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Secret raid on Beremboke puppy farm

25 Feb, 2010 01:28 PM
MORE than 40 puppies were found housed in squalid living conditions at a Moorabool puppy farm during a secret raid this week, according to animal activists.

Animal Liberation Victoria secretly visited the Beremboke puppy farm near Anakie on Monday night and said they were shocked at the horrific conditions.

Campaign manager Debra Tranter said it was a horrible night, with puppies found in cages and chained to cars surround by their own faeces and rotting meat.

She said there were also countless pig and piglets roaming the property, which she described as a huge derelict junk yard.

''The dogs have no access to water ... there were no food bowls, we filmed rotten meat thrown on the ground,'' she said.

''They were living in really unhygienic conditions.''

Last week the Moorabool Shire Council denied Melinda and Les Paxton a permit allowing them to run the puppy farm, after claims they had as many as 59 dogs on their property at one time.

Neighbouring property owners complained about dogs escaping, excess ive noise and people shooting kangaroos to feed the dogs.

Mr Tranter said it has since been revealed council officers visited the site in September last year and witnessed the shocking conditions but did nothing about it.

''The most upsetting thing out of the whole property was that all the authorities, both the RSPCA and council, have known about this for eight years and done nothing,'' she said.

''After they photographed dead dogs chained to trees last September they should have acted then, charged the man and seized the surviving dogs.''

The Moorabool Shire is seeking an enforcement order from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to clean up the conditions on the site.

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Date: Newest first | Oldest first
To know about this for eight years and do nothing is disgusting. Shame on those who knew and did nothing.
Posted by el, 25/02/2010 1:55:08 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
How can government departments allow this to continue, yet you get fined for overstaying a parking space? The world has gone mad.
Posted by disgraceful, 25/02/2010 2:06:38 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
This is why I do not trust donating money to the RSPCA. Appalling that nothing was done at council and RSPCA level. This story highlights conditions such as these are factual and more common than people would like to admit. Shame on the Moorabool Shire Council!
Posted by Twitter @Solotica, 25/02/2010 4:32:56 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
If this makes you mad then do something, Lobby, write to the State Government. The shelters and pounds are full of neglected dogs bought on impulse at petshops - provided by these puppy farms, it's an appalling indictment on our society, these animals are innocent victims of selfish and cruel humans. Write, advocate, scream, cry, just don't ignore this.
Posted by Alison Telford, 25/02/2010 4:38:23 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
What will it take for the State Government to realise that puppy is inhumane and socially unacceptable? When is the ball handling going to stop between the DPI, RSPCA and local shires every time serious animal welfare issues are addressed to them? When are government authorities willing to make a stand for all the animals used as prisoners for profit and introduce legislation, banning the sale of pets in stores and abolish kitten and puppy mills completely? How can a RSPCA spokesman say: “inspectors had found no breaches of the Prevention of Cruelty Act,” when Animal Liberationists were willing to bring forth to the public that filthy, evil extremities of many puppy farms such as Beremboke do exist? Also, if according to the Moorabool Council report, investigators found dogs tethered without shelter, lacking in sufficient food and clean drinking water, deprived of human contact and raw meat left to rot. Is this not considered also a violation of the Prevention of Cruelty Act? The community need to know that puppy farming must not be tolerated and NEVER purchase a pet over the Internet or from pet shops.
Posted by Julie-Anne, 25/02/2010 5:38:18 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
If you are reading this and you are frustrated make sure you tell all of your family and friends to never again buy pets from a pet shop or the internet. This is the least we can do to try to shut these puppy farms down. Coming from these sort of environments they are not even healthy.
Posted by Rachael, 25/02/2010 6:57:46 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
One thing to take into account is that the RSPCA's endorsement can be bought for a suitable donation. I don't suggest that this is the case here, but it has been reported on before (concerning the RSPCA logo on egg cartons). Also, the RSPCA has done nothing to improve animal welfare in intensive farming. For these reasons, I don't put too much faith in the RSPCA.
Posted by Kevin, 25/02/2010 9:01:33 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
What will it take for the State Government to realise that puppy farming is inhumane and socially unacceptable? When is the ball handling going to stop between the DPI, RSPCA and local shires every time serious animal welfare issues are addressed to them? When are government authorities willing to make a stand for all the animals used as breeding machines and introduce legislation, banning the sale of pets in stores and abolish kitten and puppy mills completely? How can a RSPCA spokesman say: “inspectors had found no breaches of the Prevention of Cruelty Act,” when Animal Liberationists were willing to bring forth to the public that filthy, evil extremities of many puppy farms such as Beremboke do exist? Also, if according to the Moorabool Council report, investigators found dogs tethered without shelter, lacking in sufficient food and clean drinking water, deprived of human contact and raw meat left to rot, is this not considered also a violation of the Prevention of Cruelty Act? The community need to know that puppy farming must not be tolerated and NEVER purchase a pet over the Internet or from pet shops.
Posted by Julie-Anne, 25/02/2010 10:25:33 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
This breeder obviously doesn't take what they do seriously enough to be granted a permit and by the sounds of things have never invested back into their kennels to improve their facility. Breeders like these are being shut down one by one and eventually breeders will be forced to run their kennels in a professional manner which is a good thing. If the dogs are healthy and well cared for it shouldn't matter what the size of the kennel is. Breeders large and small should be encouraged to do that right thing and if they do they can be assured by council that they have a future i.e. their permit won’t be suddenly taken away from them. This will give breeders the confidence to make the initial investment in their facility and then continue to upgrade and improve. Nobody wants to invest large sums of money into anything that may not have a future. It’s only registered breeders (with council not just the Canine Associations) who can be regulated to make sure they are doing the right thing.
Posted by Lumley, 27/02/2010 9:42:48 AM, on The Ballarat Courier
This is a horrible case of animal neglect, anyone can see that. But organisations such as Animal Liberation are taking advantage of this case and using it to mislead the public into believing that every large breeder runs their kennels that same way which is simply not true. Dog breeders need to be regulated and they only way to do that is to only allow registered breeders who are registered as a business and have regular inspections by councils to breed dogs. Professional breeders who can design and develop a kennel with a good management plan should be supported. Australians love their dogs and like it or not there is a large demand for them here. Small backyarders and most do not have the facilities to properly look after more that two or three dogs. If the professional larger breeders are not supported there will be a shortage of puppies available making them much more expensive. This will only make it more viable for puppies being imported from Asian countries where there are no regulations at all for dog breeders. We shouldn’t look at a few horrible breeders such as these ones who I believe are in fact Victorian Canine Association members and punish the good breeders.
Posted by Lumley, 27/02/2010 10:23:36 AM, on The Ballarat Courier

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A pug sits in a small cage at the Beremboke puppy farm. Picture: Animal Liberation Victoria
A pug sits in a small cage at the Beremboke puppy farm. Picture: Animal Liberation Victoria
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