Breeding

ACAN advocates for responsible breeding practices to reduce the number of unwanted and unhealthy pets and also to prevent their unnecessary killing.

We are opposed to industrial scale, indiscriminate and uncontrolled breeding.

We are opposed to any neglect and cruelty towards breeding animals and their litters.

We advocate for a nationally consistent breeder permit system so that all cats and dogs are bred responsibly and have responsible carers for life.

Companion animal breeding is not sufficiently regulated. Therefore, it is often difficult to trace the origins of an animal to address irresponsible homing and breeding practices, as well as inhumane conditions.  A national breeder permit system will provide benefits to pets and their owners, responsible breeders, sellers, veterinarians and communities.

At minimum, the following standards should be applied across Australia:

• Anyone who breeds companion animals must have a permit;
• Breeders must pay for their permit;
• On application for a permit, an independent government inspection must be conducted;
• Inspections must be based on agreed regulated standards supported by detailed explanatory guidelines;
• All kittens should be desexed before sale or transfer unless the purchaser has a breeder permit;
• Subsidised desexing programs should be established for financially disadvantaged owners of companion animals;
• All breeder permit numbers must be publicly available;
• All breeding females and their litters must be microchipped and the breeder name, place of breeding, breeding parent microchip number recorded on government authorised microchip databases; and
• All state governments must work towards national consistency in the above regulation.