![\"Graeme](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JN5FYV_Graeme_Ford_with_a_litter_of_seven_puppies_rescued_from_a_backstreet_breeder_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nGraeme Ford with a litter of seven puppies rescued from a backstreet breeder
\nPhoto: Matthew Theunissen\n<\/p>\n
The SPCA is calling for an end to puppy farming, which it says results in some dogs spending their entire adult lives pregnant.<\/p>\n
It wants the introduction of dog breeder licensing, clear dog breeding regulations and an updated code of welfare for dogs.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Mangere SPCA centre manager Graeme Ford said they were taking in dogs from puppy mills at least once a week.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
For the breeding dogs, life could be hell, he said.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Animal charity Helping You Help Animals, or HUHA, is right behind the SPCA’s campaign.<\/p>\n
Founder and chief executive Carolyn Press Mckenzie said they constantly saw cases of unethical breeding.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JN55GE_Puppy_farm_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nA young dog found at a puppy mill.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
HUHA has encountered large-scale commercial puppy mill operations.<\/p>\n
“Puppies are just being sold like lollies, it’s really distressing.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
One dog, Dennis, was not in a fit state to be rehomed.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“It just comes back to the breeder trying to get a specific colour or trying to get a specific snout length.”<\/p>\n
A HUHA petition to prohibit the sale of puppies through pet stores and online traders has garnered more than 40,000 signatures.<\/p>\n