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by Miles Heffernan

25 Sep 05:55am

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Filed under: Animal Welfare, Animals, Cats, Dogs, Pets, Rspca

45 comments

The euthanasia of pets is a hot topic. Many healthy animals are put down every year for a complex range of reasons. And a fight between people who should be allies – the animal shelters and the animal rescuers who want a ‘no kill’ rule – is making things even more difficult, Miles Heffernan explains.

All ma dogs. Pic: News.com.au

Australia is a world leader in killing cats and dogs. Investigating this production line of death opens the door to an insidious world of pet welfare, commercial greed, and pious ideology.

For a short time I worked for a large animal shelter. From that part-time job, I have a beautiful pooch called Thaddeus. One of my mates rudely refers to him as my life partner, given his regular attendance at BBQs and birthdays.

If all the domestic animal laws were complied with, my then-emaciated Rottweiler-cross, may have been just another euthanasia statistic. But with the help of a flexible boss, I have a BFF.

I thought working in a shelter would just be about saving abused and abandoned puppies. It is so much more; this is where politics, lobbying and vested interests combust. The result is a neutered system that could do much more if the key industry players - including the shelters and the profitable pet industry - allowed it to.

One advocacy group, Deathrowpets.net, estimates that a quarter of a million unwanted cats and dogs are killed in Australian shelters, pounds and veterinary surgeries every year. That’s over 650 furry (sometimes mangy, vicious) friends “put to sleep” each and every day. Their end is known as ‘getting the Green Dream’.

A pivotal player in the debate is the Australian Companion Animal Council. A super effective industry “peak body” who look after the commercial interest of the huge pet food industry, puppy farms and vets. ACAC’s members have a lot to lose if the industry shrinks or gets more expensive because of more regulation.

Another key player is prolific and clever blogger Michelle Williamson at Saving Pets, who is firing up the community to fight any laws to control pet population or pet ownership. At Saving Pets, the ‘no kill’ message (NKM) is delivered in black and white, right or wrong. You are with us or against us. Which means people trying to do the right thing but not to the letter of the NKM, get attacked by No Kill proponents. This includes adopting controversial strategies around cats, known as TNR (tag, neuter & release back in the community) or more commonly called “community cats”.

Ms Williamson is also director of Petrescue.com.au; a brilliant site, like a seek.com.au for pets needing a new home. It is universally acknowledged and award-winning, especially in its effectiveness in rebranding orphaned pets and helping to market and rehome them.

Pet Rescue has helped another key player emerge, which is a group loosely known as “rescue”. Often they are mum and dad type operations, sometimes larger that want to make sure no pet gets the green dream on their watch.

Why anyone would allow the nearly perfect brand of Petrescue.com.au to be tarnished by the musings of its director over at Saving Pets is beyond me.

It is hard to find fault with rescue groups’ desire to save lives. Sadly their voice is drowned out by ACAC, Saving Pets and powerful shelters. Worse, these rescue groups depend on the ACAC member funded Pet Rescue, which has waged cyber-war on groups that do not support the cherished no kill movement, which is determined to stop animal euthanasia.

Ms Williamson is Australia’s biggest advocate for so-called “No Kill” shelters (which confusingly actually means the killing of between 10 per cent to 25 per cent of pets). She doggedly insists that shelters must sign up for the entire, 11-step NKM program. And she mocks other organisations’ initiatives, such as the Animal Welfare League Queensland’s Getting to Zero, which aims to bring alternate methods to reduce the number of pets put down.

These attacks on G2Z are alarming it offers a more pragmatic path combined with responsible community engagement. The end result is fewer dead cats and dogs and more delighted owners like me than if G2Z had not been implemented.

Questions must be asked about the effectiveness of this sustained aggressive campaign to help all of our fur balls to live.

All of this fighting seems to result in:

1. An example of the law of unintended consequences. While attacking those from within making some changes, it gives a free ride to those that are not making any real change;
2. Limited trust between shelters and rescue groups;
3. People on the ground too scared to share innovations, in case they cop the ire of ideologues.

This issue is interwoven with commercial greed, clever PR, well meaning but clunky laws and the manipulation, exploitation, vilification and mobilisation of people that would like to reduce and even stop the killing.

This highly complex issue will play out tonight on ‘The Tail End’ on SBS’s Insight at 8:30pm. Ms Williamson, shelters, puppy-farms and even my pooch Thad make it on to the show. With exceptional research the producers have managed to accurately represent the conflict, giving context to why Australia is such a poor performer on the world stage when it comes to killing pets, despite so many committed to their survival.

Comments on this post will close at 8pm AEST.
Miles can be found on Twitter at @mileshef and is a guest tweeter tonight on SBS Insight under the hashtag #insightSBS.

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45 comments

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- Nathan says:
  
  06:34am | 25/09/12
  
  Simple cut the breeders out of the game so people go to the pound to get their pet. If a potential owner is set on having a pure bread tax them for the right. These pet shops make me sick when there are healthy puppies/dogs at the pound they just add to the problem.
  
  Reply
Wayne Kerr says:

09:58am | 25/09/12

Nathan, when you purchase a pet from a registered breeder you’re already paying a premium price, What needs to be cut out is the puppy farms that breed the life out of bitches. It’s a production line. Registered breeders do a responsible job and most people who buy a pure breed from these breeders have already put in a lot of thought into buying this pet.and it’s lifelong maintenance. It’s not the same as going to a pet shop and buying a puppy because it’s soooo small and cute and then finding the breed or temprament is not manageable.
sami says:

03:10pm | 25/09/12

No. Responsible breeders go above and beyond to do the right thing and are certainly not the ones who sell at pets shops. You have to jump through hoops to get a pedigree dog (rightly so).
Unregistered breeding (by those who sell through pet stores, online, newspapers etc) should be illegal and punishments should be harsh. Desexing should be compulsory. There should, in a perfect world, be no need for shelters.
- TChong says:
  
  06:46am | 25/09/12
  
  What the hell do the “No Kill” advocates feed their rescued mutts with ?
  Lentils and rice?
  It seems that the “No Kills"group already have a problem with their advocay, unless ofcourse the “No Kills” think that harvesting some animals ( for meat) is acceptable.
  Animals rights for some. - the cute and fluffy type.
  
  Reply
AFR says:

09:42am | 25/09/12

Are you a member of PETA? Because that’s something as stupid as they would come up with.
Allie says:

11:33am | 25/09/12

‘No Kill’ is the name of a policy, which has been developed and is in place in many places around the world. It doesn’t advocate no killing of anything - it’s about how we deal with the number of animals that end in shelters, from both the front and back end. The key thing is that it is a policy and approach of animal and shelter management that addresses companion animals in shelters. It doesn’t talk to the ethics of food.

Conflating all animal rights and animal welfare issues together and making sarcastic accusations doesn’t really address any issues or advance any understanding at all.
- gobsmack says:
  
  07:33am | 25/09/12
  
  No pet owner gladly has the object of their love euthanised.
  
  The problem is oversupply. Puppy farms need to be tightly regulated and neutering of domestic pets compulsory. But these sorts of measures have already been implemented to varying degrees.
  
  Keeping intelligent animals in small cages in shelters for the rest of their lives is not a humane solution.
  
  Reply
- Jokular says:
  
  08:04am | 25/09/12
  
  This article reminds of a particular political party. Nah I’m not going to say which one though.
  
  Reply
Not Telling says:

08:23am | 25/09/12

Ha ha. I think you are onto something Jokular

It does sound like a tune I have heard before here on The Punch. How do you spell offshore processing?
- Nathan Explosion says:
  
  08:10am | 25/09/12
  
  There is a great no kill shelter in Victoria called Save a Dog. They have cats and dogs fostered until they can find a forever home. I got one of my cats there. I can’t imagine life without any of my kitties.
  
  Reply
- Al says:
  
  08:28am | 25/09/12
  
  1) Always check the shelters if you are after a pet. I know the Cat Protection Society do a great job and don’t adopt out any cats without checking the person has permission for a pet (if renting), doing a follow up after the adoption, all the cats (and kittens) are de-sexed, toilet (litter) trained, had health checks by vets and are up to date on their vaccinations.
  2) “No Kill” is a nice sounding ideology, but not practical in the real world, there are some animals who are simply not suitable as pets and it is not always their fault but we can’t responsibly release them into the wild.
  3) Feral cat (or dog) equals valid target. Not sure if I can make that any clearer (and I own 2 cats).
  4) If you can’t care for your pet, try to find it another home and don’t just dump it.
  5) Sometimes the only real option is euthenasia, but this should be a last resort. (Don’t tell anyone but even the nutcases at PETA admit this, but I will try to avoid an anti-PETA rant).
  6) For cats, most are quite happy as indoor only cats or outdoor with supervision. If you want to let your cat outside pay the money for an enclosure to prevent it running off as well as preventing it from hunting native wildlife.
  
  Reply
Scott says:

10:08am | 25/09/12

No one wants dog or cats killed. But humans can be hopeless and careless at looking after themsleves let alone a pet. Lets rehome, providing the the dog or cat can have its Temperament assessed , as no one want to be responsible for a dog hurting the new owners children. I still cant understand how is it any better to buy a dog from, the internet of from a car park as opposed to a pet shop who has to operate under strict guidlines. Stamp out newpaper pets and and make good laws for shops to have the right to sell them . No matter what you do some people will want to have their pet from when its a puppy, purely to mold its character and watch it grow up. its human nature, how many children get adopted after two ir three years of age ?? Why ?? bcause we want to put our own influence on them. its in our nature simple as that. Stamp out puppy farmers but dont drive the sale of puppies underground as it will make it like the drug trade. Lats face it making it illegal to sell puppies will not stop it. So why not just make it organised.
- MarkF says:
  
  09:44am | 25/09/12
  
  I could save the RSPCA and all these other mobs an absolute fortune every year if they hired me and my friend Mr 22 Long Rifle.
  
  Reply
Mel says:

11:36am | 25/09/12

You must be a right Idiot!..its not something to be joked about…. well Im not surprised at all if you are one of the culptrits!... shame on you!...and i do feel sorry for those around you.. obviously dont have any emphathy for any living thing!!...:(
- marley says:
  
  09:46am | 25/09/12
  
  @Al - those “nutcases” at PETA have one of the highest kill rates of any animal shelter in the US. They figure the animal is better off dead than being exploited as someone’s pet. There, I’ve done your rant for you.
  
  Reply
Al says:

10:25am | 25/09/12

Marley, thanks, I was aware of that.
lib veg says:

03:04pm | 25/09/12

Although I’m no great friend of PETA (I think they tend to do a lot of harm to the cause with some of their bizarre antics) you need to take into account that many of the so called ‘no kill’ shelters simply refuse to take more than what they can rehome and hence can say they are ‘no kill’. The reality is they are just shuffling them on to somewhere else that has to take them.
- James Hothersall says:
  
  10:06am | 25/09/12
  
  Biggest load of ‘rubbish’ I have ever read.
  
  The ‘No Kill Equation’ is proven to work, I have seen it work & I have met people who make it work.
  
  Get 2 Zero is just an excuse to kill and this article reeks of bias rather than being an educated opinion. No Kill is deomonstrated to work - Get 2 Zero has achieved nothing!
  
  Reply
Al says:

10:42am | 25/09/12

James Hothersall - so you are happy to take on the rabbid aggresive dog as a pet?
Or how about the pet that requires hundreds of thousands of dollars of treatment to allow it to survive for the next 3 months at best?
Yeah, didn’t think so.
As I said, nice ‘ideal’ but not realy a practical solution as their are ALWAYS exceptions to it.
- DrBob says:
  
  10:19am | 25/09/12
  
  We always had a dog when I was a kid, but I was too young to appreciate them as more than just pets to play with. Three years ago, my son bought a 7-year-old Cattle Dog / Jack Russell cross bitch from the pound, but was posted overseas a year later, when I inherited her. We quickly became friends, as I learned more and more about the wonderful world she enjoyed. She can’t talk, but she understands most of what I say. She reads our body language amazingly well and we’ve learned to understand her sign language and different barks, as well. She’s a sentient being, just like us, with similar feelings. Although dogs live in a different virtual reality from ours, we share a huge overlap, probably due to the long association of dogs and humans. Few people understand the importance of our symbiosis with dogs throughout human history and realise that we would still be a primitive species, if dogs hadn’t helped us to hunt, warned us of intrusions, protected our crops and made it possible for us to herd goats, sheep, cattle etc.
  Apart from their companionship, dogs have been indispensable to human progress and we owe a huge debt to them.
  My little friend loves her session of catching her ball and we’d slaughter the Poms, if they made her first slip for Australia!
  
  Reply
- vox says:
  
  10:42am | 25/09/12
  
  I have a seventeen-year-old collie/kelpie cross who is the most faithful friend I’ve ever had. I took her to the vet because she was gone in the back legs. He suggested I have her put down as she is beyond help. I asked would he do it and he said, “Yes, it will be $120.00 including disposal”.
  I asked him what he would use and he told me.
  The following day I explained the situation to Marty, my friendly chemist who informed me that the cost of what the vet would use would be about $4.00, and disposal meant a heavy plastic bag and the skip.
  I’m having it done on Saturday, but not with that vet.
  I rang the vet and explained that I was on welfare, (I’m not), and could I pay it off. He said, this man devoted to the care of animals, that I would need cash.
  Gives a bloke a nice warm feeling about the industry, doesn’t it.
  
  Reply
sami says:

03:15pm | 25/09/12

How sad, your poor dog :(

Remember there are lots of options afterwards (disposal is terrible word!) including burial at home, burial in a dedicated pet cemetery, or cremation.
Redeker Plan says:

04:42pm | 25/09/12

Hi vox, so sorry to hear about your dog, although it sounds like you are doing the right thing for her, difficult as it is. Finding a good vet is like finding a good GP - hard to do, but they are priceless when you find one. The bedside manner is really as important as that of a doctor for humans.

My family has been really lucky with our vet - he is simply lovely, as is everyone who works at that practice, from receptionist to vet nurses. We have stayed with the practice for about 30 years - through the long happy lives of 2 dogs, one collie/kelpie cross lived to 17, the other kelpie to 15, and a cat who lived to 21!

A few months ago, the time came to say goodbye to the old cat; in the space of a few weeks at the onset of the cold weather she went from reasonably chipper for her age to her heart failing, incontinent and in so much pain with arthritis that she couldn’t sit down. We took her to the vet and he was so kind - gave us as much time as we needed with her to have a cry and kiss her good-bye, and let me hold her as she quietly slipped away.

It cost about the same amount of money as your experience, but we were not expected to pay immediately, and I know they have options for low-income clients. As we wished to bury her at home with our two much-loved dogs, her body was put into a lovely decorative degradable cloth bag for us to carry her home. I can’t praise them highly enough, and hope that if you eventually decide to welcome another furry friend into your home that you have better luck with the vet.
Take care.
Vets are Super Humans says:

07:44pm | 25/09/12

Good vets are so much more than the bottom dollar or free credit.

You’ll find the best vets may well be the ones that do not offer free credit, and may not be the bargain basement cheapest either.

The reason? Dedicated vets spend many thousands of dollars on ongoing professional development, and tens of thousands annually on new equipment. This means diagnosing and treating an animal rather than simply putting it down. Higher-end vets also tend to pay their staff more, and invest in training in their staff.

The ethical position is rarely the cheapest.

Vets are usually paid less per hour than their vet nurses, especially when their after hours is factored in.
Vets are Super Humans says:

07:51pm | 25/09/12

Sorry, make that ‘tens of thousands’ on ongoing professional development; ‘hundreds of thousands’ (played out by leases) on professional equipment. How much does a digital xray cost< do you think? Ultrasound? Surgical equipment?

Vets usually undercharge for common ‘shopped’ items such as spey, and perhaps euthenasia…praps your vet was simply being honest about the true cost, vox, rather than getting the poor schmuck with the orthapaedic surgery dog to cross-subsidise you.

I do know that dead dogs are never chucked in skips. Our local council charges $45 per body per disposal.

Yes I work in the veterinary industry.
- Chris says:
  
  10:44am | 25/09/12
  
  Miles has not adequately declared his interest in this issue.
  
  He was employed by the Lost Dogs’ Home in Melbourne to do their PR.
  
  Lost Dogs’ Home has a reputation in the sector for some of the worst live save rates in Victoria for dogs.
  
  What Miles fails to mention is that vested interests lie everywhere - including in the animal welfare industry. Lost Dogs’ Home in North Melbourne would stand to lose highly lucrative council contracts for managing pounds across Victoria in their central mega-pound if they reformed.
  
  Reply
- Tarsha says:
  
  10:44am | 25/09/12
  
  The comments that slam a low kill or no kill policy are either ignorant, uneducated or from high kill shelter organisations. For goodness sake, there are alternatives for killing, many alternatives. All we ask is the shelters and pounds implement these proven life saving alternatives.
  
  Reply
MarkF says:

11:34am | 25/09/12

Talking to some of the Filipino’s at work they say that dog is very yummy and they weren’t happy when it became illegal to eat. If so many dogs are unwanted and put down then we are missing a big export market here.

That’s one alternative.
Al says:

12:55pm | 25/09/12

Tarsha - “The comments that slam a low kill or no kill policy are either ignorant, uneducated or from high kill shelter organisations. “
1) Those who slam the ‘No kill policy’ don’t necasarily slam a ‘low kill policy’. Perhaps like me they simply recognise that a no kill policy is a nice ideal, but is not realy achieveable as there are always cases where the only real option for an animal is to be killed.
2) I would say that those who promote the no kill policy are ignorant, uneducated or hopelessly idealistic.
egg says:

03:51pm | 25/09/12

@MarkF, try a bit harder to get a raction, dear, I’m sure it will work one day.
- Robert S McCormick says:
  
  10:45am | 25/09/12
  
  An even simpler solution to the problem is for us to adopt the Chinese law with regard to the breeding on Humans. One child per family, yes, it is now causing problems with ever-increasing numbers of old people & so few youngsters but that is for them to address & it in no way affects the proposition that we should apply the same rules to all pets.
  No-one should be allowed to sell any dogs or cats which have not been de-sexed. So-called “Pet Shops” should not be allowed to sell dogs or cats unless they provide a certificate from a reputeable Vet showing the animals have been de-sexed & it be a criminal offence for anyone to sell a dog or cat which has not been or unless the purchaser is a registered, licensed breeder.
  Dog breeders should be required to have licences ($2000 per annum) and that includes those “breeders” of mongrels such as Labradoodles etc.
  Whether people like it or not any Mixed breed dog is just that. They are not Pure Breeds.
  Members of the public who want to have a dog or cat as a pet should also have to have a licence, the animal not just ‘chipped’ - they can’t find the one on my cat anymore as it has moved somewhere - but also tatooed with the owners name, Tax File & Medicare Numbers so that if the animal strays the owners can be traced & forced to take their pet back.
  
  Reply
Ssoagree says:

01:33pm | 25/09/12

What a brilliant idea. At last some common sense in this discussion.
- What about the backyard breeders? says:
  
  11:13am | 25/09/12
  
  Oscars Law has done great things in exposing the dirty underbelly of puppy farms.
  
  What people continually neglect to address though, is the indiscriminate breeding practices of those who still believe that the kids should “experience the miracle of life”, or that “every bitch should have a litter before being spayed”, or worse that their dogs testicles are somehow an extension of their own individual machismo.
  
  Place greater restrictions on these backyard breeders and watch the figures go down.
  
  Whilst a no-kill goal is admirable, I really believe that we should be greater investing our energies into saving and rehoming those dogs that are merely victims of poorly-planned circumstance (grew too big, had a baby instead, moving house), etc. Why spend all our time and funding concentrating on rehabilitations dogs with known illness and aggression?
  
  Reply
Michellemac says:

12:36pm | 25/09/12

I have been trying to bring a dog into our family now for over 2 months. In this whole time I have religiously searched pet rescue.com every day and been to a number of shelters plus spoken to a lot of rescue groups.

We desparately want (wanted?) to adopt a dog from circumstances as you describe above. Our only requirements were ‘not staffy’, medium-large, sociable with other dogs and good with kids.

I can honestly say I have not seen one single circumstance where the ‘poorly planned’ circumstances you outline above have come up. Or if they have the owners waited to long and dog has become too damaged by the neglect (being locked outside or punished for imagined mis-demeanours or whatever). Unless we took a very old dog with very short remaining lifespan and the obvious expenses that kick in at the end of the dog’s life.

So we’re going to registered breeder puppy route.
- Katrina says:
  
  12:09pm | 25/09/12
  
  Let’s leave aside your incredibly condescending characterization of rescue groups and look at the substance of your complaint. We, at the grassroots of rescue, are making too much noise and not being reasonable? Those of us who have seen there is a way of saving the lives of pets are upsetting the apple cart by being too aggressive? It’s an old charge, all through history, when new thinking comes along which threatens the power of existing institutions, they are chided for being too noisy, too assertive, not reasonable. I doubt you’ll find anyone at the grassroots level threatened or silenced by Saving Pets, “It always seems to me when the anti-suffrage members of the Government criticize militancy in women that it is very like beasts of prey reproaching gentler animals who turn in desperate resistance when at the point of death.” Emmeline Pankhurst
  
  Reply
- Silken says:
  
  12:10pm | 25/09/12
  
  Interesting that not one comment said anything about educating the public. Responsible pet ownership would cure a lot of the problems being experienced by municipalities and their so called “pets”
  
  Reply
Kaye says:

05:15pm | 25/09/12

Here here! It is all good and well to say stop killing companion animals and get up in arms about the number that are killed, but whose fault is it? SOCIETIES!
- F says:
  
  12:17pm | 25/09/12
  
  Even Rangers I have spoken to don’t understand the true meaning of ‘No Kill’, like ‘Al’ here. No Kill does not mean releasing dangers dogs back onto the streets, or prolonging the lives of terminally ill animals with unmanageable disease or injury. What it does mean is rehoming far more animals than currently - as someone said the euth rate is at least below 25%. It means making the use of the community support that is being offered but refused by the Pound Giants. The way Miles puts it, it sounds like 25% euth rate is a lot. Considering LDH currently kill more unclaimed animals than they save, it’s a bit rich.
  
  If as suggested, we focus our efforts only on the easily rehomable dogs, we are simply lying to ourselves. In society, do we give up on people because they are difficult or costly to assist? These are the people that need most help.
  
  I think we can all agree that tighter restrictions on breeding and the closing of puppy farms are essential next steps - but who can argue that actively rehoming more dogs that are ALREADY in the system is a bad thing? I just don’t get it.
  
  Reply
Al says:

01:33pm | 25/09/12

F - so it isn’t realy a ‘No kill’ policy even when it is promoted as a ‘no kill’ policy.
So those who are ‘no kill’ advocates attacking the ‘low kill’ policy organisations are attacking those who believe the same but are more honest about it rather than using statements designed to get an emotive response that are not true?
AdamC says:

01:51pm | 25/09/12

@F, but dogs aren’t people, are they?

I have a rookie question. I would imagine that it is almost impossible to rehome some dogs as they are too poorly-behaved, too old, too unhealthy or even just too ugly to appeal to the human residents of a prospective new home. How is a ‘no kill’ policy applied in respect of these dogs?
- Julie-Anne says:
  
  02:14pm | 25/09/12
  
  In our society we live in I find high kill rates in pounds and shelter across this country extremely disturbing and unnecessary. Why kill healthy companion animals in the first place, due to small problems with temperaments, when they can be assessed and placed into the appropriate environments or foster care until re-homed? It is proven and can be done. Many animal rescue groups have successfully re-homed numbers of unwanted companion animals through foster care programs and the push for pet adoptions is growing. Also, there is a huge difference between humanely putting down an animal due to suffering pain and dying than giving the needle to a perfectly healthy soul that the high kill pounds and shelters choose to do. Instead stamp down on rouge breeders, puppy and kitten factories and backyarders, to reduce the over population of companion animals ending up in the wrong hands that often use poor excuses and then surrender, to high kill pounds and shelters, simply because the pet doesn’t suit them anymore. Introduce pet licensing for households along with the current local laws on pet registrations across the country. It’s about time the rest of community is educated that companion animals are non disposable living souls that cannot be cast off as rubbish!
  
  Reply
- willie says:
  
  02:52pm | 25/09/12
  
  After our dog died my mum wanted to get another from the pound. The previous dog was a hunterway and had been a working dog until the arthritis got to him. Since then my parents had sold all the sheep and my mum just wanted a companion dog.
  
  At the pound there was a fairly old, very quiet, short haired mutt. The perfect dog to follow mum around the garden or walk through the bush. Mum had almost finished all the paperwork when she mentioned to the woman in charge that the dog wouldn’t be allowed inside. That was it, no dog for her “and don’t try get one from another shelter”. apparently they have a system to tell other shelters about unsavoury people like her.
  
  If shelters think keeping animals outside is worse than killing them then the whole system has some serious issues. We ended up with a kelpy somthing-or-other cross with giant ears. It has never complained about sleeping outside.
  
  Reply
- Cherie says:
  
  03:58pm | 25/09/12
  
  Since being involved with a Brisbane based, Cat and Kitten Rescue Ass.
  I have sourced other similar groups, I hope SBS on Insight tonight , has,
  a balanced group, and finally the truth comes out.
  According to a reliable source, the figures are thus,
  600,000 Companion Pets bought in Australia,
  250,000 Companion Pets euthanised.
  Most of the fault , is to do with Pet Shops, Puppy Mills (backyard breeders),
  they sell to Pet Shops, and in Car Parks , through online, and classified,
  Papers.
  An American came up with the TNR, in effect it means,
  Trap Neuter Return.
  
  Healthy and well-cared for, but gradually diminishing feral-neighborhood cat colonies
  An immediate reduction in complaints about behaviors associated with unsterilized cats, including spraying, fighting, roaming and breeding
  Fewer rodents in your neighbourhood.
  I am not an authority on TNR, what it will do is reduce the Feral Cat Colony,
  if they are trapped by the Council, taken to the Pound, they will most certainly be PTS, as the Pound gets a fee for every Animal that is PTS.
  Also if that Feral Colony is destroyed , another Colony will move in, that is
  the principle, and it has had success in the States.
  The Council must bring in Neutering Laws, and offer cheaper rates, it is already working in Logan, and the Gold Coast.(It has just started).
  Since being involved with the Brisbane based Rescue Ass. at Capalaba,
  they do not PTS any of their Cats and Kittens, all the Animals are cared for by a band of Volunteers, Foster Carers, and in some cases, have the Cat /Kitten for up to a year, until the Animal is adopted out, they are neutered,
  vaccinated, wormed, and a Veneratey Surgeon has an Assessment of the ,
  “Adopted Pet” , the Animal is then Adopted out.
  What must be stopped , are Pet Shops and Backyard Breeders, they are in ,
  it for money, the Dog or Cat are in appalling conditions, they breed in sqaulor, have shocking hygiene, their offspring are usually unhealthy, inbreed, and if they survive , multiplle pregnancies, are dumped,
  or killed , visciously, their market , is the Pet Shops, and online, papers ,
  and signs out the front of their House.
  Pet Shops sell the cute puppies and kittens, and are often impulse buys,
  I am not saying all buyers ,are going to dump them , but why are the Pounds full, the Animals , are neglected, tortured, abused, killed.
  Now you can knock these well meaning Rescue Organisations, but they do,
  take in the dumped, abused, pregnant Mothers and their future offspring,
  the Rescue Ass. I am involved with , refuse to PTS, any of their Cats/Kittens,
  unless, it is the kindest action, that can be done.
  I believe the RSPCA has made such a profit, yet they still have a high kill rate.
  I read 57,000 Cats were destroyed last year, less for Dogs,by the RSPCA
  You would be surprised the number of People , that like Older Companion,
  Animals, they are easier to care for, toilet trained, and very loyal and loving.,
  there is a demand for them.
  I know of intances where , owners tried to retrieve their Dogs/ Cats from the
  Pound, only to find out , they had been destroyed, .
  I have seen such graphic photos of Companion Pets, gassed to Death,
  some even survive the Gas Chamber, only to be put through it again.
  We must stop the killing , I have a Petition I started , to put a stop to Pet Shops, and Puppy Mills.
  I hope SBS Insight, tonight brings out the truth, this is a National disgrace,
  and I wil keep my petitions going, volunteer, at a genuine “No Kill” Rescue,
  Association, and I sincerely hope, something good comes out of tonights ,
  Insight.
  PS> If you would like to sign my Petition , I will ask the permission ,
  of the Author Miles Heffernan.
  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/343/554/301/stop-pet-shops-selling-kittens-and-puppies-in-australia/
  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/343/554/301/stop-pet-shops-selling-kittens-and-puppies-in-australia/
  
  We must desex all Companion Animals, register all Companion Animals,
  
  Reply
- Cherie says:
  
  04:23pm | 25/09/12
  
  @Miles Heffernan,
  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/343/554/301/stop-pet-shops-selling-kittens-and-puppies-in-australia/
  This didn’t copy as well as I had hoped, I need 1,000 signatures,
  and have over 830 signatures already, I want to stop pet Shops and Puppy
  Mills, I am so overwhelmed with the shocking abuse, torture, dumping of ,
  unwanted Cats and Dogs, I am really looking forward to Insight.
  I am not a nutter, that thinks , this is the way we run our Shelters,.
  “Little Paws Rescue Association” do admirable work, and are run by Foster,
  Cares, Volunteers, they rehomed over 800 Cats , some very old, and Kittens.
  They have blind cats, they have rehabilitated abused Cats, one darling Cat,
  was thrown from a moving Car, so we all pitched in for her Vet Bills, she has, thrived, and apart from nerve damage, following a fractured pelvis,
  and femur , she has nerve damage, that was six months ago, one day,
  they will find a special person, for her.
  They entered a rescue Kitten from a litter with her Mother, and this Kitten ,
  came second in The Animal Planet Competition, winning a much needed,
  $1,000 of Pet supplies.
  Thanks for listening, and good luck tonight.
  Regards,
  Cherie Gibbs
  
  Reply
- Cherie says:
  
  05:59pm | 25/09/12
  
  @Miles Herffernan,
  Please excuse ,the format, grammar and spelling mistakes,
  I have left my glasses in my Son’s Car.
  Kind regards,
  Cherie
  
  Reply

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