Buyer Beware - Caveat Emptor
During the year 2020 there has been an unprecedented demand for puppies and sadly with that comes the scammers and the puppy farmers wanting to scam good people of money for puppies. These so-called breeders are only interested in selling puppies for a huge price. Most of these “breeders” are what I would call puppy farmers in the worse terms. The welfare of the pups they produce is not a consideration and the parents of the pups are not subjected to many health tests that can and may affect the future of the resulting pups.
The concern for you as a puppy buyer is it can seem extremely difficult to find the true ANKC Registered Ethical Breeder in amongst the many adds, cleverly worded statements and all the flash websites.
There are many “Registries” popping up in Australia that claim to give a “breeder” some credibility which enables them to register puppies etc.
If you are inquiring about a Pedigree dog then you need to know the following;
Please take note - There is only ONE registry for Pedigree Pure Breed Dogs in Australia and that is the ANKC (Australian National Kennel Council) which is recognised worldwide as the only Australian Pedigree Pure Breed Registry . The ANKC is made up of 8 bodies being one for each State or Territory of Australia - i.e: Dogs Victoria, Dogs NSW, Dogs ACT, Dogs Queensland, Dogs SA, Dogs West, Dogs NT, Dogs Tasmania.
In order to be a member of a State Canine Council the “Breeder” must be registered with them and hold a breeders prefix. I urge you to check with the applicable organisation in the State / Territory that the breeder resides in that you are inquiring about a potential puppy from, is in fact a current financial member. Please call Dogs – VIC or NSW etc and ask the question before you pursue an interest in a puppy any further from that “breeder”. Sometimes these Breeders may be suspended for breaching a rule and or regulation and you as the puppy buyer need to make sure that they are a current financial member.
All other registries in Australia DO NOT ensure that you are getting a World Wide recognised Pedigree Dog. Please do not get caught up in the hype of these registries, you need to ensure that you are getting a Pedigree Puppy from a Recognised ANKC Breeder.
The registries listed below are NOT ANKC recognised;
RPBA - Responsible Pet Breeders of Australia
MDBA - Master Dog Breeders and Associate
FFFCDB - Fur and Family First Companion Dog Breeder Inc
AAPDB - Australian Association of Pet Dog Breeders
NCPI - National Companion Pets Institute
Also, of concern is the confusion to the prospective puppy buyer is the use of Registered Breeder in an add. In most states around the country you are required to have a breeder’s number in order to sell a dog or cat. That number may be a Council breeder number or a Pet Exchange Number (Victoria), Supply Number (QLD) or something similar. Many adds list it as a Breeders Registry number and this confuses people into believing that these “sellers” are indeed Registered Pedigree Breeders. Please, for your sake and peace of mind check the number and make sure it belongs to the person selling the puppy and that they are the type of “Breeder” that you are looking for. Many adds out there have stolen these Breeders numbers from ANKC Breeders and or used a Council Breeders number for their own add.
BUYER BEWARE CAVEAT EMPTOR
Caveat emptor is Latin for "Let the buyer beware".
Here is a great site to help those that have been scammed
Fake Puppy Sites Australia
https://fakepuppysitesaustralia.info/