Consumer Rights
By regulating the pet industry, the Animals Bill, will empower the consumer. People will be free to adopt a pet with the security of knowing they have not been deceived or will encounter otherwise avoidable problems. The bill will also ensure that the animals are sourced ethically and not from a backyard breeders or puppy farms.
As an unregulated body, the pet industry has been given no incentive to respect the rights of the consumer. This has led to the inappropriate sale of animals to people who are unprepared, uninformed and often lied to (either overtly or by omission). There are innumerable instances of:
- animals being sold sick
- infant animals growing up to not fit the breed standard described by the shop
- animals being sold to minors
- animals sold on ‘payment plans’ to people who cannot afford them
- people not being given care information
- people feeling pressured into adopting an animal they cannot care for
- people being ’set up’ to feel an emotional response, or ’sorry’ for the animal so they purchase it without consideration to its long term care
The Department of Fair Trading receives hundreds of complaints annually from consumers who have been knowingly sold sick animals and have incurred large vet bills. The fact is, pet shops cut corners at every step of the way to maximise their profits, and as a result, the animals and customers suffer.
One such incident reported to the Department of Fair Trading, involved an underage sick kitten being sold to a family:
‘When buying some treats for our dog, I saw a kitten sitting by herself in the corner of the cage looking very unwell. She had sore eyes and a runny nose and we could see her bones beneath her fur. She looked terrible. My eldest child was particularly distressed, so we enquired about her. The pet shop employee was adamant that the kitten was not sick, just tired. I asked if I could hold the kitten and found that she was also dehydrated and had a wormy belly. Reluctantly, but fearing for the kitten’s future, we purchased her.
I was shocked to see that she had not been microchipped or vaccinated but was still expected to pay the full price. Looking at her again, the shop employee told me that I ‘probably’ should go past a vet which I did straight away. The kitten was diagnosed with a respiratory infection, and was placed on a drip. The vet bill was in excess of $500.00. As we were not able to keep her, we rehomed her later to a friend. My family will never shop at a pet store again.’
This story is not uncommon, and is corroborated by ex-pet shop employees, many of whom on a daily basis witnessed animal cruelty and neglect simply to increase their shop’s profit margin.
The Animals Bill will protect consumer rights by:
- restricting who can carry on the business of selling cats or dogs, or breeding cats or dogs for sale
- regulating the advertising of the sale of cats and dogs
- requiring any person who offers a cat or dog for sale to inform prospective purchasers of the basic care requirements of the animal
