(Australia) More pet onus sought [rehoming/euthanasia RSPCA stats]

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More pet onus sought

 

By Julie Butler

 

THE RSPCA wants all pet dogs and cats de-sexed and fitted with electronic

identification to help reduce the number of animals it receives each year.

 

And it wants local government pounds to keep stray animals at least a week

so more are returned to their owners.

 

Figures released yesterday show the society received 64,471 dogs and 51,598

cats nationwide last year.

 

About two-thirds of the cats and two in five dogs were put down. New homes

were found for about a third of animals.

 

Overall, the number of animals received last year was down 2.8 per cent on

the previous year but the number of cats was up 2.2 per cent. There were

48,503 animal cruelty complaints, a small rise, and 364 prosecutions. About

60 per cent of animal cruelty complaints related to dogs.

 

In WA, where the society has only one shelter, at Malaga, 2108 animals were

received, up from 1243 the previous year. There were 3313 cruelty

complaints, 48 prosecutions and 39 convictions in WA.

 

RSPCA national president Hugh Wirth said too many people were buying pets on

impulse, ending up with animals that were unsuitable for their family, that

they failed to train or simply did not care for properly.

 

Combined with unwanted offspring from pets that had not been de-sexed, and

the many lost without identification, it was no wonder shelters were

overflowing, he said.

 

Dr Wirth urged State governments to make compulsory the electronic

identification of dogs and cats. He praised the Australian Capital Territory

Government for introducing mandatory de-sexing laws for pet dogs and cats,

pressing other States and Territories to follow suit.

 

A spokeswoman for WA Local Government Minister Tom Stephens said the steps

sought by the RSPCA would be considered as part of the current review of the

Dog Act, due to be completed mid-2002. She said local councils already had

the power to require sterilisation of cats.

 

RSPCA WA chief executive Steve Vanstan said the Government should look at

making councils keep stray dogs for at least seven days as part of the Dog

Act review.

 

It had already promised an extension to five days.

 

The society runs two local government pounds, at which it keeps dogs for

seven days before transfer to its re-homing program.

 

It found that while 43 per cent of owners reclaimed their dogs within the

current minimum of three days, a further 17 per cent did so in the next four

days.