Sometimes when you start picking at a scab you find that it’s actually more puss-filled and poisonous than you had anticipated – such is the tale of the Clover Moore bill.


Since the mainstream media has picked up on the puppy mill issue, instead of heeding the advice of all Australian animal welfare organisations and getting pets out of stores, pet shops have sided with the puppy millers and turned blame to both rescue and owners for the sorry state of pets in Australian society.

We make it way too easy for them. Councils don’t want to have to pets dumped in the wild and offer an ‘easy’ drop-off service at the Pound.

Other groups like the Animal Welfare League also give an implied approval to the idea that surrendering is ok when they hold such things as “Surrender your pet day – no questions asked” – such as the surrender day at Moree held on 17th Feb 2008.

They then re-home many of these surrendered animals – without necessarily having any idea of the behavioural problems which may have prompted their owners to dump them.

So this whole animal welfare business – and it is VERY big business – for some worth millions of dollars a year – this whole animal welfare business and all the emotions that go with it is pointing its many fingers at the wrong people.
Pet Talk Radio – Who Created Death Row?

The great irony is that seeing first hand the futility of blaming surrendering owners, is what drives rescue to make it “easy” for these people to hand over their pets. More often than not, rather than being “irresponsible”, these owners are devastated… overwhelmed. And disillusioned by a pet ownership experience that was completely contrary to their expectations.

“There appears to be a discrepancy between what they would have liked their pet to be like, and what their pet was actually like.“
Tamzin Barber University of QLD study on surrenderment

Through a lack of experience and knowledge, an under-estimation of the extensive commitment of time required in owning a pet, or being out and out mislead by the sellers of animals who purport them as “perfect family pets” (without so much as a mention of training and ongoing costs), new owners struggle to integrate these animals into their lives… and often fail.


Rescue groups overcome this “pet bounce” by screening and educating adopters, desexing pets and offering a lifetime returns policy – fully believing we have a responsibility to help all owners for the life of their pet.


Rather than stepping up and accepting their part in a system that is failing 400,000 times every year - the pet industry continue to blames unsupecting owners for ending up in strife, and now, rescue groups for making surrenderment as untraumatic as possible; all while taking the largest share of the profits (an estimated $4 billion annually).


This continuing unwillingness to put animal welfare above profits demonstrates exactly why we need these new laws to flush the puss and clean up an industry that refuses to take responsibility for itself.