Under the provisions of the Domestic Animal Act 1994, a domestic animal business is:
- a dog and/or cat breeding establishment where there are three or more fertile females and animals are sold, and the proprietor is not a member of an Applicable Organisation (such as Greyhound Racing Victoria), and where there are ten or more fertile females and animals are sold and the proprietor is a member of an Applicable Organisation
- a dog training establishment (where the business is run for profit)
- an establishment that is rearing dogs or cats (where the business is run for profit)
- an establishment boarding dogs or cats (where the business is run for profit to provide overnight, daycare or homecare boarding)
Domestic Animal Businesses must be registered as such with their Local Council and must comply with all associated Codes of Practice (in the case of greyhounds, the ‘Code of Practice for the Operation of Greyhound Establishments’). Domestic Animal Businesses are expected to meet or exceed the requirements outlined in the Code of Practice, which includes requirements for record keeping, housing and cleanliness, supervision and more.
Rearing, Boarding or Training Greyhounds
‘board’ in relation to a dog or cat, means the taking of custody or possession of the dog or cat for keeping, accommodation, care, training or feeding for fee or reward.
This means that those who run a business where people send their greyhounds for rearing, training, education and so on need to be registered as a Domestic Animal Business.
Breeding
If you are a Greyhound Racing Victoria registered participant and have more than ten or more fertile females you will need to register with your Local Council as a Domestic Breeding Business.
If you are not registered with Greyhound Racing Victoria (or another Applicable Organisation) you need to register as a Domestic Breeding Business if you have three or more fertile females.
