The Animal Justice Party (AJP) recognises that people love companion cats and dogs, they care about their wellbeing, and we do too. Therefore, the AJP calls for an immediate end to puppy and kitten farming across Australia. Animals currently in the industry must not be killed, but adopted out.
Key Objectives
- End the intensive breeding of companion animals.
- Promote adoption and rescue as the best way to bring a companion animal into your family.
- Require “pet” shops to keep only rescue animals for adoption, as they are currently a major outlet for puppy and kitten “farmers” (refer to our Companion Animals Policy).
- Implement traceability for companion animals by integrating all state/territory systems into a national online register which documents the history of every animal from birth.
- Ensure that people cannot use the Internet or other media to deceive the public regarding the origin of listed animals, and hold publishers accountable for advertisements that do not comply with legislation.
- Allocate sufficient resources to enforce animal protection laws in each state (see our Animal Law policy), including annual inspections and audits of breeders and breeding facilities.
- Introduce a cap on the number of breeding dogs/cats held at any one property and a cap on the number of litters a breeding dog/cat can have per year and over their lifetime.
- Ensure that when puppy and kitten factories close, the animals are rehomed through appropriate rescue groups, and not killed.
- Prevent businesses from calling themselves “registered breeders” simply because they have a local government permit.