AJP billboard campaign to pressure Marshall for puppy farming laws

The Northern Tablelands MP is facing a campaign from the Animal Justice Party to back legislation they will soon introduce into state parliament to strengthen animal welfare laws.

But Mr Marshall revealed to the Leader he is already planning to take action to crack down on rogue operators, who are operating outside what he calls the state's robust legal framework.

"Lots of activity in NSW is illegal, but it still gets perpetrated and the question is do we have the adequate resourcing for our authorities to capture those people and put them before the courts and make examples of them," he said.

"I'll be making an announcement very, very soon to provide extra resourcing to our enforcement agencies so that they can do an even better job of stopping these disgusting rogue operators, these cowboys, in their tracks and hit them with the full force of the law."

Puppy "factories" are legal under NSW law, which does not require regular inspections or set a cap on dog numbers or litters.

The announcement will mean "more boots on the ground and more eyes on the sky," Mr Marshall said.

Puppy farming has long been a passion issue for the MP.

In 2015, as a backbencher, the MP chaired a high-profile bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into puppy farming.

But AJP MLC Emma Hurst accused him of turning a "blind eye" to the need for stronger laws in recent days.

She said NSW was at risk of becoming a "hub" for puppy farming unless laws were strengthened, with Victoria and Western Australia recently tightening up their legislation.

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Their legislation copies the new Victorian laws, limiting the number of litters a breeder can work, require vet checking and forcing them to register with councils, who have the power to conduct regular checks on them.

She said the party were targeting Mr Marshall because, as Agriculture Minister, he is responsible for enforcing rules banning the animal cruelty.

"He will expose himself going forward when my legislation passes in the upper house and goes down to the lower house. If he does vote it down then I guess we can assume [his passion for the issue] wasn't genuine," she said.

"If he is genuinely concerned about these animals, then he will obviously be bringing in legislation or supporting ours."

The 40-metre square billboard will go up on the New England Highway at Saumarez on October 26. The AJP also letterdropped the electorate targeting Mr Marshall as part of the campaign.

The Nationals MP said he had not yet decided whether to vote for or against the legislation, which he hadn't yet seen, and accused the AJP of playing politics.

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