BASC alert to gundog owners in Wales

14 September 2011

BASC's proposal

BASC seeks an exemption for owners of genuine working dogs to produce up to four litters per owner per year (not per bitch) before they are required to register.

It is important to note that the Welsh Assembly proposals do not refer to calendar years but to any 12-month period, so if an unlicensed breeder produced a litter in August he or she could not allow another litter until the following August.

A limit of four litters per year strikes us as a sensible limit. We feel it would enable owners of working dogs to continue to maintain their lines and yet still help to discourage puppy farming.

How can I help?

Having made our case and continuing to do so by representation, BASC now needs to be able to demonstrate to the Welsh Assembly Government that Welsh owners of working gundogs, terriers etc would be restricted unnecessarily by the licensing proposals.

If you feel that you might be affected please email Glynn Evans before Friday 30th September, giving an outline of how the proposals would impact on you and your dogs and giving us permission to use this to support our submission to the Assembly.  Glynn is BASC’s head of game and gamekeeping and chairman of BASC’s gundog working group and is supporting Glynn Cook and Meurig Rees at BASC Wales on this topic.

We would also welcome observations and comments from gundog owners outside Wales to share their views on this topic via BASC’s Have Your Say webpage.

Find out more

Currently the Welsh Assembly is looking at amending the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973 under its devolved powers. BASC fully supports the strengthening of animal welfare legislation and welcomes measures to prevent bad practices associated with puppy farming. However, BASC believes that some of the proposals could seriously impact on the owners and breeders of working dogs.
 
The proposals, among other things, would make it necessary to be licensed if you own three or more breeding bitches and any one of the following criteria applies to you:

1. breed two or more litters of puppies in any 12 month period.
2. advertise 10 or more puppies for sale in any 12 month period.
3. supply 10 or more puppies to any person in any 12 month period.
4. advertise a business of breeding or selling puppies.
5. occupy premises which hold a planning consent authorising dog breeding.
6. keep three or more breeding bitches in kennel accommodation which an inspector reasonably believes is consistent with commercial dog breeding without the authority of a licence granted under these regulations.

For the purpose of the above critertia a breeding bitch is defined as any un-neutered bitch over six months, with no upper age limit.

The proposals stem from a consultation that took place from 22nd October 2010 to 13th January 2011. Draft regulations were published and comments invited on their content.  If they take effect this year these regulations will be called the Animal Welfare (Breeding of Dogs) (Wales) Regulations 2011. BASC’s submission can be found on page 441 of a document that contains all responses received during the consultation.

Click here to view all the responses to the consultation

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