But one, it appears, that should have been made much sooner.

Moorabool Shire Council lodged an application with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to remove the dogs and demolish the kennels at the Marshalls Rd farm late last month - five months after council officers

inspected the property and found it "did not reflect a good quality of life for the dogs".

The move followed a retrospective application by Leslie Paxton and Melinda Pryor to keep 30 dogs on the puppy farm and a secret raid by Animal Liberation Victoria.

During the emergency hearing on Friday, VCAT member Dalia Cook issued an interim enforcement order demanding the couple remove all but five dogs from their property by tomorrow.

In doing so, she warned the couple of the seriousness of breaching the order.

"This order can be enforced as if ordered by the Supreme Court. It can be prosecuted like contempt. If there is no compliance there is the prospect of imprisonment amongst other penalties," she said.

The fate of the kennels will be discussed at a second VCAT hearing next week.

Animal cruelty in any way is completely unacceptable in today's society.

Ms Cook's order recognises this.

In a report to council, officers said it was clear during their inspection in September that the dogs' health and welfare were not checked daily and vets were not called to treat injured or sick dogs or vaccinate them against disease.

This alone should have prompted council to take action before last month.

Council rangers are expected to inspect the property again tomorrow to ensure the couple has complied with Ms Cook's order.

It is to be hoped that they act swiftly if they find the pair has not.

It is also hoped that the whole saga acts as a reminder to those who take on the responsibility of having a pet or running an animal-based business that all animals must be adequately cared for, and that neglect will not be tolerated.