By Eugene Bingham, 60 Minutes producer
Trust me when I say that you should be glad 60 Minutes doesn’t have smell-o-vision. Put it this way: a pooper-scooper wouldn’t have been an out-of-place accessory when we went on the road to shoot our story “Making Oodles”.
We’d gone to Gisborne after a number of people told us the region had a concentration of breeders specialising in the popular poodle-cross dogs.
It sure did – and, boy, what a wide range of operations we found. Some were pristine: at one place the pampered puppies snoozed on electric blankets.
At others, the dogs were not so lucky.
When reporter Paula Penfold and I walked onto the first property we’d gone to, the sight, sound and smell was disturbing. We counted 58 dogs and puppies – although the owner of the property later told us that some of the dogs didn’t belong to her. You can see extended footage of what we found here (and her response).
There's also extended footage of the sight we filmed at another property where we saw a dog tied up to a tyre, apparently to help prevent it escaping.
When you’re filming a story you’ve been investigating for a while, it’s hard not to get caught up. It’s important to take a step back.
We spoke to Craig Dunn, co-founder of the Paw Justice animal abuse charity. For years he’d heard stories about New Zealand puppy mills - as these sorts of breeding operations are known - but he was outraged to hear us describe what we’d seen.
“This type of abuse and deception cannot be allowed to continue in New Zealand,” said Dunn.
“Paw Justice and our supporters are disgusted by puppy milling in New Zealand. We intend to fight for strict regulatory control.”
We also showed our footage to renowned animal behaviour expert Mark Vette. He had no hesitation in calling what we’d seen a puppy factory.
“This is a puppy factory, yep,” he told us. “And that’s where you’ve got to realise when you go to the pet shop that these are the guys who are supplying your average $1500 puppy.
“As to whether you should be factory farming dogs, I disagree completely because it doesn’t give the dogs a real need a dog should have.”
Vette pointed out to us, though, that as far as the property with 58 animals was concerned, it was probably within the law.
“They’re right on the brink, I'd say, as to what’s acceptable,” he said.
“The minimum standards are quite minimal unfortunately so people can get away with quite a lot, unfortunately.”
It’s probably not surprising if you’re not sure what the minimum standards are. It turns out that on the first day we were in Gisborne, MAF Biosecurity issued the new Animal Welfare Code for dogs.
It didn’t receive much fanfare – we haven’t seen it reported anywhere in the media.
Download a copy from the MAF website.
The code covers all dogs including pets, breeding and working dogs and sets out 21 minimum standards covering everything from food and water, containment and shelter, transportation and euthanasia.
Having seen the muddy conditions some of the dogs we saw were kept in, we were particularly interested in what the code had to say about kennel design:
“Dog-runs on the ground need to be well drained and kept clean of faeces and the area changed regularly to prevent a build-up of hookworms in the area.”
How legally enforceable is the code?
The ministry told us that the Animal Welfare Act requires all owners to provide food, water, shelter and companionship, as well as proper handling. The act itself doesn’t provide detail – that detail comes from the code.
If you breach a minimum standard set out in the code, it is not an offence – though it can be used as evidence against you if you are charged under the act.
So, according to animal experts like Mark Vette, the code provides bare minimums; and it turns out that the code itself is toothless.
Are we really doing as much as we can to look after companion animals like dogs? Is that a way to treat man’s best friend?
* Paula Penfold and I are continuing to investigate puppy farms so if you’ve got any information, photos or video, send it through to us – 60minutes@tv3.co.nz
Statement to 60 Minutes from the owner of the property where we counted 58 dogs and puppies:
Thank you for your email and invitation to respond/comment.
You will recall that on your first visit, you spoke to my house-sitter, who was minding my children and animals. I understand he explained I was away in Auckland and told you when I was due back, which is why you were here waiting for me on my return. This person is also a dog breeder and a number of the dogs here at the time belonged to him.
The 60 minutes crew arrived at a very inoportune time. Because a tap had been left on in one of the yards causing flooding, I had transfered dogs from this yard to other yards - hence more dogs per yard than usual.
Due to winter conditions and because of the recent torrential rain, yes, my pens were muddy.
I had been waiting for several weeks for a load of metal, which has since been delivered and this problem has now been addressed.
In a report fo the head Animal Control officer, GDC, He states I am a top of the line registered dog owner, in all matters pertaining to resonsible ownership.
My vet visited this property several weeks ago, to give all my dogs their annual vaccinations and health checks. He confrms my dogs were all in good health and had no concerns for their health and welfare.
I am happy to forward you both these reports
Since the 60 minutes visit and AT MY INVITATION, I have had my property and dog’s accomodation inspected by an animal welfare representitive and have been advised that my dog`s housing and conditions are adequate.
Watch the video of Paula Penfold visiting breeders. Warning: Some images may disturb