Our pets are not commodities — they are living beings who depend entirely on the humans who choose to bring them home.

Across the world, recognised animal welfare organisations take great care to ensure that dogs and cats are placed into safe, stable, and loving environments. They require prospective adopters to provide medical clearance, background checks, and proof that they are capable of caring for another life. These safeguards exist because animals are vulnerable, and because their wellbeing matters.

However, a serious and dangerous gap remains in our laws.

Private sellers of dogs and cats are not held to the same standards. Currently, individuals can purchase animals through private breeders or online platforms without providing any medical or legal documentation to assess their capacity to care for a pet responsibly. This leaves countless animals at risk the moment they are sold. Animals can be sold without a police check, without confirmation that the buyer is medically or psychologically fit to care for a pet, and without any meaningful assessment of risk. A person with a history of violence, neglect, or incapacity can legally acquire an animal with ease.

This petition calls for legislative reform to make it a mandatory legal obligation for private sellers of dogs and cats in Victoria to obtain basic medical and legal documentation from prospective buyers. At a minimum, this should include:

• Police check report to identify serious risk factors
• A certificate from the buyer’s General Practitioner confirming their capacity to responsibly care for a pet. 

This is not an unreasonable burden. It is a proportionate, preventative safeguard—one already accepted and proven effective within established animal welfare organisations.
 

Such a requirement would have a profound impact. It would significantly reduce cases of animal cruelty, neglect, abandonment, and misuse. It would prevent impulsive purchases and prevent animals from being placed into unsafe or unsuitable environments. Most importantly, it would affirm, in law, that the welfare of animals takes priority over convenience or profit.

Animal welfare protections should not depend on whether an animal is adopted from a shelter or purchased privately. Pets deserve more than chance. They deserve protection.

By closing this legislative gap, Victoria can take a decisive step forward—one that reflects compassion, responsibility, and justice for those who cannot speak for themselves.