SPCA backs plan to ban children buying pets

A proposal by Australian animal welfare authorities to ban children from buying pets should be considered here, the Wellington Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says.

Children will be banned from buying pets under an Australian RSPCA plan to be presented to the Victorian state Government this week.

Under the plan, pet shops, markets and private breeders would be banned from selling pets to children under 16 without parental permission.

Children would not be allowed to give away unwanted litters of pets at school, and relatives and friends would be banned from giving pets to children without the consent of their parents.

Wellington SPCA chief executive Judy Weir said the Australian proposal should be considered in New Zealand.

Such measures would contribute to reducing the number of abandoned animals. "In turn, this also may reduce the number of animals that are no longer wanted by families when children get older and leave home," she said yesterday.

Pet shops should also give out information on the care of the animals they were selling.

"Pet shops should be encouraged to sell only desexed animals," Ms Weir said.

Victorian RSPCA president Hugh Wirth said the radical proposal was aimed at punishing unscrupulous pet shop owners and irresponsible pet owners who intimidated children into taking pets from unwanted litters.

The proposed regulations mirrored an Animal Welfare Bill before the British Parliament, Dr Wirth said.

"We're not opposed to children under 16 having pets, but the issue is they must be wanted by the whole family and, secondly, parents must support the care of the pet.

"If that's not happening, we will have the situation we have now, where lots of pets get dumped and some die because they are lost or abandoned."

The RSPCA handled 40,000 abandoned pets a year in Victoria alone and 139,000 animals a year nationally.

In New Zealand last year the SPCA received 52,000 abandoned animals nationwide, and managed to find homes for around half of them.

Dr Wirth said the regulations were really aimed at the pet shop industry and people who give away pets to children under the threat that if they don't take this kitten, it will be killed by the vet.

"That sort of intimidatory behaviour is common in schools.

"'Here's this litter of kittens that was born because I was too lazy to get my cat spayed, and the kittens will all be killed if you don't take one.'

"The children fall for that, Mum and Dad can't say no and the cycle begins."

- NZPA