RSPCA WA State President comments on No Kill policy

[Guest guest]

Received: January 9th 2002

 

Dear Mrs Wegner

 

I noted your comments about the HK SPCA " no kill " policy.

 

RSPCA Western Australia has a " no kill " policy.

That means we do not euthanase any healthy animal which passes

a temperament assessment forrehoming.

 

Every re-homable animal is vet checked for good health, temperament

assessed, vaccinated against diseases, microchipped for identification,

assessed to match the potential home environment, and the local government

authority is informed that the dog has been re-homed into its jurisdiction

so that registration is ensured.

 

When our shelter is full we will not take in additional animals,except for

rescues, or overcrowd the shelter causing potential for disease.

 

Surrender offers are put onto a waiting list and owners asked to contact us

again after a prescribed time. We sometimes find that this " cooling off "

period causes people to change their mind as they often re-bond with the dog

again during this period, and re-homing becomes unnecessary. We have no

evidence of abandonment of animals during this period.

 

Alternatively, in desperate cases, the dog may be fostered out to temporary

foster carers for short periods, and again, knowing we have not yet re-homed

the animal, dogs are sometimes re-claimed and bonding is restored.

 

We believe our Policy of " no kill " , combined with a strong re-homing

program, together with our Policy of " no shelter over-crowding " works, and

results in responsible ownership without the dire consequences some people

predict.

 

We have no idea how the policy will work in HK, but we know it works in

Western Australia.

 

Licensing of animal owners has been proposed on many occasions, but

government authorities have not been persuaded they should go directly down

that path. Registration of dogs in Western Australia, with associated

registration fees distinguishing between whole and sterilised animals,

records the details of the dog, but also records the owner's name, and so

has the indirect effect of registering the owner.

 

Regards

Eric Ball

President

RSPCA WA Inc