“We’ve given up on it,” Delungra’s Gwydir Park Refuge owner Geoff Johnson said.

The thrust of the February 25 response to the Joint Select Committee on Companion Animal Breeding Practices in NSW, tabled in August 2015, targets a revision of the companion animal registry and the NSW Department of Primary Industries Animal Breeding Code of Practice.

From July 2016, the government will require breeder identification numbers on display in all advertisements or points of sale for dogs and cats, along with each animal’s unique microchip number.

The ‘one-step’ registration system will be designed to trace breeder activity and educate consumers as to the source of the animal.

Specific issues on animal welfare, identified by the committee, were directed to RSPCA NSW, the Animal Welfare Advisory Council and Office of Local Government. 

Mr Johnson and his partner Pat Carmody, a registered microchipper, testified at the first meeting of the joint committee in Armidale, July 2015.

Ms Carmody said they have had many people coming out to the refuge recently, trying to get around regulations.

“You can go out and buy a microchip online for $4.50,” she said.

“It doesn't come with any paperwork, well it will still scan, you’ve got a microchip number on the scanner, but in reality, it doesn't exist on any computer anywhere.”

She said the breeders want a chip number to sell the dogs.

“I’ve had them come out here, they’ve had a litter of pups, they’ve bought the eight microchips online and they want me to put them in, because they’re a bit scared of the big needles, but they don’t want the paperwork done. I’m not doing them,” she said.

“It’s a big, frigging joke. Now how’s that going to control breeders?”

The response has not supported a breeder registry.

The government response has drawn criticism from RSPCA NSW chief executive officer Steven Coleman who said the legislation does not go far enough.

NSW Greens MP Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC said expectations of a weak response were vindicated.

“The government had the opportunity to finally introduce a breeder licencing system to stamp out animal abuse, but what we appear to have got was some weak commitments and a tiny increase in funds,” Dr  Faruqi said in a statement.

A day after the government released its response, the joint committee deputy chair, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries Mick Veitch, posted on Facebook: “We know the state of NSW demands a licence for people who want to sell cars for a living; a licence if you want to keep a reptile; even a licence to grow certain types of flowers.

“But Mike Baird thinks you shouldn’t need a licence if you want to breed and nurture puppies and kittens in order to sell them to thousands of Australian families each year. What a disgrace.”

The joint committee chair, Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, felt they were at the beginning of change.

“The government's initial response to this report is probably the first step, it’s not the end point, it’s the start of getting to that end point,” he said.

“Would I like to see the government have got there quicker? Yeah, definitely, not a moment too soon.

“I would have loved to have seen the government adopt every single recommendation, the government hasn’t, but I’m going to still do what I can in my role as the local member, to make sure these things that they are picking up come into force as soon as possible.”

Mr Marshall said the government agreed to review the Department of Primary Industries Animal Breeding Code of Practice, which he said had garnered approval, but historically, has not been effective.

“The problem is, the Code of Practice wasn't being enforced, implemented,” he said.

“It was there, but it was just a piece of paper.”

He said the government will use the amended code as the minimum standard for breeding facilities.

“Also, if your facility doesn’t meet those standards, or is found over time to have breached those standards, then your facility can be shut down immediately and the animals removed straightaway,” he said.

“At the moment, I think the bar is incredibly low for these facilities.”

One committee recommendation linked to facility conditions was to establish a database of breeding facilities, related reports of cruelty, details of site visits, the outcomes of those visits, and prosecutions, to share between enforcement agencies.

It was not supported by the government.

Ms Carmody believed without enforcement, the exercise was futile.

“It will not ever ever, ever, ever work, unless you have a police force,” she said.

“It’s exactly the same as me saying to you, it is illegal to drink and drive, but if you do, we won't arrest you for it.

“It will just get totally lost in the administration of it; it will achieve nothing.”