Most people are aware of the cruelty being inflicted on breeding animals in Australia’s many “puppy mills”, where female animals are kept either constantly pregnant or nursing, confined in appalling conditions of filth and isolation, without even the most basic veterinary care for their sickness, pain and suffering.

The puppies which come from these disgusting facilities find their way into pet shops all around Australia. The puppies are also packed onto planes by the hundreds to be sold into appalling conditions in Asia.

The Pet Industry Association of Australia, instead of co-operating in wiping out this appalling trade, justifies it by claiming that if made illegal, puppy farms will simply “go underground”. They are already “underground”, some of them quite literally with breeding animals confined to covered pits in the ground.

The PIAA has in fact tried to shut “Oscar’s Law” out of the conversation – they are completely concerned with the revenues of pet shop owners, not the welfare of animals.

Unfortunately responsibility for animal welfare is independently borne by each Australian State – there is no uniform Federal legislation. Hence we must separately petition each State Minister.

In Western Australia that is Ken Baston.

Therefore we the people of Western Australia call upon Ken Baston to pass legislation banning the sale of companion animals, specifically being dogs and cats, by pet shops or other retailers, and making it illegal for such shops or retailers to source their animals from anywhere other than registered breeders or registered rescue operations.

We also call upon such legislation to outright ban puppy mills and make it illegal for anyone but a registered breeder to export dogs to other countries.