While I relaxed, slept in and enjoyed a day out, ACA/Banksia Park Puppy farm had its open/closed day Sunday 15th November. For 3 days running the local Sale rag advertised the open/closed day.

The Hamms were quoted numerous times throughout the 3 day PR campaign in the local Sale rag stating I was invited as they had “nothing to hide”. They stated that their 300 breeding dogs plus litters would be on “display”.

LIE NUMBER ONE-I WAS INVITED TO THE OPEN/CLOSED DAY

I WAS NOT INVITED ONTO THE PROPERTY. Once the Hamms found out I had accepted their public invitation to their open day, an 11th hour panic campaign commenced. I received 3 legal letters plus phone calls from the Hamms solicitor warning me that not only was I not allowed to attend but we could not encourage anyone else to attend. Obviously the Hamms were expecting us to refuse their invitation and they panicked when we gladly accepted the invite. Yes they have a lot to hide. The day after the legal letters were sent to me they were again quoted in the local Sale rag stating I was invited “we’d much rather them come on the open day rather than at two in the morning. We’re not afraid for people to come here, we have nothing to hide”. Oh yes you do!

 

LIE NUMBER TWO-ALL 300 DOGS PLUS LITTERS WILL BE ON DISPLAY

The Hamms were quoted as saying “the role of the open day will serve to display the health and quality of their 300 breeding dogs and litters”

Only 20% of the property was open to the public, most area’s were closed to the public and were roped off so as not to permit entry. Most of the breeding dogs were hidden from public viewing. Of course only the cute fluffy puppies were on display along with their suffering mother’s. The dogs in the electrified pens of course were hidden. However the Hamms did not count on the public being so educated on the issue of puppy farms. Many of those who did attend phoned or emailed me with their reports and they were scathing of the set up and the living conditions for the dogs.

When questions got to heavy for Colin Hamms kids (allegedly Colin was dodging the hard questions leaving his kids to do the talking and later his new PR guru, Malcolm) the PR Manager started telling the crowd that I was in contempt of court for “sending you people”. Yeah prove it Malcolm 🙂

The phone is still ringing and the emails are still coming in as I type this but here’s a sample of the feedback so far from the public who attended on the day.

Melissa “I was shocked at the cramped tin shed they call the “nursery”. One dog caught my eye, her teats were dragging on the ground, it was heartbreaking”.

 

Dave “The dogs outside the nursery were on sand and only had a tin kennel, I can’t imagine how hot those dogs will get when we hit the middle of summer. I know whats its like to walk on hot sand with no shoes on. I thought the code stated they had to be provided with shade and have a certain area of their enclosure concreted?, what I saw was sickening, we had to get out of there as my girlfriend was getting upset.”

Gael “I specifically asked 3 different people if I could see the back of the property, they said I couldn’t I asked why it was roped off, they couldn’t give me an answer. The staff were unsure of what to say and appeared nervous when I started asking questions. It was disgusting place and the dogs in that nursery broke my heart, what a way to live, what a way to make a living, they make me sick”

Michelle “They wouldn’t let us see anything except the nursery, most of the people around me were horrified, some people started asking questions and making a scene and we were ushered out of the shed. I heard one lady ask if the dogs had names and the girl said no, then another staff member stated they did but couldn’t name them. None of the pens had dogs names on them”

 

Graeme (ex puppy farmer) “I witnessed stacks of errors to the regulations, I didn’t see one clean water bowl, besides that the water bowls are not of the design stated in the code, they have to be non-spillable. The size of most of the pens was not conforming to the code. The hot sand the dogs live on is a real issue and I think the RSPCA would have grounds to do something under the Act there. I don’t know how they are getting away with this, Council must be getting a kickback somewhere along the line. I did some quick calculations and I reckon they would be bringing in $500,000 a year, for that amount of money those dogs should be living in luxury, I’m just glad I got out of the business”

 

The DeBono Family “I wanted to take my kids there to teach them why I refuse to buy a puppy from a pet shop. I had no idea what to expect however was saddened by what we did see. A huge tin shed packed with nursing mother dogs, and their little puppies. I explained to my children that if we did buy a puppy from a shop this is where the money would go. My daughter and I were in tears as we left. This place was pure evil, The staff appeared very unsure of them selves, they couldn’t even tell us the dogs names. It was truly heartbreaking. The only positive of the day is I have taught my children a valuable lesson”

Julie “I had a staff member follow me everywhere! As soon as I started asking questions another guy came over and all he did was bag you! (Debra Tranter). The place was a shit pit for dogs, no wonder they didn’t want you on the property”

K “Well that was just sad…the dogs have no spirit in their eyes. They are just existing and that is all. We were not allowed near the main pens, just the sheds. Pens and pens of mothers with puppies, it just made me sad.”

Deidre “Your right Deb, they are simply breeding machines, its exactly like a factory assembly line. I was shocked and found it hard to keep my mouth shut”

Alexis and Kade “Oh my GOD! we were sickened, it was row after row of dogs and puppies. They don’t get it. If this is what they were proud to show the public, what the hell was in all the area’s they wouldn’t let us go into?”

Laura ” Each pen had a sign denoting the breed of the dogs including cavalier x pug; corgi; poodle x shih tzu. When four workers, distinguishable by orange and yellow vests, were each asked on separate occasions what the names of specific dogs I was speaking to were, none of them could provide this information. Three workers said they don’t know their names, one said the same then belatedly informed me that they all do have names. Only one pen we witnessed had a name on it – the other dogs had no identification other than their breed type. It was so sad and so undermining of the social, loyal nature of ‘man’s best friends’.

It was really distressing to see so many puppies when we are clearly informed that over breeding is a huge problem and causes the killing of tens of thousands of dogs in Victoria every year. The majority of the mothers appeared to be timid and actually moved to the back of their concrete pen when I neared the wire gates. A few were friendly but they were unable to have social interaction due to being enclosed behind a wire gate in the pen which were approximately 2 meters x 3 meters in size.

Immediately leaving the first shed we entered another shed that contained pregnant mothers with signs that informed when the litter was due. I became emotional whilst viewing these pregnant dogs, the mothers and their litters and two puppies alone in a pen with no adult dog with them. It was at this time that a member of the Hamms family approached me and asked my name. She appeared extremely nervous and was visibly shaking. I asked this lady to take my companion and I to other area’s of the property quoting the claim by Mathew Hamms in the newspaper “we have nothing to hide”. Black and yellow tape denoted the area’s which were out of bounds for the public. The request to be taken to the back of the property was refused and I reiterated this was an opportunity to prove there really was nothing to hide and again we were refused due to ‘legalities’. I said this proves there is something to hide”.

Isabelle and Michael “We were shocked at what we saw as we expected the dogs pens to have toys, shade, something for the dogs to do. We hung around some big bloke who seemed to be doing all the talking, these are some of the things we heard him saying to people. ‘We have been micro chipping for ten years’, ‘No dog from Banksia Park has ever been put down, if a dog is returned to us Colin pays a lady $100 to re-home it’, ‘I would like to meet with Debra Tranter to discuss issues, if she turns up today I will show her around’, ‘This is the best puppy farm’, ‘We love dogs’, ‘Banksia Park Puppies are not purchased on impulse’. We felt the PR machine is in overdrive, name change, open day, they are desperate to clean up their image. I think most people there saw through the crap”

Violet and John “My husband compared it to a pig farm with pen after pen of sows feeding piglets. Not one dog looked happy and 90% of them were people shy. Mr Hamms daughter explained that dad likes to use cardboard boxes for the bitches to whelp in because they prefer it. More like they are cheap and he can probably get enormous amounts of them for little. We weren’t allowed down the back and were told proudly that they had just put up new shelters to conform with Council regulations. Well, what was there before? Being ex pedigree dog breeders we were horrified at the lack of disease control. There was not a foot bath to be seen and we were aghast at one woman standing in a pen holding up a puppy of approximately three weeks old, letting everyone stroke it. We were allowed to wander through the puppy and whelping pen and stoke or pat anything we wanted. It showed a lot of ignorance from an operation that has 20 years experience. The dogs had dead eyes and many of them looked really old. We didn’t get to see what was down the back, although we could see a few dogs. One had teats dragging on the ground. We drove home totally depressed”

Jenny “I was really friendly and generous, saying stuff like ‘I wish my floors were heated’ and ‘Wow they look really happy’ whilst taking photos of the yellow tape restricting access to certain area’s and puppies through the wire, the sagging teats and sad eyes. I cant remember the name of our guide, she was the daughter of the owner and a teacher I think. She really kept a close eye on me and what I was taking photos of. She was really defensive, which, considering my friendly demeanor was quite suspicious.

 

The entry of the ‘whelping house’ was guarded by the owner himself, who never managed a smile, and demanded to know why my friend and I were there. As two teenagers we may have looked a little odd at a puppy farm. However, we simply told him that we heard it on the radio and saw the add in the newspaper and were here to see some cute puppies. When we went behind the whelping house, two girls were sitting in the middle of the caged area. Every station was monitored, it was quite uncomfortable and creepy for me. The mothers behind this area were either desperate for human contact or wary and defensive, barking apprehensively at us. Tin sheds radiating heat provided a tiny amount of shade for the dogs outside.

 

Our guide talked excessively, and her body language showed that she was very anxious. Any way from all the letters, I can tell you have the gist of what happened, and it was pretty awful. I’m so pleased that so many people are concerned about this. I have attached some photos”

 

 

Louise “Some of the dogs we passed seemed slightly dirty and others quite timid. At one point I asked our guide how it was possible that 300+ breeding dogs were given adequate love, given that they are sociable animals, and she affirmed they were. Also, when my companion and I raised the issue of over breeding and reminded our guide that 200,000 dogs are euthanized every year because there are not enough homes, our guide assured us that no Banksia Park puppies ended up in shelters and that the issue can be attributed to backyard breeders and accidental matings. We then moved back up the hill, we had walked in a circle and returned to the entry of the first shed. Here there were a few visitors and their presence seemed to make out guide even more nervous. She suggested we should not speak there but gestured towards an area away from the people and invited us to have a cup of tea. We declined, as we felt we were being pressured to hide ourselves and our beliefs from the public, and said we preferred to talk where we were.

 

Then we were approached by a woman who offered to talk to us whilst our guide spoke to other visitors. This woman’s tone towards me was quite condescending and she repeated several times that I am very young (thus insinuating that I am consequently  incapable of understanding the issues or approaching them rationally). She was soon joined by two other men, one who introduced himself as Colin Hamm’s brother. They told us that only dogs of the ‘wrong breeds’ are dumped and end up being euthanized, implying that the Hamm’s dogs do not meet this fate. They also said dogs are usually dumped ‘for a reason’ and stated that it is ‘$60 puppies’ and ‘Kelpie x Jack Russell type dogs’, the result of accidental pregnancies that are killed in shelters.

 

They repeated several times that Banksia Park was the best puppy farm in Australia. I, however said that this was a serious indictment on this industry as a whole as Banksia Park had been found to be violating the code. The woman then claimed that the puppy farm was a ‘work in progress’ and said that I am also a ‘work in progress’ (another reference to my youth I think). I found this statement shocking because ACA/Banksia Park had been operating for 20 years and had thus had plenty of time to meet animal welfare standards!

At one point Colin’s brother seemed to try to attempt to justify the fact that ACA/Banksia Park had been breaking regulations by referring to the ambiguity of the relevant legislation and how difficult it was to understand. He also said something about the regulations not adequately covering puppy farms of such a large scale.

 

The response from the public has been overwhelming. We did not advertise the open day to our members in the e-news that went out on the Friday due to the legal letter from the Hamm’s solicitor. I have now received over 200 photos and more are coming in. We received approximately 60 calls and emails from people who attended on the day. I was not there but the Australian public was, and your messages are loud and clear, PUPPY FARMING MUST BE ABOLISHED, NO COMPROMISE!

I will continue to update the site with as many photos and comments as possible.

The Truth Cannot Be Changed Until It Can Be Seen

I was woke up this morning to numerous phone calls all congratulating me on on the success of exposing Rutland Manor, “why, whats she done now” I asked. I was told yet another diversion had been created overnight probably in response to Rutlands Alecia story being published. Ellie’s story was so horrific and simply could not be justified and Bev has remained as silent as her debarked dogs on that topic, so another famous Rutland Manor diversion was in order.

Tegan Park Shania was “stolen” at 11.30 last night by none other than me ! By 1am I had apparently changed my mind and returned her to a neighboring property. Bev and co heard Shania barking in the distance and went to “rescue” her. Now how do you hear a debarked dog barking in the distance? Oh and I apparently ripped the large farm gate of its hinges as a parting gesture. Funny, when Rutlands Alecia was “stolen” the first time years ago, the farm gate was also ripped of its hinges? Of course the dwindling cult followers hung on every word their leader said, when in actual fact Shania was where she always is, locked up in her concrete kennel, miserable and alone. Yet another waste of police time and resources by Rutland Manor.

A desperate woman must call for desperate measures and this is exactly what Beverley is – desperate to save her reputation and her plummeting sales of breeding dogs and puppies. Beverley lost her court case on Thursday against the neighbors. They had taken out an intervention order on Beverley. The police, the magistrate in fact the entire township are fed up with Beverley. After the court case Beverley phoned Animal Liberation Victoria office in a rage demanding to speak to someone in authority as “I am preparing my defamation case”, she also provided us addresses of other puppy farms in the hope she would be left alone. No chance Bev!

Creating diversions is nothing new for puppy farmers in this country. Beverley’s good friend and fellow dog pimp Colin Hamms of ACA puppy farm created what he thought was the best diversion yet when he and his son ran us off the road in 2008 and then jumped on my car bonnet. Didn’t work I fought and won, the magistrate saw through his lies and dismissed all my charges 🙂

ACA puppy farm have now changed their name to Banksia Park Kennels because of all the bad publicity they have received and their plummeting sales.

So dog pimp diversions are nothing new to me, I see them as a sign that our campaign is effective, that the public will not accept or tolerate this cruel treatment of dogs. The bigger the diversion the more successful my campaign. I cannot be ignored, I will not go away. The dogs deserve to be treated as companion animals not primary producers.

Your letters are working, the team at Rutland Manor Exposed have a great site where you can help the dogs at Rutland Manor, including Shania, really escape from this seriously deranged woman, these dogs have suffered enough at that hands of Beverley Manners and its time she was stopped.

We have serious concerns for the well being of the dogs, if Shania can be used in this way then what will happen next, will Rutland Manor harm one of their dogs or shoot one of the dogs and leave the body in the front yard and then blame us? As I said a desperate crazy woman surrounded by equally crazy followers.

Posted by Beverley Manners on Rutland Manor November 7th 5.52 pm

Sorry Doodlers for bringing a note of negativity onto the page, but after the drama of last night, and seeing Debra Tranter’s posting on her website today, I am about ready to quit remaining silent about the serious and untrue accusations being published on several hate websites. There is a limit to the patience I have been exercising. If you do not want to read about this please skip to another section and ignore it. Thanks. Hugs, Beverley.

Within hours of me posting on this chat site about Shania’s disappearance last night Debra Tranter’s hate site posted the usual twisted version of half truths and untruths, and went right over the top, putting in print that I am deranged. The venom is quite extraordinary. And how did she find out so fast what had happened last night?

Also mis-reported was that I had lost my “court case” last Thursday. Interesting to wonder how she knew I was in court just two days before….The TRUTH is that it was a restraining order (certain neighbours whom I am not permitted to name due to the restraining orders) and both side struck a “Mutual Agreement Without Admission of Guilt” which was a fair outcome.

Another lie Debra Tranter claims yet again that I am a friend of Colin Hamms of ACA Breeders. I have told her that i do NOT know Colin Hamms, and that I have only met him briefly quite a few years ago. My daughter had dealings with him but I DID NOT.

I was told a few months ago by Holly who works here, that Colin Hamms had committed suicide to due stresses brought on him by Debra Tranter. When Holly found out that this wasn’t true, she felt awful about having told me this and she tried several times to get Debra Tranter to remove from her site that I had made this up. Tranter refused to remove it.

Further mis-reporting on the Tranter website-

At 2.15 on Friday afternoon  I called Animal Liberation Victoria. I spoke quietly, courteously and in friendly tone, asking to speak to someone on committee. I spoke to a woman who called herself “Jo”.

I told Jo that I was preparing the documentation for my defamation lawyer, and before I included Animal Liberation Victoria, I would like to speak to someone in authority to find out if the organization supports the public defamation and illegal actions of their member Debra Tranter or if she was a wild card. I didn’t want to include the organization in the legal suit if they were having trouble with one of their own members.

Jo promised me that the President, who she said was Patty Mark, would call me back that afternoon. She didn’t. Next thing I see is the allegation that I ‘ranted and raged’ or such, and ‘demanded’ this and that etc. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am not the kind of person who rages and rants, its just not in my character.

It looks like Animal Liberation Victoria may have to be included in the defamation suit after all. I will try to contact Patty Mark one more time. What can you do other than to try and do the right thing? I’m trying my best to be fair.

As for shooting Ellie……I won’t dignify that with a comment.

Posted by Tracey Whyte on Rutland Manor November 7th

Hey Bev

This woman has a massive ego and calls us ALL cult followers well HELLO she has her little army of followers reporting into her and stoking and feeding her ego.

Your outrageous lies will catch up with you Debra and I hope you will be prosecuted for Break and Entering which is illegal or are you above the law!!!!!.

This woman was given some addresses of some horrific animal cruelty going on and what did she do…. NOTHING to small profile for the likes of her.