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Not something I had given a great deal of thought too, until I read an article in Cat World regarding the Inland Revenue`s interest in `breeders`.

I wouldn`t have a clue where the cut off point is between breeding as a hobby and breeding for profit. (If ever!!) Can anyone enlighten me? (:o)

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2001

Answers

The line can be blurry cant it? Obviously the large commercial puppy mills are a business. And obviously most of us who maybe only sell 2-3 pups a year arent. But what about the show breeders who have 10 or more litters a year and sell all their bitch puppies with the stipulation of them being bred and getting a puppy back?

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2001

I feel really strongly about puppy mills or `farms`, as we call them here. I really can`t see why it should be so difficult to close them down, and yet you hear of so few instances when this does happen.

The article I read said that the Inland Revenue searches the classified ads in papers and journals, on a fairly random basis I presume, and investigates from there. We also have a system of `anonymous tip-offs` here - great!(:o! I wonder how many people have used that system to settle old scores! Actually, probably not many.

I do agree, though, that not all `over producers` are what you would call puppy farmers in the accepted sense. Some show/breeders produce far too many puppies to be able to provide the necessary follow up and support.

From the point of view of profit - well, I have only ever bred two litters of Shih-Tzu, and they all left home with more stuff than a new baby! So profit doesn`t come into it with me - and I expect the majority of people would say that the concept of making a profit is a joke. However, now that I have gone back into cats, I will be much more careful about keeping records of costs. I will still only breed a very small number of litters a year - I only have three queens - but it will be an interesting exercise.(:o)

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001


I'm not sure what the situation is like over there regarding dog laws, puppymills and such. Over here though, puppymills have alot of power. In fact, up until not long ago the head of the group who inspects puppymills in Missouri was infact a puppymiller himself. And it seems like hobby breeders are under CONSTANT attack from both sides. The puppymillers hate us for obvious reasons, and then there are many Animal Rights activists (PETA, HSUS, etc) who hate anyone who breeds or has an interest in purebred dogs & cats. These are radical and often times violent groups. I guess maybe that is a difference between here and there as I'm sure there are plenty of people here nasty enough to try and get their "competition" in trouble with whatever authorities they can.

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001

I worked out what I have spent on this litter,from initial pre-mating health checks to puppy inoculations. Food to tempt mum-to-be and food for the puppies. New bedding(and you always need plenty (one on, one in wash and half a dozen as spare). Then add on the cost of laundry, washing and drying, and don't forget the heating! then there is the time, a week before the puppies are due until they are 3 weeks old I sleep in the kitchen on an old chair. Registrations, stud fees the list is quite endless. My little girl amazed me by having 6 puppies (she had 4 in her other litter) so if I let them all go, I have to say that I have 'made' a little money this time....but it is not a great sum! I will not breed this little girl again, so she has just been speyed, whoops, my credit from these puppies has gone and I am now in the red!

Breeding for profit? I don't think so!

I like to think that I am lucky to be blessed with 6 dogs some I have shown and some are now ladies who lunch, I profit every morning when I get up and go into the kitchen and wade through my best friends to get to the kettle, sit down and have them all wish me goodmorning and wash my face, ears and toes for me! I am blessed.

Sorry if I have rambled, but it is rather late now. That is my excuse

Kate

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001


Kate what a lovely posting! (:o)

Don`t apologise for rambling. These are the kind of postings which tell you most about the people contributing, and are a delight to read.

I fully agree with you too. I think as a general rule, to make money from breeding you would need to be cutting corners somewhere. To my mind it would then cease to be an enjoyable hobby.

Interesting that this article should be in Cat World, rather than in one of the dog papers. My understanding is that you have to register as a `breeder` in the UK if you have three or more entire bitches? I stand to be corrected. Because of this, when I decided that I would have three breeding queens, I asked my vet if I would need to register as a `breeder`. Her reply was that breeding cats was considered to be a `hobby`, and as such there was no requirement to register. Odd isn`t it!

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001



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