The province of Ontario has introduced the PUPS Act in Dec 2023 to curb puppy mills. Below are the changes that are being made to the PAWS Act by introducing the PUPS Act.

• Breeding a female dog more than three times in a two-year period, or breeding more than two litters from a female dog’s consecutive heat cycles
• Breeding a female dog that is less than a year old
• Failing to keep a dog with a contagious disease away from other dogs or animals
• Failing to ensure a dog’s environment is sanitary and free from accumulation of waste
• Separating a puppy from its mother before the age of eight weeks

These changes are a great start but is it enough? The main question is how will this new legislation be imposed when the puppy mils are not even registered with the province. Identifying and locating puppy mills is still a problem.

This is the very reason AMHA has proposed a change in the pet licensing program itself.  

• To control impulsive buying of pets, a pet license must be made mandatory before picking up the pet. The application process for the license will help the person to pause and carefully weigh their decision to own a pet.
• The pet license process should include a checklist for the prospective owner to help them decide if they are ready to take responsibility of a pet. AMHA has created a checklist to help the prospective owner research information and make an informed decision.
• Pet breeder should be responsible to check for the presence of pet license and maintain a record of license proof before handing over the pet to the client.
• Breeding permit should be made mandatory for any person selling pets for profit. The permit should not be just required for large breeders, but should cover any person breeding pets with an aim to sell the pet babies, despite the number of animals in their premises.
• Basic certifications should be made mandatory for any breeder running a business. Certifications may be based on knowledge and/or experience of the breeder.
• Breeder facility should require certification of compliance to regulations and also subject to surprise inspections.

Please support us by signing our petition and help us make more meaningful changes for the betterment of pets.

https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1003929/ontario-cracking-down-on-puppy-mills