puppies are bred in substandard conditions.
Most illegal puppy breeders or backyard breeders do breed their pups in substandard conditions because they don’t want to draw attention to themselves by building the appropriate buildings to house the dogs by their local council or neighbor, obtaining the correct permits etc ... so they use the old wood shed, hay shed or chook house or back room to keep and breed them in... That is substandard conditions and considerd a Puppy Farm.
We here at billabong creek farm have all the relevant licenses, permits, ABN, and purpose built nursery and kennels already so we are considered "registered breeders" in the true context of the definition of what is a registered breeder under the law.
Government will issue licenses to those who adhere to strict codes of practice and desex, microchip and sell their pups directly through the license agreement either privately as we do here, or through pet shops that agree to adhere to the licensing agreements in that they will be prosecuted if they purchase puppies to sell from breeders that do not have a government license. All pups sold into pet shops or other mediums, would be desexed and micro chipped as well as vaccinated and vet checked by the breeder.
All puppies sold here at billabong creek farm are vet checked vaccinated, microchip and desexed already so we are well ahead of proposed government legislation and we support its administration and implementation.
We here think this is a great step in stamping out illegal breeding and brokering of pups bred in backyards and then sold for cash without any vaccination to brokers who then ONSELL TO PET SHOPS OR THROUGH ADVERTISING MEDIUMS.
We also believe that reducing the amount of dogs in shelters or pounds and being put down as a result of their owners not collecting them or not wanting to pay the fines associated with collecting them is a " social, generational and economical problem" not necessarily a direct result of Breeding Kennels like us breeding pets for sale to the public.. As is currently the campaign of the Oscars Flaw group or PETA or Animal Liberation Victoria, or the numerous rescue groups picking up stray dogs from pounds around the Country. We strongly dispute their claims that we "registered breeders" are solely responsible for the amount of dogs in pounds or shelters awaiting new homes. We don’t breed dogs that are the “normal pound or rescue breed or type" here like Pit Bulls, Cattle dog crosses, large breed crosses, or small breeds mixed with three or four crosses and are indistinguishable so we feel we are being given a very bad rap by these organizations in general.
All dogs are required to be registered with their local Council and microchipped and in some Shires, desexed. Most are household pets, but some are used for breeding to supplement incomes. The product of these matings is sold to the public with little or no information, no health guarantee and no legal obligation to the buyer to support the financial costs if the pup becomes ill or dies. Regardless of the experience of the backyard breeder, they ignore the fact that they are breaking the Law.
Buying a "cheap" pup does not mean you are saving money but rather taking a gamble that your money will not be lost on the chance the pup could have a fatal illness or grows up with temperament issue inherited by bad breeding forcing you to have it put down or worse, attacking someone. You won't be compensated or have any legal standing toward reimbursement.
The old saying "Buyer Beware" is very significant when it comes to backyard breeders.
Other people who have more than two dogs or up to 5 dogs are also considered backyard breeders whether they live in towns or out in the country, because they do not have to obtain a license to have a breeding establishment if the number of dogs they have does not exceed five. You would still face the same dilemma with buying a pup from them without any safeguards. Even a verbal or written guarantee is not binding if the seller is not a registered business.
Back yard breeders are not as easy a target for radical animal welfare extremists as we are because they fly under the radar so to speak and have the idea that they know all about animal husbandry and can breed dogs in their back room or garage, go off to work for up to 10 hours a day leaving the mother of the pups home alone with the risk of illness or death during labor and not being able to recognize any problems in the puppies health wise, then hand it over to some poor person who wants a pet for their family without any information, no health guarantee, not vaccinated or declare any income to the Taxation department/Centerlink from the proceeds or have a legal business registration. These are the people you should be avoiding for the purchase of your next pet.
We've all heard of the horrific mauling and deaths of children and adults by dogs totally unsuitable for any urban environments and these people who breed and house them are exactly what our argument is when it comes to irresponsibility by backyard breeders, breeding dogs not supposed to be bred with and blatantly ignoring the Law.
There are web sites promoting backyard breeding such as Dogzonline by the ANKC by giving space for free advertising and are often patrolled and patronized by unscrupulous people wanting to sell inferior dogs and puppies that they advertise on a very regular basis so how many dogs and puppies are they breeding without a license or permit.? We don't think the moderators of these sites want to recognize the amount of backyard volume breeders it attracts. Newspapers also perpetuate the problem as well by advertising puppies bred in backyards.
At least Pet Shops operate as a registered business and under the same codes of practice as we do, and do compensate you if the pup becomes ill or dies under the guarantee's term, but people seem to have an aversion to going to them for a pup because the think they are going to be ripped off. The Pet shop may not try to rip you off, but the person who bred the pups in their backyard can lie and deceive the shop-owner about the breeding of the dog and its health. So why go to a backyard breeder who gives you nothing?
It is also wise to call the local council in the seller’s area, speak to the animal regulators; these people generally love animals and are very aware of the uncompliant and illegal breeders in their control area. Having said this you really should report to the local council any animal owners, breeders, that you think are not caring for an animal, any animal.
We run a legitimate business here and are very strictly monitored by our Council and keep our dogs in very good health and living conditions and we are proud of our business and are appalled at the amount of Backyard puppy breeders that are in not only Victoria, but all the other States and by buying a pup from this medium, only encourages them to keep doing it. We are in the process of lobbying our Local Council and Government officials to tighten up their Laws on this practice. Both seem to be arguing between each other as to whose going to enforce it..... But things are changing in this regard now.
Those names like "Puppy Factory" or "Puppy miller" are just names to us that denote some sort of contempt and are derogatory and come from people who are misinformed and ignorant to what and how our business is, and is run. We actually are a "farm" and we breed dogs on our farm, so we are quite aware that we live on a farm, not in a factory or a millhouse. All puppies are health guaranteed in writing and come with a lot of information in a puppy pack to help owners with new pups settle in. We provide good after sales service and will take back any pup or older dog from our clients should they have a change in circumstance and not be able to keep their pet. We have a great relationship with our clients with advice on an ongoing basis. Repeat clients are common and a lot of our business is referral type purchases. We are a bit more expensive than backyard breeders and Pet shops, but look at the comparison for peace of mind as we all know how expensive Vets are and the heartache when things go bad.
This business and our personal selves have been publicly defamed and sent abusive emails by the purebred dog breeders and animal activist groups who operate in Victoria who find crossbred dogs repulsive and unattractive because of their purist, radical attitudes or who have an agenda to wipe out breeders like us here at Billabong Creek Farm. Their attitudes are not only delusional, ill informed and completely radical, but illegal in that they break into breeding establishments in the middle of the night and terrorize the animals by shining torches and taking well mocked up videos of animals they perceive as being mistreated and plaster them all over their own public sites and seem to assume that we are the same as these other farms. We admit here that there are some very unscrupulous breeding practices going on out there and they should be exposed, but these radicals seem to believe that we are all the same without any evidence or proof that we mistreat our dogs and are not interested in hearing our point of view..... Very narrow minded. We will however, continue to breed our "Lovely Oodles" for our many clients who decide they want a crossbreed as a pet, for many years to come.
We have no qualms about people who choose a purebred dog or a shelter dog..... That is “THEIR CHOICE" but allow those who have also the right to purchase a puppy of THEIR CHOICE" from breeders like us who have rights and all the proper permits etc to sell them a puppy.