A PENINSULA-based solicitor has criticised the Mornington Peninsula Shire after his client found himself in court facing the possibility of a hefty fine over a litter of puppies he sold on Gumtree.
The client, from Mornington, believed he had abided by all applicable regulations by having the eight puppies microchipped and registered before listing them for sale, only to be hit with charges that could carry potential fines totalling over $65,000.
The charges related to the shire’s Community Amenity Local Law 2022, section 22, which states:
“A person, other than the proprietor of a registered domestic animal business or a member of an Applicable Organisation under the Domestic Animals Act 1994 with which a dog or cat is registered, must not sell, or give away to any person any dog or cat that has not been de-sexed except where the dog or cat is ten (10) years of age or older” and that “A person must, when selling or giving away a dog or cat, provide details of the dog or cat and details of the new owner to Council within seven (7) days of selling or giving away that dog or cat”.
For the eight puppies, failing to have them desexed before sale and not notifying the shire of the new owner within seven days attracted two charges per puppy. The total of 16 charges carried with them a potential fine of $4,070.20 per charge — a total of $65,123.20.
“This by-law relating to desexing seems to fly directly in the face of accepted veterinary practice and animal husbandry, with the accepted wisdom being that puppies must be at least ten weeks old before they are desexed,” said solicitor Kurt Esser, who practices in Melbourne and from an office in Balnarring.
Esser told The News that his client’s puppy litter was inadvertent, and the progeny of two registered dogs. At no time did the client believe he was violating the law.
“My client had consulted the Gumtree regulations, and thought he was abiding by the rules. But to be facing a fine of that magnitude appears disproportionate and overkill,” said Esser.
“In my opinion, all the other by-laws about animals are perfectly sensible and enforceable, but by-law 22 is outrageous and probably unenforceable as an example of legal overreach.
“In my view these regulations could, and should, be challenged as being legally unenforceable in the Supreme Court of Victoria.”
Esser, who has practiced law in Australia and the United States and was co-author of a textbook on administrative law, also pointed out the inconsistency of the shire’s information. The by-law states you “must not sell, or give away to any person any dog or cat that has not been de-sexed except where the dog or cat is ten (10) years of age or older”, while the shire’s own website states, “All dogs and cats over three months of age must be desexed prior to being sold or given away”.
In effect, Esser’s client was abiding by the desexing requirements on the shire’s website, but not the inconsistent by-laws.
The matter ended up in the Magistrate’s Court, where Esser’s client pleaded guilty, acknowledging having infringed the inconsistent by-law.
“I tendered the documents to the magistrate, explaining the situation. I submitted that the by-laws are too wide and arguably unenforceable, and in any event inconsistent with other information provided by the shire. The magistrate took the point very quickly, asked my client to make a $900 contribution to a local charity and declined to order my client meet the shire’s usual legal costs.”
A statement from the shire, supplied to The News, said:
“We acknowledge there was an inconsistency between the Local Law and information published on the shire’s website, which has now been corrected. Despite unsuccessful attempts from the shire to meet with the resident beforehand to resolve the issue, we are pursuing our options to withdraw the desexing charge.”
Esser’s client is satisfied with the outcome but believes the experience is a cautionary tale of how easily someone can fall foul of inconsistent shire information — and the crushing penalties for doing so.
First published in the Mornington News – 9 September 2025
