Can an Animal Shelter Kill too Many Pets?
January 15th 2009 21:00
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This story had me wondering about how many animals can an animal shelter put down before it becomes a case of too many? This is a nebulous question as to an animal lover, even one is too many.
Daily Telegraph story
As heartbreaking as it is to see all the pictures of the dogs on the RIP 2008 list, unless The Sydney Cats and Dogs Home(SCDH) was putting animals to sleep for no reason, what else are they supposed to do? Where else can they put their animals? And I don’t see any of the critics putting their hands up to volunteer to give these animals a home. And what about the people who don’t bother to get their pets microchipped or who dumped these animals in the first place? If it wasn’t for them, the dogs wouldn’t be at The SCDH and The SCDH wouldn’t need to put them down. And let’s not forget as an animal shelter, The SCDH would have limited resources for its animals.
The story doesn’t mention why The SCDH was putting so many animals to sleep but it does say that Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore had concerns about the way dogs were being housed and that Sydney City Council’s decision to withdraw the impound contract from The SCDH was to do with concerns that too many animals were being put down.
The part I found strange was the story mentions The SCDH had to put down 964 cats and dogs during 2007-2008 while Blacktown City Council had put down 3411. As one reader commented, the story doesn’t make sense given these figures.
I’m not condoning The SCDH’s actions as questions do need to be asked about why so many animals needed to be put down but still, I think the journalist is simply pointing the finger at The SCDH without taking a deeper look at what has caused so many animals to be abandoned at their shelter in the first place.
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Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
I would say the difference in figures relates to economy....We are under Blacktown and people just do not give a shit out here. Animals are objects with no feelings - its because a lot of it is farming community. I know a guy who shot his favourite cat because it ate his $70 coy fish from its pond.
A girl nearby wants to come over and learn about horses, shes doing an agriculture course. I was telling her about the feral cats - how it broke my heart to take some beautiful kittens to the RSPCA, most likely to be put down. I was telling her how all the cats in the area need to be desexed and how hard we are working on that thankless task. I mentioned the black tom cat that sometimes wears a collar. She says, "oh, thats our cat. We cant catch him, and dad doesnt care about desexing him." I tried to explain how important it was to trap him and get him desexed, without losing my temper (man was that hard) and she just totally avoided me, and hasnt come back since. I cant believe people. Next time I catch some kittens Im going to make sure I take them over there and show them to her. "arent they sweet? Arent they cute? Your cat is the father you know. Im taking them to the pound where they will most likely get put down. How does that make you feel? And if you dont care about the cats, think about how I have to clean up YOUR mess because you are too irresponsable to desex your cat. If not even that bugs you, think about how my horses - who you say you love - are being neglected while I clean up the feral cat problem I did not cause."
I hate people.
Comment by Queenie
Quirky Folk
Quirky Queenie
You're right. You shouldn't have to clean up after her and her family's mess. On the other hand, what counts is someone responsible is stepping in to do something about the cat and his kittens instead of letting them run around hungry and get run over by a car. Surely being put down at the pound is a more humane way to go.
I hate people too.
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
I found out that people can be banned from owning dogs but not cats. I guess its alright for mans best friend isnt it?
I got abused by a lady from animal welfare - when I had the kittens I left messages everywhere trying to find a no kill shelter, and she called me back after the RSPCA had already taken them and abused me because she said they should have gone to the pound. I didnt say anything to her but it made me really angry - like, I dont have to waste my time catching them! I could just ignore it like my neighbors do!
Comment by Queenie
Quirky Folk
Quirky Queenie
As my friend Fred says, "Wherever there's people, there's trouble. Sometimes you're better off on your own."