Canine Breeders

Canine Breeders of Ireland to Voice Concerns on New Dog Breeding Bill at Oireachtas Committee Meeting


29 March 2010

The possible consequences on the dog breeding industry of the new Dog Breeding Establishment Bill 2009 will be outlined by the Canine Breeders of Ireland at tomorrow’s (30th) meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

The meeting will take place 1pm in Committee Room 4 of Leinster House.

The Bill aims to provide safeguards for dogs in breeding establishments and give assurances to customers that pups and their mothers are well treated in these facilities. Under the Bill, each local authority will be required to have a register of dog breeding facilities and will require operators to register and pay an annual fee.

There had been some concerns that Ireland had become the “puppy farm capital of Europe” due to lack of regulation.

Canine Breeders of Ireland have over six hundred members, made up of mainly commercial dog breeding establishments. While the Canine Breeders accept the need for good practice in this area the organisation has expressed strong reservations regarding some aspects of the new bill.

Committee Chairman, Se n Fleming TD said;
This bill has been introduced to ensure that adequate legislation exists in the area of breeding and puppy farms. However, some groups including the Canine Breeders of Ireland have claimed that bill will burden them with additional costs and will cause welfare problems for some dogs.

Tomorrow’s meeting will give an open forum to those who represent many dog breeders to articulate their problems with the bill and how they feel it needs to be altered.”