Early this year, ALV’s Openresue team investigated a puppy farm called ‘KKK’ in the Gippsland region.

A rescue member took video footage of the truly shocking conditions which puppy campaigner Debra Tranter subsequently gave to police - resulting in the dogs being removed from the property.

Inside one shed on the property were found dogs
confined in wire cages raised above the floor. Mothers and their pups were forced to sit in small plastic “baskets” to avoid the sharp wire flooring of the cages. In a Statutory Declaration that was given to the police an ALV team member described what he witnessed:

“...It was a long narrow shed surrounded by dogs in outdoor runs. Inside the shed were two rows of cages, each one down the length of the shed on either side. There were around 8 to 10 cages in total.The shed was dimly lit by red lamps hanging in some of the cages. I could see dogs inside the small cages. The floor space of each cage would have been about 4x4 ft. The flooring was made of wire mesh. All of the cages were raised on legs above the concrete floor. There was a space of approximately 1.5 ft. underneath the wire floor. Each cage held a number of puppies with their mother. Only one cage had a dog by herself and she was probably pregnant.

The conditions for the dogs inside these cages were horrific. Some of the dogs only had a small cut out basket to escape the wire flooring. This was distressing to witness. The mothers with their pups were crammed into these “baskets” while the pups fed. A couple of cages had ripped up newspaper on the wire floor; however one dog had nothing to protect her from the wire at all. This would have been very painful to sleep and stand on. All of the dogs were clearly distressed and depressed. The conditions I witnessed were extremely cruel.”

This is the first investigated case of a puppy farm using raised cages within Australia and we need to make sure it is the last.

You Can Help! Never buy animals from pet shops or
online (as in the Trading Post) as this keeps puppy farmers in business. Save lives instead - adopt one of the countless dogs inside shelters and pounds waiting in hope for a loving home.

Story from the Sunday Herald Sun



Images taken from video of the ALV investigation