Allie Jalbert
Domestic Animal Businesses Shelters/Pounds Breeders/Rearers Pet Shops Boarding Establishments Dog Training Establishments Greyhound Establishments creativesoulinmotion.com
DAB Responsibility & Accountability DAB permit required to operate Optional conditions for permits Compulsory Codes of Practice establish minimum duty of care welfare standards Permit subject to inspections Prosecution powers for noncompliance Consumer and animal protection (Does it achieve this though?) scrup.com
Shelters & Pounds (Original Code) Good Minimum care standards Pre-adoption requirements (desex, chip, health, behaviour) Not so good 28 day rule Vague on health/behaviour (restricted adoption) No foster Euthanasia by firearm permitted wikipedia.org
Shelters & Pounds (Revised Code 2011) Good More comprehensive Removal of 28 day rule Foster care Enrichment Long-term seized care requirements Ability to adopt more animals Could still improve Euthanasia by firearm Better protection for long-term seized psychological health
Breeders & Rearers (Current Code) Good Bad Minimum care, hygiene, and sales standards Outdated and fails to meet community expectations (published 2002) Vague and open to interpretation- difficult to apply legally Euthanasia by firearm acceptable Little health and welfare protection for animals or consumers
Breeders & Rearers (Revised Code 2013) depi.vic.gov.au Good Comprehensive consultation & drafting process Significantly improved health & welfare standards Clear & enforceable standards Breeding limits/breeder retirement Enrichment/exercise required Euthanasia methods improved Record keeping improved Could still improve Enforceability & resources to do so Welfare & consumers not completely protected
Pet Shops Good Bad Minimum care, hygiene, and sales standards Covers dogs, cats, pocket pets, birds, & reptiles Requirement to provide purchasers health care and desexing literature Outdated and fails to meet community expectations (published 2005) Little health & welfare protection for animals or consumers Record keeping Interconnectivity to breeders, rearers, other pet shops peta.org
Boarding Establishments westflamingo.com Good Covers day boarding, overnight boarding, and home care Minimum care & hygiene standards Minimum health care requirements for incoming boarders Could be improved Health management plans Emergency management Enrichment requirements moderncat.net
Dog Training Establishments Good Bad Minimum care, hygiene, and training standards Approved organisation registration discounts available Outdated and not in line w/ current practices / community standards (published 2002) Vague and open to interpretationdifficult to apply legally Fails to adequately address in-care requirements Little health and welfare protection for animals
Greyhound Establishments Good Industry specific code for racing greyhounds Covers owners, trainers, boarding, spelling, and breeding Minimum care & hygiene standards Could still improve Limited Code for such a broad spectrum of business purposes Should be reviewed to better reflect community expectations, especially w/ breeding & longterm care Emergency management gap.grv.org.au
DAB Oversight & Enforcement DAA Limitations Management of noncomplaint businesses VCAT issues Criminal charges Continuing to operate Limited power to remove animals Lack of search warrant provisions Enforceability Councils primarily responsible Limited jurisdictional focus Priorities Resources Inconsistency Other laws (eg. Planning) Limited RSPCA powers Is this the right model?
What RSPCA Victoria wants Further amendments to the DAA for improved enforcement and investigation Outdated codes to be prioritised for review Interstate enforcement issues addressed Commitments to adequate resourcing Is the DAA protecting animal welfare and consumers?
Liz Walker
Domestic Animals Act, is it achieving its purpose? Domestic Animals Act has been in operation for twenty years. It was known as the Domestic (Feral and Nuisance)Animals Act. Would like to look at a few key points in the Domestic Animals Act that have had the biggest impact from a shelter perspective.
Domestic Animals Act, is it achieving its purpose? Registration Micro-chipping Cat Management Accountabilities of the owner and DAB Accountability of Councils (DAM Plans) Restricted Breeds How many changes?
Registrations Has been many variations over the years on fees Good to see that certain criteria have become mandatory such as micro-chipping and desexing. Still too easy to have an undesexed animal, this is reflective of the amount of undesexed animals that enter our shelters - YTD 13/14-45% of cats(total 4,345) and 48% of dogs (total 8,014) were undesexed when they came into RSPCA Shelters
Micro-chipping The introduction of micro-chipping has enabled hundreds and thousands of animals to be reunited with their owners
Cat Management Registration alone is not enough Compulsory desexing for registered companion cats Cats Admitted: 10/11 14,885 11/12 11,658 12/13 10,963
Owner Accountability Gone are the days when you can open up your gate and let the dog take itself for a walk It is now up to the owner to: Make sure their dog is on a lead Confine their pet to their property Keep those noise levels down Ensure their pets don t hurt other people or animals Identify and desex their animal Clean up after their animal
Domestic Animal Business Accountability Apply to obtain a Domestic Animal Business Permit Comply with minimum standards set out in various Codes of Practice Subject to local council inspections Ensure good Animal Welfare outcomes Educate owners on responsible pet ownership
Domestic Animal Management Plans Knox.vic.gov.au
Breed Specific Legislation BSL Relates to laws that attempt to regulate or ban certain breeds completely in an attempt to reduce dog attacks mnn.com Ultimatepitbullforum.com
How Many Changes???? There has been around 25 amendments to the Domestic Animals Act Each one of those amendments may contain numerous clause changes Latest Restricted Breed amendment had 36 clauses If Councils, AMOs, Shelters and Pounds find it hard to keep up and understand the changes, what hope does the general public have?
Moving Forward Apply the same minimum standards to all who adopt/sell animals We need to focus more on cats (DAMPs) More education on dog ownership and how to have a Good Citizen dog (Calgary Model) Abolish BSL Legislation for Cats, Dogs, Native Wildlife, Livestock, but nothing for Pocket Pets Let s not forget about the welfare needs of the individual animal
Thank you.