Animal rights advocates will today deliver a huge petition to Adam Marshall's electorate office, demanding the state's Agriculture Minister "ban cruel puppy farming" outright.
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Animal Justice Party (AJP) MLC Emma Hurst said the 41,000 petitioners have asked the state government to "end the intensive factory farming of dogs".
Parliament last week passed legislation to strengthen laws against abuse of animals. The state also funded increased enforcement last year.
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But the AJP wants the government to go further still.
"It is still legal in NSW to set up an intensive factory farm with 600 dogs living in tiny pens, and forcing them to give birth to as many litters as their bodies can cope with," Ms Hurst said.
"Across our state there are likely thousands of dogs living and dying in squalid conditions on these puppy farms, but because of secrecy of the industry and lack of proper regulation it's impossible to know exactly how many there really are. "
Mr Marshall said he hadn't even been contacted by anyone from the AJP to negotiate about the demand for further legislation "which is curious given their clear passion and interest in this issue".
"Your inquiry for comment was the first time I was made aware of this [petition]," he said.
He won't be able to meet with them, because the MP is not in Armidale today - he is in Moree aiding a community that was badly flooded last week.
"Unfortunately, I cannot change my diary at such short notice - assuming AJP actually wants to discuss the matter with me," he said on Monday.
"My door is always open to discuss the issue with AJP, however, to date, I have received no request from them, nor any notice of their proposed visit tomorrow. Again, this is very odd behaviour I feel.
"As I have said many times before, puppy factories are disgusting, a scourge on our society and are already illegal and banned in NSW under existing legislation - hence why so many have been raided, caught, shut down and prosecuted and why more are in the authorities' sights right now."
Ms Hurst said Victoria had already "effectively" banned puppy farming, forcing operators into NSW "where our lax laws do nothing to protect these dogs".
The petition is the second attempt by animal welfare groups and the AJP to pressure the MP into taking further action. In October last year, they paid for an enormous billboard on the New England highway.
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