Scenic Rim Puppy Farm
– David Margan Some months ago, Dogs Queensland, put in a submission to the Scenic Rim Council opposing a development application for a ‘designer dog puppy farm’. We have made inquiries as to the current status of the application and received the following from the Council’s planning department: “The applicant has provided additional supporting material in response to matters raised in the public submissions. This will be published to Council’s DAP Online portal shortly. The application remains currently under assessment, with no Council meeting date set at this stage.” The proposal received thousands of objections mostly focusing on issues of animal welfare and the potential negative effects on neighbouring properties. While the Council says the application is still under assessment, unfortunately, it appears that council officers will approve the development application. The core issue here is that they simply have no other choice as issues of animal welfare are not part of Queensland’s Planning Act 2016 legislation. Consequently, Council officers can’t consider animal welfare, nor the Queensland Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Breeding Dogs and their Progeny in deciding
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DOG WORLD August 2022
their assessment. The Council states: “these Guidelines primarily apply to the operation of the use and is thus a compliance matter, and not primarily a development assessment matter.” This is a serious and non-sensical omission from Queensland’s planning process whereby the welfare of the inmates of this puppy factory is not an issue to be considered. One also wonders what compliance inspections the Council is referring to as the Council doesn’t conduct any animal welfare checks. The Council officers claim that: “The applicant is therefore proposing a lawful use in a zone that is intended for the use. There is identified demand for the dog breeds that are proposed by the applicant, and thus the proposal represents an excellent opportunity for a viable rural activity to be established, which will strengthen the Scenic Rim economy.” So, money matters not animal welfare and they are simply prepared to accept the ‘word of the applicants in regard to welfare matters. “The applicant has shown through the wellconsidered kennel design and operational information provided in this application that they will be responsible operators who will take their duty of care to the breeding dogs very seriously.”
