'Hobby breeders' may face tighter puppy-sale laws

Dog owners who decide to breed their pets and sell the puppies to shops have been warned that they will no longer fall outside animal trading laws under a new government proposal.

More than 70 per cent of animals sold at pet shops came from hobby breeders, said Carmen Chan Wai-man, executive officer of Happy Animals. Another 4 per cent are imported and 22 per cent are bought from licensed breeders.

'By introducing a licensing system, the government can step up its monitoring of he animals' living and health conditions,' she said.

Too many commercial breeders disguise themselves as 'hobby' breeders to escape regulations, and it should be stopped, she said.

Animal welfare groups were told in a meeting with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department that so-called 'hobby breeders' - as opposed to recognised animal-breeding businesses - would no longer escape government scrutiny.

Under existing laws, animal traders, including breeding facilities and pet shops, must hold an animal trader licence issued by the department and observe the licensing conditions. In contrast, hobby breeders can sell puppies to pet shops as long as they obtain a certificate signed by a vet, proving they are not breeding animals as part of a business enterprise. How they take care of the mother dogs is not subjected to control.