Dog Breeding Act: Part 1 Licensing of Breeders and Registration of Dogs

I have decided to call my proposal the Dog Breeding Act. I do not for one minute believe any species-specific legislation would ever be passed to cover breeding of domestic animals other than in an outright ban (Dangerous Dogs Act), so please humour me.

Dog Breeding Act
Part 1
Licensing of Breeders

The current process for licensing breeders is aimed squarely at the legitimate breeder*. Unfortunately the scope is far too weak. First off, it is generally used to describe breeders whose bitches produce a total of five or more litters a year. Many legitimate breeders do not fall into this category, and the hobby breeder is almost totally excluded (as was the intention of the misguided Breeding of Dogs Act 1973, amended in the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999.

* I use this term to mean those breeders who currently breed dogs, in limited controlled numbers, who would accept an unwanted pup back in order to rehome it, and who are interested in the mental and physical welfare of the dog as opposed to the appearance-orientated requirements of the KC. These breeders would not abandon their bitches once they have passed their reproductive age, nor would they destroy puppies who did not fit the appearance stereotypes that some in the dog world insist on.

There are many good points in the current legislation. For example:

• Bitches are not to be mated until they are at least 12 months old.
• No bitch is permitted to have more than 6 litters in total.
• Bitches must not give birth to puppies within 12 months of producing a previous litter.
• All first time licences must involve the inspection of the premises by a vet and ourselves.
• Subsequent inspections may be by ourselves alone though we may call a vet if we feel the need to.
• A licensed breeder must not sell a dog to a member of the public if he/she believes that person will then sell the dog on to another individual.
• Dogs must not be sold under 8 weeks of age other than to a licensed pet shop.**

** this is plainly ridiculous, NO dog should be sold in a pet shop.

I believe that most legitimate breeders adhere to the above principles.

Therefore the scope of the existing Act needs to be expanded to include any and all dog breeder, even if it is a hobby breeder, accidental, or a one-off. Every single pregnant bitch must be Registered through their owner and the above criteria met (and expanded on).

The cost of the license varies widely from area to area, I have seen as low as £95 and as much as £270. These fees are however inadequate because they fail to take into account the number of dogs produced. I would introduce fees based on breeding bitches and dogs (those dogs that have not been neutered), and the number of puppies produced.

A basic annual registration fee of £100 for the License
£50 for each unneutered bitch ***
£25 for each male ***
£25 for each puppy born in the previous tax year. ***

*** this is the Registered nature of the dogs

Using the above example, a breeder with two bitches (assuming they use stud dogs) that each had a little with a total of 10 puppies produced in 2009/10 would pay £450 in 2010/11. If during 2010/11 they gave their bitches a rest, and no puppies were produced the license would fall in 2011/12 to £200 or they could simply allow their license to expire and not pay anything in 2011/12. The license would need to be tight to avoid people getting their bitches pregnant in one tax year, but only registering them in the tax year the puppies are born.

In addition to the criteria mentioned above the following should be added or amended:

• breeders are legally responsible for vetting prospective owners and keeping detailed contact information of those they sell their puppies too
• breeders are under obligation to accept a puppy back from the new owner if within four weeks the new owner wishes to surrender their dog (no refund necessary)
• all puppies produced must be microchipped by a veterinary practitioner
• veterinary professionals are legally required to add pregnant bitches and puppies to the database (mentioned below).
• a free public database will set up linking the breeder, the dogs, their puppies, the microchip numbers and the new owners.
• new owners will be traced via the microchips if their dogs are found, and will be charged any incarceration rates applicable, and should they decide to refuse to accept their dog back shall be liable for all kennel and related expenses up to that point, with an additional fixed penalty. Such payments being made to the authorities are then paid either to the local authority or charitable body caring for the animal. Such persons would also be liable to an immediate ban on buying animals (their details stored on the database).

A difference needs to be made between Licensed Breeder and Registered Dogs. The breeder must be licensed, paying the above fees. The breeder must all ensure their dogs are Registered, this encompasses all their adult dogs, whether owned for pleasure, business or hobby breeding or not AND all the puppies produced and available for sale or rehoming. Failure to comply with any of these measures would face a financial penalty, and possible cancelation of their license.

Now the biggest concern of this is non-compliance, but Part 2 of the Dog Breeding Act deals with this by ensuring that only registered licensed breeders can advertise the sale of dogs (other than dog rescues/charities) in ANY medium.