THE owners of the 66 animals removed from a Gingin property last week can apply to have some of the animals returned at a later date, according to the RSPCA WA.
Yanchep News Online understands six animals, which are being held by the Shire of Gingin can be returned.
The animal owners had failed to comply with dog and cat ownership by-laws prohibit residents in the Shire of Gingin from keeping more than two dogs at a residence without prior council approval so they were ordered to surrender all but four of the animals into the care of RSPCA WA to be rehomed.
An RSPCA WA statement said 46 dogs and puppies and 20 cats and kittens had been removed from the Gingin property.
The statement said the property appeared to be a large-scale breeding operation for designer pets – including French bulldogs, chihuahuas, maltese, shih tzu as well as sphynx and munchkin cats.
RSPCA WA was alerted to the property by a member of the public whose suspicions were raised when they sighted several dogs and one deceased dog near the semi-rural residence.
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) is developing options to address the McGowan Government’s key election commitment to stop puppy farming and the number of unwanted dogs in Western Australia.
The department’s website, which was last updated in November last year, said consultation with stakeholders to develop the options was underway and would inform a consultation paper to be released in 2018.
Key actions proposed in the stop puppy farming election commitment included a centralised dog registration system, compulsory dog sterilisation and pet shops being transitioned to adoption centres.
Dog breeders, pet shops, veterinarians, local governments, dog owners, and members of the community will be invited to actively participate when the consultation paper is released.
The RSPCA WA statement said it was part of the working group consulting with the DLGSC to develop a framework for dog breeding legislation.
For more information visit https://www.dlgc.wa.gov.au
