Farm animals need a new home as SPCA seeks fosters

12 Jun 2026

Graeme Ford with a litter of seven puppies rescued from a backstreet breeder

The SPCA is calling for an end to puppy farming, which it says results in some dogs spending their entire adult lives pregnant.

It wants the introduction of dog breeder licensing, clear dog breeding regulations and an updated code of welfare for dogs.

SPCA senior scientific officer Dr Alison Vaughan told Nine to Noon people would be shocked to learn how few rules there were to protect dogs.

"Anyone can breed and sell puppies. There are no restrictions on the number of breeding dogs a person can keep - unless the council bylaws specify it," she said.

"There's no minimum supervision level, so you could have 60 dogs with one person caring for them. There's no minimum or maximum ages for breeding, no maximum number of litters across a dog's lifetime, and not even restrictions on things like close inbreeding, such as father-daughter or mother-son breeding."

In a statement, Minister of Animal Welfare Andrew Hoggard said he had asked his officials to come back to him with advice on the SPCA's campaign "in due course".

"We know roaming dogs are a problem - it's something this government is actively looking into, and better breed regulation could be part of the solution.

"I'm committed to delivering certainty for business by progressing the production animal codes. Once NAWAC [the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee] has finished that work, they may prioritise the dog code."

Mangere SPCA centre manager Graeme Ford said they were taking in dogs from puppy mills at least once a week.

"I've just had an inspector phone today asking if she can bring in two litters of 10 puppies and four puppies from one household," he said.

For the breeding dogs, life could be hell, he said.

"I don't think they have a life at all. They're just constantly pregnant, lying there. It takes months to recover from the [caesarean section] surgeries and by the time they recover they're pregnant again.

"There is a lot of good breeders out there so I don't want to tar them all with the same brush but there are so many back-street breeders. They think it's a way of making a quick dollar but that's just not the case. We desperately need some restrictions."

Animal charity Helping You Help Animals, or HUHA, is right behind the SPCA's campaign.

Founder and chief executive Carolyn Press Mckenzie said they constantly saw cases of unethical breeding.

"It's flooding New Zealand and there are so many animals that are being born with genetic or hereditary issues. It's a mess," she said.

A young dog found at a puppy mill.

HUHA has encountered large-scale commercial puppy mill operations.

"Puppies are just being sold like lollies, it's really distressing."

HUHA recently took in a litter of six bulldogs born with major health problems. Press Mckenzie said they spent thousands of dollars on surgery to enable them to breath properly.

One dog, Dennis, was not in a fit state to be rehomed.

"He is so genetically compromised. His legs don't work properly, he's too fragile to do the surgery to help him breathe more. He's got weird airways - his breathing is just horrible," she said.

"It just comes back to the breeder trying to get a specific colour or trying to get a specific snout length."

A HUHA petition to prohibit the sale of puppies through pet stores and online traders has garnered more than 40,000 signatures.

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