The Ontario government is planning to introduce new rules it says will crack down on large and unethical dog breeding operations, often referred to as puppy mills.
New legislation unveiled by the Ontario government on Monday is designed to ban various breeding practices often associated with industrial dog-selling operations.
As part of the new rules, minimum penalties of $10,000 can be levelled for those operating puppy mills that run afoul of the rules. Those fines would rise to $25,000 if the alleged violations lead to the death of a dog.
“The Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act will help to ensure Ontario remains a leader in animal welfare by being the first province in the country to introduce minimum penalties specific to puppy mills,” Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said.
The changes will ban breeding a female dog more than three times over two years or breeding a female dog who is younger than one year old.
Other changes will punish separating a mother from her puppies before they are eight weeks ago and failing to keep the dog’s environment free.
Regulations for the legislation will also address questions around procedures like declawing, tail docking and debarking with a goal of establishing penalties, the government said.