Bills

Dog and Cat Management (Breeder Reforms) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Minister for Workforce and Population Strategy) (15:48): Introduced a bill for an act to amend the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 and to make a related amendment to the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Minister for Workforce and Population Strategy) (15:49): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

One of this government's election commitments was to introduce legislation to eradicate puppy factories and prevent any such operations setting up here in South Australia. The commitment was to ensure that standards governing commercial breeding of companion animals in South Australia are at least as strict as any jurisdiction in the nation so there is no incentive for unscrupulous operators to move here to establish their cruel operations.

The Dog and Cat Management (Breeder Reforms) Amendment Bill 2024 addresses this issue. It introduces a new breeder licensing scheme that will require breeders to adhere to strict standards for breeding, adhere to limits on the number of female animals per breeding program and the number of litters that may be bred by the licence holder. Mandatory reporting for each litter will be introduced. This will outlaw large-scale inhumane puppy farms that increase the risk of animal cruelty and bring South Australia in line with Victoria, currently the strictest jurisdiction in the nation for breeding programs.

Applicants will have to apply for licences and will not receive licences if they have been convicted of relevant offences. Fines of up to $10,000 will apply for breeding animals without a licence or contravening a condition of a licence, as well as the ability to suspend and cancel breeder licences. The bill also increases fines and penalties for offences associated with dogs wandering at large, dog attacks and other safety offences. I recognise today in the gallery the presence of June Deane, the owner of Ruby, who was sadly and horrifically attacked by another dog earlier this year and subsequently passed away.

If a dog attacks a person or another animal, causing serious injury or death, the owner will face a maximum fine of $25,000 instead of the current $2,500 penalty. The fine would be up to $50,000 if the attacking dog was already the subject of a dangerous dog order, an increase from $10,000. All other fines and expiations for dog attacks will be increased under the changes.

The bill also includes amendments to change several definitions to clarify ambiguity and to add new definitions as required. It will reduce the number of Dog and Cat Management Board members from nine to seven and amend the publishing date for the annual report of the Dog and Cat Management Board to 31 October, which aligns with other reporting timeframes.

The bill will ensure the operation of the online registration system, Dogs and Cats Online, is accurately reflected within the legislation. Explicit provisions are also included to provide for sharing of information, including that held in Dogs and Cats Online, particularly where there is a risk of harm to animals.

The bill will change plans of management relating to dogs and cats to allow councils to incorporate their dog and cat management planning with other operational planning to simplify processes and improve clarity for the community.

The bill will introduce subclauses regarding a new 'wandering dog' order to manage dogs which continually escape. The new order will stipulate reasonable steps to be taken by the owner to prevent the dog escaping and to attend training where appropriate. It will remove the requirement for greyhounds, having retired from racing, to wear a muzzle, which is consistent with the approach in other states and will reduce barriers to greyhound adoption.

The bill will address other minor issues to ensure effective operation of the act. The changes further allow for the recognition of certain interstate orders, allowing the minister, on application, to recognise interstate dangerous dog orders or prohibition orders. This amendment aims to manage the risk identified in another jurisdiction without having to wait for an attack or incident to occur in South Australia.

I would say that this bill has been some time coming, with many people in the community having done a lot of good work in lobbying and asking for the changes that are represented in this bill. In some senses, it looks like there are two elements to the legislation, one being the addressing of the standards associated with breeding and the other dealing with the impacts and consequences of dog attacks. Another way of looking at it, though, is that it is about the more responsible ownership of dogs in South Australia.

We who have dogs and we who know dogs love them; they form part of our family. The only sad thing about having a dog is knowing that they are not likely to live as long as we are. There is something painful about having a dog come into the family knowing that it is likely that you will also have to farewell it.

When dogs are embraced into a family, it is so important that the people who purchase the dog from a breeder—if they are unable to have a dog from a sanctuary (a rescue animal)—and bring that dog home for the family, they need to be absolutely confident that that puppy has come from a mother who has been well treated. The idea of bringing a dog into a family but knowing that what sits behind that cute puppy is years and years of misery for the mother, being overbred, of not being walked, not exercised, not fed, not socialised, that is something that no family wants to do.

While there have been strides ahead in addressing some of the challenges with breeder standards, it is this legislation that will finally put beyond doubt that treating dogs badly, when having them be the suppliers of the puppies for families, is unacceptable in South Australia and will be addressed firmly and with clarity.

Once those dogs are in our family, we owe an obligation to our community that those dogs not become nuisances, and most particularly that those dogs not then attack other dogs, other pets, and people. I have heard so many heartbreaking stories of people who have lost their animals to a dog attack from an unruly, undisciplined, freely roaming dog. It happens too frequently on our beaches where people think that they have control over their animal and they only discover they do not when it is too late for someone else's pet.

I also hear about it happening outside a vet, in someone's backyard, walking along a street, where they have their own animal well under control, well managed, and they are savagely attacked by a dog that is out of control. We have an obligation to make sure that we do not cause that level of pain to another family and the dog that they own, or, indeed, as happens from time to time, an attack on a child or an adult in the public.

That is why these two elements belong together, because the consequences of having a cruel puppy farm ought to be severe, but so too ought to be the consequences of having a dog that, having been taken into a family, then attacks another. I pay tribute to the people in the gallery today who have chosen not to simply suffer in silence in their own grief but to raise their voices to say that the consequences are not good enough, and I hope that in some measure they can feel some satisfaction with the changes that we are making today.

There is a further element that needs to be addressed and that is the compliance undertaken by local government when something like that goes wrong. That is not for this bill, and I will not use too much of my second reading speech to refer to it, other than to acknowledge that it is also on my mind. I hear, too often, about people who have had their animal attacked by another, that they know which dog it is, they know who the family is that owns that dog, and yet there has not been adequate follow-up from councils. That is something that is very much on my mind that I wish to address.

As I say, in conclusion, dogs can be life-changing companions for people living alone and in families. They can encourage children to understand and love nature and other animals, other species that we share this planet with. They can be enormous sources of comfort and joy and reasons to get out and exercise. We cannot treat them cruelly in breeding dogs to live with people and we must not, once we have these animals, allow them to cause pain to others. I commend this bill to the house and I seek leave to insert in Hansardthe explanation of the clauses without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Dog and Cat Management Act 1995

3—Amendment of section 3—Objects

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 3 of the Act.

4—Amendment of section 4—Interpretation

This clause amends section 4 of the Act to define key terms used in the Act as amended by this measure.

5—Amendment of section 12—Composition of Board

This clause amends section 12 of the Act to reduce the number of Board members from 9 to 7, and adjusts the makeup of members accordingly.

6—Amendment of section 17—Proceedings

This clause amends section 17 of the Act to reduce the quorum of the Board consequent upon the reduction in the number of Board members.

7—Insertion of Part 2 Division 2A

This clause inserts new Part 2 Division 2A into the Act, with new section 20 inserted requiring the Board to establish and maintain a centralised dog and cat registration system, which may be in an electronic form.

8—Amendment of section 24—Annual report

This clause amends section 24 of the Act to change the date by which an annual report of the Board is to be provided to 31 October in each year.

9—Amendment of section 25—Dog and Cat Management Fund

This clause amends section 25 of the Act to enable moneys held in the Dog and Cat Management Fund to be applied towards facilities for detained cats.

10—Amendment of section 25D—General powers of authorised persons

This clause amends section 25D of the Act to require warrants to be issued by the Magistrates Court rather than justices.

11—Amendment of section 26—Council responsibility for management of dogs and cats

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 26 of the Act.

12—Substitution of section 26A

This clause substitutes section 26A of the Act, and continues to require councils to prepare plans of management for dogs and cats in their areas, but simplifies the process for the councils to do so.

13—Amendment of section 31—Offence to hinder etc authorised person

This clause amends section 31 of the Act, with the offence currently created by subsection (2) being shifted to be included within the scope of section 20AA of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935.

14—Amendment of section 34—Registration procedure for individual dogs

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 34 of the Act.

15—Repeal of section 35

This clause repeals section 35 of the Act.

16—Amendment of section 37—Notifications to ensure accuracy of registers

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 37 of the Act.

17—Repeal of section 38

This clause repeals section 38 of the Act.

18—Amendment of section 42E—Certain dogs and cats to be desexed

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 42E of the Act.

19—Amendment of section 43—Dogs not to be allowed to wander at large

This clause amends section 43 of the Act to increase penalties for offences under the section.

20—Amendment of section 44—Dogs not to be allowed to attack etc

This clause amends section 44 of the Act to increase penalties for offences under the section.

21—Amendment of section 45A—Miscellaneous duties relating to dogs

This clause amends section 45A of the Act to increase penalties for offences under the section, and creates an offence where owners of dogs that defecate in a private place fail to deal with the faeces.

22—Amendment of section 45B—Dogs of prescribed breed

This clause amends section 45B of the Act to increase penalties for offences under the section.

23—Amendment of section 45C—Greyhounds

This clause amends section 45C of the Act to remove the requirement for non-racing greyhounds to be muzzled in public.

24—Amendment of section 45D—Attack trained dogs, guard dogs and patrol dogs

This clause amends section 45D of the Act to increase penalties for offences under the section.

25—Amendment of section 50—Destruction and control orders

This clause amends section 50 of the Act to add to the orders that may be made under the section an order relating to dogs that are persistently wandering at large, or are the subject of such an order under a corresponding law.

26—Amendment of section 51—Grounds on which orders may be made

This clause amends section 51 of the Act to set out the grounds on which a Control (Wandering Dog) Order may be made.

27—Amendment of section 55—Contravention of order

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 55 of the Act.

28—Amendment of section 56—Notification to council

This clause amends section 56 of the Act to increase penalties for offences under the section.

29—Amendment of section 57—Notification of order to proposed new owner of dog

This clause amends section 57 of the Act to increase penalties for offences under the section.

30—Amendment of section 59B—Contravention of Prohibition Order

This clause amends section 59B of the Act to increase penalties for offences under the section.

31—Insertion of Part 5 Division 4

This clause inserts new Part 5 Division 4 into the Act as follows:

Division 4—Recognition of interstate orders

59C—Recognition of certain interstate orders

This section allows the Minister to recognise and register certain interstate orders corresponding to orders under the Act, and makes procedural provision for doing so. The section creates an offence for a person who is the subject of a such an order to contravene the order.

32—Amendment of section 60—Power to seize and detain dogs

This clause amends section 60 of the Act to add 2 additional grounds under which a dog may be seized and detained.

33—Amendment of section 61—Procedure following seizure of dog

This clause amends section 61 of the Act to modify the way in which notices of the seizure of a dog are required to be displayed or published.

34—Amendment of section 62—Destruction or disposal of seized dog

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 62 of the Act reflecting the change in terminology from registered veterinary surgeon to veterinarian.

35—Amendment of section 63—Power to destroy cats

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 63 of the Act reflecting the change in terminology from registered veterinary surgeon to veterinarian.

36—Amendment of section 64—Power to seize and detain cats

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 64 of the Act reflecting the change in terminology from registered veterinary surgeon to veterinarian.

37—Amendment of section 64D—Notification to owner of dog or cat destroyed etc under Part

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 64D of the Act reflecting the change in terminology from registered veterinary surgeon to veterinarian.

38—Substitution of Part 7

This clause substitutes a new Part 7 of the Act as follows:

Part 7—Breeder's licences

Division 1—Preliminary

68—Meaning of to breed and bred

This section defines these key terms.

69—Board may publish or adopt standards and guidelines

This section enables the Board to publish guidelines for the purposes of the proposed Part.

Division 2—Licensing of breeders of dogs and cats

70—Offence to breed dogs or cats unless licensed

This section creates an offence for a person to breed a dog or cat unless licensed to do so under the Part.

71—Application for licence

This section sets out how an application for a breeder's licence is to be made, and sets out circumstances in which a licence must not be granted to an applicant.

71A—Terms and conditions of licence

This section sets out the conditions that must be imposed on a breeder's licence, and allows for other conditions to be imposed. The section creates an offence for a licence holder to contravene a condition.

71B—Reporting obligations

This section obliges a licence holder to report to the Board in the event of specified events occurring.

71C—Renewal of breeder's licence

This section provides for the renewal of breeder's licences.

71D—Suspension or cancellation of breeder's licence

This section enables the Board to suspend or cancel a breeder's licence in the circumstances specified by the section.

71E—Dealing with dogs and cats where breeder's licence suspended or cancelled

This section makes provision that requires any dog or cat owned by the holder of a breeder's licence that is suspended or cancelled must be dealt with in accordance with the scheme set out in the regulations.

71F—Register of licensed breeders

This section requires the Board keep and maintain a register containing the information specified in subsection (2) for the purposes of the proposed Part.

Part 7AA—Sale of dogs and cats

Division 1—Sale etc of dogs and cats

71G—Offence to sell etc dogs of prescribed breed

This section prohibits the sale or giving away, and advertising for sale or giving away, of dogs of a prescribed breed. However, the section does not prevent the surrender of such dogs to certain specified person and bodies.

71H—Offences relating to sale of certain dogs and cats

This section prohibits the sale of certain dogs or cats that are not microchipped or desexed in accordance with the regulations.

71I—Certain information to be given to buyers

This section requires the vendor of a dog or cat to give the new owner the information set out in subsection (1), and similarly requires advertisements relating to the sale of dogs and cats to contain the information set out in subsection (2).

39—Amendment of section 72—Review of certain decisions by South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 72 of the Act.

40—Insertion of section 73

This clause inserts new section 73 into the Act, allowing the persons and bodies specified in the section to exchange certain information with each other.

41—Amendment of section 83—No liability for action taken under Act

This clause amends section 83 of the Act to clarify the extent to which liability is limited in relation to certain actions taken under Part 5A of the Act.

42—Insertion of sections 84 and 84A

This clause inserts new sections 84 and 84A into the Act, which make provision in relation to the liability of directors for offences committed by bodies corporate, and imputing certain states of mind and conduct to bodies corporate.

43—Amendment of section 86—General defences

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 86 of the Act following the insertion of new sections 84 and 84A.

44—Repeal of section 87

This clause repeals section 87 of the Act.

45—Substitution of section 88

This clause substitutes a new section 88 of the Act, updated to reflect the changes made by this measure.

46—Substitution of section 89

This clause substitutes section 89 of the Act, and sets out how penalties paid for offences against the Act are to be dealt with.

47—Substitution of section 90A

This clause inserts a new section 90A into the Act, requiring a review of the operation of the Act (as amended by this measure) to be conducted within 6 months after the third anniversary of the commencement of the new section.

48—Amendment of section 91—Regulations

This clause amends section 91 of the Act to allow regulations to make transition and savings provisions, and for fee notices to be made under the Legislation (Fees) Act 2019.

Schedule 1—Related amendments and transitional etc provisions

Part 1—Amendment of Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935

1—Amendment of section 20AA—Causing harm to, or assaulting, certain emergency workers etc

This clause amends section 20AA(9) of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 to include authorised persons under the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995, or a person assisting an authorised person in the exercise of powers under that Act, in the definition of prescribed emergency worker under that section.

Part 2—Transitional etc provisions

2—Composition of Board

This clause vacates each member's office (and any deputy) on commencement of the clause and modifies the provisions by which a new Board is appointed to reflect the reduction in member numbers under this measure.

3—Transitional arrangements for registered breeders

This clause sets out transitional arrangements for those breeders currently registered under the Act as they transition to the new licencing scheme enacted by this measure.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Batty.