Pet industry to push back on puppy farms?
Encouraging news from the pet shop industry which has made moves to shut out horrifying puppy farms (or ‘mills’ as they are also known) in a bid to win back the trust of the buying public. The farms are used to stock the demanding industry of pet shops across the country and are known to involve hundreds of female dogs and male dogs kept in a constant cycle of breeding and birthing with few staff to care for the animals and little to no money spent on veterinary bills as some of the puppies are just used to replace ill or dead breeders.
Amid growing concern from an increasingly aware public, the Pet Industry Association of Australia (PIAA) said it will only sell puppies from accredited breeders and guarantee to re-home any lost, abandoned or surrendered dogs. In NSW the association will pay the RSPCA to re-home dumped or lost dogs originally sold through its shops. But chief executive Roger Perkins said the PIAA would absorb the cost and there was no need for individual retailers to mark up the price of new puppies. It is also working with the Australian Association of Pet Dog Breeders (AAPDB) on the accreditation program that will introduce an annual audit of PIAA-approved breeders by an independent veterinarian.
The new policy begins October 1.
Animal welfare groups claimed the policy wasn’t nearly enough and that more needed to be done to stop puppy farms for good because they could still sell their dogs online or through classified ads in newspapers.
Ita’s former husband to sue ABC for Paper Giants
The former husband of magazine queen Ita Buttrose is suing the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for its portrayal of him as ‘a pitiably weak man’. Alisdair ‘Mac’ Macdonald launched the defamation action in the Supreme Court. The two-part docudrama focused on the birth of Cleo Magazine when Ita was handpicked by then underdog Kerry Packer as he attempted to show his father Frank he could make savvy business decisions.
The series depicted Ita’s first husband as unable to cope with her sudden success and shows her returning home to an empty house as he walked away from the relationship and his pregnant wife. The case will head to mediation first.
– Speaking of the magazine heyday, Mamamia looked at why mags are not what they used to be.
Australia not prepared for growth
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said Australia is ill-prepared for the growth it has earned during a mining boom. The transport infrastructure report, which looked at needs up to 2030, said most of the worldwide infrastructure couldn’t handle a 50 per cent increase in demand. “Some countries have begun linking strategic infrastructure planning to long-term infrastructure funds, as is the case in Canada, Denmark, Switzerland and the United Kingdom,” the report said. “But other countries, including Australia, India and the United States, should improve financing mechanisms to ensure funding is consistent with strategic infrastructure needs.” The OECD’s Barrie Stevens added:
“Australia needs to identify what they think is critical infrastructure to the economy at a national level and to develop a better long term view for new rail roads, new port facilities and air traffic management. A lot of countries do this on a reactive basis.”
Top Comments
then Senator Bob will officially belong to Canberra.
http://www.mbagambit.com/
In an Olympic year. So jealous.