Tuesday, 2 June 2026

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (14:48): (2343) My constituency question is for the Minister for Agriculture. Residents in my electorate are furious about a proposed puppy farm application in Elphinstone. The facility plans to house 150 dogs and implement a mandatory caesarean birth policy. Many Victorians believe puppy farms have been outlawed, and they would be forgiven for thinking so. In my previous role as president of Oscar’s Law I worked closely with the Victorian Labor government and the minister at the time Jaala Pulford on the puppy farm reforms passed in 2017. Those laws were intended to end large-scale commercial dog breeding, but loopholes have allowed some operators, including breeders the reforms were designed to shut down, to slowly come back into business. The ministerial exemption process, which allows breeders to exceed the legislated dog cap, was intended to only be used in exceptional circumstances, but it is not. Will the minister reject this application and commit to strengthening Victoria’s puppy farm laws to close these loopholes and end these puppy farms for good?