HORSHAM Rural City Council has defended its inspection of an alleged puppy farm at Jung after dog welfare group Oscar’s Law found some of the ‘worst injuries and cases of neglect’ it had seen.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Relieving ranger Wayne Lane and an RSPCA inspector went to the property on Tuesday last week.
Mr Lane said concerned residents had alerted council to an alleged puppy farm.
But he said their claims were inconsistent with what he and the RSPCA inspector found at the property.
Mr Lane said the dogs had beds, and that aside from matted, long and muddy coats, they seemed healthy.
“It was nowhere near as bad as what people had been commenting,” he said.
Oscar’s Law founder Debra Tranter was involved with the Jung breeder about the same time.
She said the elderly woman surrendered two maltese cross shih tzus on July 5, which Ms Tranter claimed were in a horrific state.
She said she had held grave fears for one of the dogs.
She said vets had to put the dog under a general anaesthetic to remove testicular cancer.
Vets also had to desex the dog, remove all its rotted teeth and clip its coat.
“We weren’t sure it would survive the operation,” Ms Tranter said.
Ms Tranter said the dog was also suffering from arthritis, had burns from days it had spent walking and sitting in its own urine, and was blind.
She said the breeder surrendered 29 dogs between July 5 and Tuesday.
She said one of the extraction days was July 8, the day before council said it inspected the property.
On that occasion, Ms Tranter said she and a Melbourne Pet Ambulance vet nurse went to the property to retrieve four of the dogs.
Ms Tranter slammed Horsham Rural City Council for the way it managed the situation.
“This is a legal, registered puppy farm,” she said.
“Council has issued this lady a breeding permit, which was renewed and paid for every year in April.
“It’s a complete system failure.”
Ms Tranter said she could not understand how a council ranger and an RSPCA inspector had reported that the dogs were happy and healthy.
She called for every domestic animal business in the municipality to be inspected.
Horsham council planning and economic development director Tony Bawden defended Mr Lane’s actions.
“As was reported in the Mail-Times, the premises and the state of the animals’ food supplies were found to be in a reasonable condition,” he said.
He said council would have some detailed discussions with the breeder, because it was anxious that the situation did not recur.
The council would also schedule more regular inspections of its domestic animal businesses.