When I was a teenager, visiting my grandparents in the Northern Cape, I came across a tiny ball of fur in a pet shop cage.

It wasn’t, as I initially thought, an oddly large hamster. The ball of fur was, in fact, a purebred miniature schnauzer puppy, hurting its tiny feet on the floor of the cage.

The schnauzer puppy went home with me, obviously. It was cruel to leave him there. We named him Frodo and he lived happily ever after.

Frodo was the last of the puppies from a puppy farm. I assume his brothers and sisters had also lived in that godawful cage, with no food, water or soft padding underfoot, before they were adopted.

With that story in mind, it’s safe to say that some pet shops in South Africa could learn a thing or two from Western Australia, where people will soon no longer be able to buy puppies from pet shop windows.

Here’s WAtoday:

Premier Mark McGowan on Sunday said the Dog Amendment (Stop Puppy Farming) Bill 2019 will be introduced in Parliament to end the breeding of dogs in poor conditions, prevent overbreeding and crack down on illegal breeders.

Mr McGowan said the new laws would mean dogs would be traced throughout their lives via a central registration system, allowing authorities to identify dodgy or illegal breeders and shut down their operations.

Under these new laws, it will be a criminal offence to engage in puppy farming across Western Australia.

“We’re going to outlaw this awful, terrible, shocking practice and make sure as best we can we protect the interests and welfare of dogs across our state,” he said.

The government isn’t stopping there. They’re also putting systems in place to help puppies that are already looking for new homes.

“We will also be providing assistance to pet shops to help them transition to dog and puppy adoption centres meaning they can rehome displaced and abandoned dogs.”

…RSPCA WA chairwoman Lynne Bradshaw welcomed the reform, which she said promised to deliver the most significant animal welfare improvement in WA since 2002.

Ms Bradshaw recalled recent cases of animal cruelty in which puppies were dumped in a shopping bag in bush near Collie, a box of 10 black and tan puppies with their umbilical cords still attached dumped near Narrogin Creek; and a litter of puppies dumped at a rubbish tip in Esperance.

According to Maylands MLA and Puppy Farming Working Group chair Lisa Baker, pet shops source thousands of puppies a year from illegal breeders and puppy farms.

This legislation will make our dogs and puppies safer, reduce the opportunity for illegal puppy farming and encourage better welfare for all dogs … it supports good breeding practices and responsible pet ownership,” she said.

I’m all for responsible pet ownership. Anyone who could hurt an animal, in any way, is a waste of space.

If you’re in South Africa, and in the market for a fur child, do the responsible thing and adopt a rescue pup.

A simple Google search will take you to the likes of TEARS, Paws of Cape Town, and Adopt a Pet, all of which are saving one fluffball at a time.

[source:watoday]