Check out Seth’s fear of apples to see why people don’t adopt second hand pets.

… they’re afraid of your product and your service. Whatever you sell, there are two big reasons people aren’t buying it:

1. They don’t know about it.

2. They’re afraid of it.

If you can get over those two, then you get the chance to prove that they need it and it’s a good value. But as long as people are afraid of what you sell, you’re stuck.

People are afraid of tax accountants, iPods, chiropractors, non-profits, insurance brokers and fancy hotels. They’re afraid of anything with too many choices, too many opportunities to look foolish or to waste time or money.

They’re definitely afraid of inviting an adult pet into their families and expecting them to fit in.

How are you going to overcome their fear?

One of the keys to successfully implementing a breed specific law (BSL) such as a ban on pit bulls, is to convince the public that these dogs are (and I quote an aussie politician) “killing machines on legs”.

To do that, you need the help of the media. Of the thousands of dog bites in Australia (a relatively small number given the millions of dogs), you’ll need the media to report only a few dozen a year. And only those where your target breed of choice is involved.

But like everyone whose strategy is based around the traditional media format of;

hype it > get politicians interested > media follow the pollies > social panic > politicians think up a knee jerk law

BSL advocate campaigns are being damaged by the power of social media. With people tuning out from major news outlets in droves and instead turning to their friends for recommendations of what is relevant and important, the public are less vulnerable to the FUD delivered on behalf of these groups.

What’s more, this new ‘empowered individual’ media platform is allowing the pit bull owning families caught up in this legislation the chance speak about about how their pet was while it was alive and what it meant to them. Possibly the worst outcome for BSL campaigns which are based on generating hysteria and confusion about how ’scary’ these dogs really are.

This one went up a couple of days ago (he’s prolly more staffy than pibble, but often ’same same but different’):

One of the most famous cases of an internet campaign in response to council upholding BSL was that of ‘Bruce’ in Northern Ireland. Bruce was deemed to be a pit bull by his local council, but with the decision being challenged in court by his owners, this internet video got the attention of the UK RSPCA, the Kennel Club and the international media.

Watch this – I like to call it “What’s wrong with BSL? Everything“

How’s your tissue count?

Along with the human cost involved in this legislation when loved family pets are snatched from their homes, the other toll to the community lay in the undeserved denigration of some of our most vulnerable pet owners. Hyping the idea that ‘evil urban street youth’ are overbreeding and most likely fighting dogs feeds a most basal type of stereotyping and discrimination. Given a new ‘voice’ this bigotry and hate push these pet owners and their pets to the fringes and sees them labeled ‘thugs’ and criminals all because of their breed of choice.

If the owner treats the dog nice, it will be a nice dog. If you treat it aggressive, the dogs going to turn out aggressive.

It’s like a person, if you treat a person good, the person is going to be good back to you. If you treat a person bad, they’re going to be on edge, they’re going to be bad back to you.

Big ups to Bad Rap for the link:

Most report these key causes for the breed’s suffering: POVERTY. Lack of accessible resources – vet care, housing, training. And the heart wrenching consequences of breed bias and discrimination.

Hitting the wall with stereotypes: Bad Rap

Breed specific legislation has no place in our future. There is no longer a ’secret back room’ – if you kill a dog because of its breed, the devastated owner can now put together a montage letting people know what you’ve done that can be seen by thousands in a matter of days. With hundreds of thousands of Australian’s sharing their homes with pit bulls and bull breeds, and owners who extend from the most privileged to the most disadvantaged, all dog owners need support and education, not condemnation for supposedly choosing the ‘wrong’ kind of dog.

The warning is thus; at some point in the near future our community is going to ask;

If healthy, friendly pets, who’ve never done anything wrong and with

owners who love them, are condemned to death just because of their breed,

exactly who are the ‘killers’ in this story?

In a great evolution of thinking, rescue groups are now moving away from blaming pet owners for poor shelter performance and and punishing the community by providing ugly shelters with hostile staff, towards a new customer-centric attitude.

These community focused approaches lead not only to literally hundreds of thousands of dollars worth free advertising and donations, but most importantly they save lives.

From the Daily Telegraph:

Ugly animal shelters are driving away potential new owners for dumped and stray animals, forcing the euthanasia of thousands each year, according to the RSPCA.

But now the animal welfare group is fighting back with a radical shift from the traditional large-scale shelter format by launching a retail outlet to compete with customer-friendly commercial pet stores.

The shop at Rouse Hill town centre, in Sydney’s booming northwest, is a direct response to record animal euthanasia rates, with about 20,000 animals put down in NSW last financial year – a number the RSPCA said is “way too high”.

The 135-year-old organisation admitted the format of their existing shelters was part of the problem, driving potential customers away and carrying a stigma that if an animal is in a shelter there must be something wrong with it.

“There’s a proportion of the public who won’t come into one of our shelters because their impression is they’re depressing and noisy,” RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman said. “This new concept will certainly be very different in look and feel.”

The store, to open in December, aims to meet the festive season surge in unwanted pets, many put down because shelters and foster carers are overwhelmed.

A similar article appeared in the Noosa News, except this is one step even better with the project packing the complete flexibility that comes from a ‘mobile adoption van’.

How much is that cute doggy in the amazing, animal-friendly wagon – both with the waggly tails?

That could well be the begging pleas of children at every school fair and community flea market on the Coast now that Noosa has launched the RSPCA’s The Road Home Program, a sort of “pets on wheels” painted in animal murals.

Thanks to the Bendigo Community Bank branches at Cooroy, Tewantin and Marcoola, the RSPCA has a new drive to find homes for animals on the Sunshine Coast.

RSPCA Queensland chief executive Mark Townend described The Road Home adoption outreach program as breaking new ground in animal welfare.

“Our aim has always been to re-home as many animals as possible,” he said at Noosa Marina on Friday.

The shelter animals can now be taken out into the community and offered for adoption in animal friendly environments such as exhibitions and show days, council parks and outdoor centres.

Offsite adoption is even more effective as, having shaken off the idea ‘if someone isn’t willing to drive across town, they won’t be a good owner’ <false>, this group is able to use existing resources like pet events to promote homeless animals the wider community.

What’s more; nearly any rescue group – not just one with a budget of millions – could have a van like this.

Are you thinking ‘outside the shelter’? If not, why not?

Love this from Pet Connection today:

Time to adopt? An adult dog is a great choice!

Puppies are overrated. I say that after spending the last six months working on raising one who’s still a work in progress. Faith is a darling, bright retriever who is as good a puppy as anyone could ever hope for. I love her! But after piddle puddles, chewed headphones and all the normal silliness and mess that go along with raising a puppy, I’m reminded why most of the dogs who’ve ended up as part of my family have come into my home as adults.

October is Adopt-a-Dog month, and that also reminds me why, when people with a lot on their plates ask me about getting a puppy, I encourage them to consider a grown dog instead. Chosen carefully, an adult dog will be well past puppy foolishness and may have had some basic obedience training. Unlike puppies, who need constant monitoring, an adult dog should be able to be left alone while a family is at work or school after a much shorter period of training and re-adjustment.

For today’s time-crunched households, there’s no better deal than a good adult dog.

Everyone loves puppies and they generally have good luck being adopted into new homes. However, for many families a more mature pet is actually a much better choice. Here are the top 5 reasons to consider an adult when you’re shopping for your perfect new dog!

1. You’ll know what sized collar to buy

The first and most obviously benefit when choosing an adult dog is that you don’t have to guess how small or large they’re going to turn out.

While we all love a great aussie mutt, it can be hard to judge their final size; especially if ‘dad’ is an unknown quantity. An adult dog is a great choice for people with kids, who are looking for that ‘medium’ size that is neither too fragile, nor too boof.

2. They’re less galloping maniac

Puppies are cute. They’re also messy, destructive, frustrating and often, boisterous and mouthy. They’ll need to be toilet trained, meaning making arrangements for when you’re at work and likely limiting your social outings until your ‘baby’ is a bit older.

Adult dogs are nearly always housebroken, and you can quickly assess (or you can discuss with your rescue group) whether they know some basic obedience, can walk on lead and are friendly and good with other dogs.

Adult dogs are used to ‘people schedules’ and will usually sleep the day away when you’re at work, then be happy to curl up next to you on the sofa or at your feet in the evenings. Boundless puppy energy is cute for exactly 4 minutes; after that you’ll wonder if it’s too late to swap him for a goldfish.

3. They’ll bond with you just the same

People often say they only want a puppy because they believe that older dogs won’t bond with you. Anyone who’s taken on an adult dog will know that this is simply untrue.

Dogs, like people have an enormous capacity to adapt and an even more enormous capacity to love. If you provide a safe, nurturing environment for your dog, he will bond with you just as strongly as any puppy. What’s more, many rescue dog owners report that their pet is much more grateful for the love he gets, than any silver spoon, spoilt pup.

4. You’ll know who you’re getting

Many a pup has found himself abandoned because he grew into the wrong dog personality type for his home. As adult dogs already have an established personality, adopting one lets you make an accurate assessment and allows you to pick the best match for your living situation.

Do you want friendly and outgoing, or calm and loyal? Bouncy and enthusiastic, or laid back and happy to chill. Or a little of all of these? A reputable rescue group will take the time to assess you, your living arrangements and expectations. They’ll also assess the dogs personality and match him with his perfect home.

5. You’ll be a hero

While puppies tend to zoom out of shelters, adults can wait weeks and months for a compassionate new owner to come along and adopt them. Sometimes they don’t come at all.

Leave the puppies for another family and instead take the time to get to know the adults who are in care. They need you much, much more; in fact you’ll be saving their life.

Strolling along the lines of kennels at my shelter, the same dogs appear over and over. Young, friendly, happy and healthy they have their whole lives in front of them… except they don’t. These guys are the least likely to find a rescue and the most likely to wind up as rendered fertiliser.

Unlike many in my industry, I’m not anti-dog breeding. There will always be a market for nice looking dogs with a great temperament and a history of healthy relatives. What isn’t selling are the plain, common, fugly and the ‘unknown quantity’. And those dogs are unfortunately being bred by someone.

So in this world of politics, purebred vs cross bred bickering and anti-breeder sentiment how can you avoid breeding next year’s shelter dog?

Will your pups sell for less than $500?

Are people actually buying what you’re selling, consistently and for $500 or more? In today’s market the answer is very often, no. A quick look amongst the puppy farmer hangouts – petlink, gumtree or trading post will tell you pretty quickly the going rate for any dog you’re about to bring into the world.

Cavalier x Jack Russell Puppies
I have available 1 Male and 2 x Female Cavalier x Jack Russell puppies. These puppies have lovely temperaments and would are ideal for children and adults alike. They have been wormed, vaccinated and microchipped and come with a puppy owners guide, sample of food and information regarding caring for, raising and training. These puppies are well socialised and get along with all other dogs and cats. We can frieght. $200.00 each.

Shitzu x Miniature Poodle (Shoodles), Non Shedding
Shitzu mum x miniature poodle dad. Non shedding gorgeous fluffy pups, currently 3 white and apricot boys and 1 black boy left. Ready to go early November. $350.

Cattle x Border collie pups
Currently 4 weeks old but will be ready for sale in two weeks…. these gorgeous stumpy-tailed cattle x bordercollie pups are friendly and very lively. there are 4 male and 4 female pups available. the mother and father are also available for viewing, they both have lovely temperaments. all pups un-vaccinated or chipped although they are all very healthy! there is a great range of colours and patterns to choose from as well as having a mix of stumpy-tailed and non-stumpy tailed pups. price is $270

Lab x Kelpie puppies
Kelpie X Black Lab Puppies 7 weeks old. Gorgeous looking puppies- looking more labby. Mother Kelpie- GREAT family dog, loves fetch. Father- Black Labby- Excellent guard dog, great family dog, loves fetch with sticks. Lots of energy. 1 Choc Brown Male $250. 2 black $150 (mixed sexes).

Dogs that are sold cheap, often aren’t valued by their new owners and once in rescue, aren’t rehomed because they have no perceived value to potential adopters. If you’re serious about breeding animals who won’t go straight in to the bin (literally) spend some time on PetRescue scoping out what kinds of dogs are showing up in rescue and breed away from those.

If your dog isn’t a ‘breed’, but a kelpie, staffy, labby mixxy; or a shitzy, little white fluffy, then know that they are as common as chalk and a shelter intake staple. No one wants them, and even if they do, they won’t pay much for them because there’s dozens in every Sunday paper and more still going cheap in the pound.

Is your dog desirable?

It’s easy to breed dogs. Much harder is to breed dogs people actually want. And really, really hard is to breed dogs people will want to keep for a lifetime. According to a survey of pet owners conducted by Pauleen C. Bennett;

Australian owners want dogs that are medium sized, short haired, acquired as a puppy, desexed, safe with children, fully housetrained and healthy. They also want their ideal dog to come when called, not to escape from the property, to enjoy being petted and to display affection to its owners. When participants were asked to list the characteristics they considered to be MOST important the most common responses included friendly, obedient, affectionate and healthy.

Undesirable behaviours fell into five factors: disobedience, unfriendliness, nervousness, destructiveness and excitability.

Many other dogs are relinquished because of canine behaviours, such as boisterousness, hyperactivity and aggression, which owners are unable to tolerate. Not all dogs are created equal. Some suit the requirements of modern owners more than others.

Read that again; Should be: medium sized, short haired, safe with children, fully housetrained, comes when called, displays affection, friendly, obedient and healthy. Shouldn’t escape, be nervous, boisterous, hyper, excitable or destructive

The dog you are breeding from should have all of these positive characteristics in spades and none of the ones that drive people crazy. Separation anxiety is hereditary. Dog aggression is hereditary. Digging and chewing like a maniac is hereditary. Barking all day long is hereditary. Being spooky of strangers, nippy or growly and inclined to chase and kill the neighbours cat or herd the kids is hereditary. Your dog needs to be literally perfect before you chose to bring more of him into a world where even being ‘a very good dog’ doesn’t cut it.

The overwhelming majority of families aren’t looking for a high energy and exercise requirements in their dog, so herding breeds, hounds and terriers are often dumped for being unmanageable. And the chances of even a young working breed finding a home the second time around are close to nil; you may as well be breeding pups and shoveling them straight into landfill.

(If you really think you’re breeding the next ‘dog sport champion’ from your backyard kelpie you’re sadly mistaken. People who do dog sports and obedience tend to make considered pet choices so look to breeders who are providing a long history of proven performance dogs. They do not want your fugly pups.)

If your bitch is not the canine equivalent to Mother Teresa, bomb proof and faultlessly friendly, then you need to desex her. Now. Make the same assessment of any father you’re planning to use; he gets a half say in how these pups turn out, so needs to be equally perfect to give the pups any chance at a long life.


Big, black dog bounce

Big, black dogs are available by the truckload, literally. Truckloads of them are shipped to kill shelters because no one wants them. There’s much less buffer with a ‘big, scary’ dog, which means they absolutely have to be brought up right to live in modern society. A bad mannered toy breed will likely stay in his home as long as he isn’t dangerous; a forty-seven kilo, bouncing adolescent with no manners, a hard head and slobbery chops will not be given the same allowances.

Even the nicest big black dogs scare other dog owners, so they’re much harder to socialise and integrate. And without those ‘pluses’ to dog ownership like relaxing walks and dog park outings, these giant goofballs are rapidly demoted to backyard dogs, to be given up at the first excuse.

If you’re breeding big black dogs, you should do so fully in the knowledge that you’ve set this animal up with characteristics that will likely shorten his life to a sad couple of years.

Is your dog fugly?

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a show quality dog in rescue; and guess what? PEOPLE WANTED IT. What they don’t want is Labradors that look like kelpies, buck toothed shitzu’s, any of the thousands of identical ‘little brindle’ staffies, the little white dogs with bent legs and bung knees or the white bullie things with perpetually sun blistered ears and noses. Not the mention the thin faced rotties, jack russell terror mixes or anything with ‘mastiff’ or ’shepherd’ in the cross.

Stop breeding these plain looking dogs that no one wants!


Unless you have something to actually contribute to dog kind, please don’t breed!

It’s easy for people who breed their pet to blame ‘irresponsible owners’ for pet abandonment, and wipe their hands of any responsibility after sale. But with shelter killing the leading cause of death in young, healthy dogs in Australia, there are so, so, so many dogs that aren’t going to get a chance to live a long, loved life with a family. Deliberately setting up a litter of puppies with lifetime handicaps and undesirable characteristics like those listed above, means you are equally responsible for these dog’s short, wasted lives.

As a companion animal advocate, I spend a lot of time promoting the joys of pet ownership and the benefits of a society which embraces pet owning families. I also campaign for initiatives which encourage and empower pet lovers, as I feel the secret to solving companion animal issues is to tap into community compassion.

Image: Post Secret

But compassion is a funny thing. Distance leads to less compassion, personal connection brings the kind of compassion that moves mountains. And we, the pet lovers of Australia, have personal compassion for our animal friends in buckets, should we be asked to act.

Unfortunately, outside influences, especially from those who we feel know more than us, can sometimes shift our compassionate beliefs from that which we know in our hearts to be true, to whatever we think is ‘for the best’. Think, the dog training student made to ‘check’ and dominate a compliant dog, knowing full well in their heart that it’s serious overkill. Or the person who stands by and watches a horse being abused thinking that the horse breaking expert must ‘know what he’s doing’.

Que the unowned cat. The cat story so far has been one of persecution. Cats of history were associated with witches, black arts and bad luck. Modern cats are blamed for disease, nuisance and the harm of other animals. It seems we love to hate cats.

But why? We’d no more kick a maltese than kill a spouse, but for some reason cat cruelty, including rounding up and killing cats who’ve done nothing more than live a quiet life away from humans is seen as completely appropriate. But here’s the thing; it’s not our fault. We’ve been mislead by those claiming to be acting in the name of ‘cat welfare’.

Cat welfare groups have spent the last twenty years or so, telling us that to show compassion to a cat is a bad thing. In fact they’ve made laws which turned anyone who gives a stray cats a little bit of food into a criminal, made it illegal to own more than two cats (no matter how good an owner you are) and also made it an offence to desex that stray community cat that everyone feeds and put him back into his community. Meanwhile, in Victoria, they’ve spent $5 million dollars on a marketing campaign called ‘Who’s for Cats‘ telling us the only thing we ’should’ do is help them catch and kill these animals;

People who feed unowned cats need to make a decision; to either be a responsible owner and fully adopt the cat (and have it desexed, vaccinated and microchipped) or call their local council to arrange to have the cat collected.
Lost Dogs Home ‘Who’s for Cats’ page

A campaign which, rather than celebrate cats and cat ownership, portrayed them as dark, shadowy, underworld figures that needs to be ‘collected’ for the greater good.

Unowned cats are also a significant source of nuisance in the community. They prey on wildlife, spray strong smelling urine around houses and cars, fight with owned cats, spread disease, yowl at night, and defecate in gardens and sandpits.
Who’s for Cats website

(Remember, this campaign was devised by groups claiming to be advocating for cat welfare and compassion! One leading participant is even called the ‘cat protection society’!).

Rather than look to help each community manage their own cat problem through desexing outreach programs; they’ve simply pushed the same ‘catch and kill’ mentality which has failed since animal rescue began.

Here’s a news article from 1986 – 23 years ago, by the very same people who brought you ‘Who’s for Cats’.

The Cat Protection Society’s work in trapping stray cats will be extended by a $61,000 grant.

Six people will be employed for 28 weeks to trap wild, stray and unwanted cats.

Dr Smith said they would now be able to do more trapping in industrial areas, in inner city laneways and expected a 25 to 30% increase in the number of cars handled at the society’s shelter.

Certainly things have changed little in two decades; they’re still demanding cats be culled, but have now cleverly outsourced the cat trapping to the community. And, by all accounts it’s been a huge ’success’! From the Lost Dog’s Website:

In 2008 The Lost Dogs’ Home saw a 40% increase in cat admissions compared to 2007.

This was mainly due to Melbourne’s cat over population crisis which saw more strays collected of the streets and brought to the Home.

And they are even now calling for the community to help them build a bigger pound!

What’s more, with climate change being blamed for everything nowadays, groups working under the ‘Who’s for Cats’ banner, no longer have to accept blame for the associated rise in impoundments and killing that they they directly requested take place, but can instead simply blame it on the sunshine;

We, as a community of compassionate cat lovers have to know in our hearts that helping groups, who already kill between 70-95% of the cats they take in, catch even more cats is not something we should want to be a part of.

There are programs that could eliminate the killing of shelter cats overnight and to continue down this path of ‘improved and rebranded’ killing is unethical in the face of these alternatives.

The time is now. The HSUS, who first opposed TNR, now provide resources on running these programs.

Effective strategies for permanently reducing the homeless cat population are essential and Trap-Neuter-Return, when properly implemented, offers such a solution.

The ASPCA, who first opposed TNR programs, now provide resources on running these programs.

The ASPCA endorses Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as the only proven humane and effective method to manage feral cat colonies.

The Auckland SPCA spoke at the National Desexing Conference and are a good decade into their TNR programs.

The managed colony of cats are of happy disposition and form a part of the framework of our animal inhabitants, who contribute their fair share in the balance of nature. Their elimination is both foolhardy and cruel. Bob Kerridge CEO Auckland SPCA

Australia is the only country who is still fighting the very people who claim to be ‘for cats’ to keep them from continuing to kill cats unnecessarily. The directors of organisations who fail to implement these programs will eventually be forced to evolve when the excuses finally run out. And they will be remembered as the ones who championed killing long after their community begged them to stop.

Nathan Winograd on twitter:
G’day mate. Just returned from down under. And the race is on for a No Kill nation. Who will get there 1st: U.S., Australia or New Zealand?

Check out this youtube of his recent interview on Animal Wise Radio. Shout outs to the RSPCA ACT and AWL QLD.

If you needed proof that the overwhelming majority of Australian pet owners, don’t only love their pets, but make provisions for them during times of financial crisis, check this video:

If you had a child that needed a particular medicine, you would find the money from somewhere. The same for any member of your family, you dig deep.

There is a $4.2 billion dollar pet industry in Australia that is growing, even during these tough economic times. There are 3.6 million dogs and 2.2 million cats living in families around the nation. And only a tiny percentage (less than 5%) ever need the services of a pound or shelter.

While we continue to blame ‘an irresponsible public who need laws to make them do the right thing for their pets’ as the reason for shelter killing; the facts simply don’t support this theory.

So why then are we still killing?

A thought provoking article from the SF/SPCA Law and Advocacy department:

The costs of passing coercive, punitive mandates are high. Communities that have taken this approach often do not see substantial decreases in euthanasia, and in some cases, euthanasia may actually increase. In addition, adopting these measures can drive a deep, sometimes irreparable, wedge between the community and the shelter.

On the other hand, turning from controlling animals and the public to saving lives and supporting the community brings many rewards:  a public perception of the shelter as life savers, increased employee morale, increased donations, and increased volunteers.

We believe the best way to work with the community and promote caring, compassion and responsible pet care is to help people to do the right thing. That’s why our programs focus on incentives, not citations. Whether it’s free spay/neuter, free pet behavior counseling, free ‘pets okay’ rental referrals, or our feral cat assistance program, we’d rather empower people to love and keep companion animals responsibly than blame and punish them.

It not just preferable, but absolutely essential for the humane movement to embrace the community we serve. We cannot save animals’ lives without people’s help. Time and time again, we have seen that working cooperatively with people creates an atmosphere of trust and respect, a community where people willingly learn how to be responsible animal guardians and view the shelter as a resource rather than as an enemy.

By contrast, punitive ordinances such as cat licensing, mandatory spay/neuter, and pet limit laws punish the public and, unfortunately, also community caregivers. Moreover, ordinances of this type have historically been selectively enforced on a complaint-driven basis, usually against unaltered catsowned and unowned. These cats, feral or tame become fair game for people who would like to see them forcibly removed from alleyways, neighborhoods, and backyards. Rather than partnering with the community by promoting convenient access to affordable spay/neuter and education, these laws unfairly penalize uneducated pet owners and dedicated people who voluntarily commit their time and resources to caring for animals. These people range from senior citizens who feed and watch over a handful of homeless cats in their yards, organized caregivers who feed and monitor many more animals, to others who devote their time and limited resources to placing stray animals they come across.

In San Francisco, building programs around this compassion has resulted in city-wide euthanasia rate declines that are unparalleled anywhere in the country.

Still think laws targeting pet owners are the answer?

You’re wrong.

Just when you think ‘jeepers, they churn animals quick’ – pounds find a way to churn them even faster…

Lake Macquarie’s new policy on feral animals

Feral and infant companion animals that council rangers pick up in Lake Macquarie will be euthanised quicker, under a new policy aimed at saving money and reducing stress on animals.

Lake Macquarie City Council approved last night an agreement with the RSPCA, under the Companion Animals Act, to euthanise animals within seven days at the RSPCA’s Rutherford pound.

A council report said this would improve animal welfare and reduce the stress animals experience in the pound.

An agreement between the council and the RSPCA, which expired in June, allowed feral and infant animals to be kept for a minimum of seven days before they were euthanised.

Holding the animals for seven days was an “extra burden” on the pound and an “unnecessary additional cost to council”, the report said.

The council kept the report’s financial details confidential.

The RSPCA must consider several factors when determining whether a companion animal is feral or infant.

These include: capacity of staff to safely handle and store the animal; staff occupational health and safety; the prospect of rehousing the animal; the age of the animal; whether the animal has been microchipped; the animal’s condition and its ability to eat without assistance; the likelihood of survival.

Lets take a look at that again:

The RSPCA must consider several factors when determining whether a companion animal is feral or infant.

So when determining whether an animal is ‘feral’ or ‘infant’ (and therefore able to be killed immediately under these new ‘no harm, no foul’ rules) they will be considering a whole host of factors which have nothing to do with the animal actually being feral, or an infant.

Whether, they have room in the shelter. Whether the animal is chipped (unlikely, I’d suspect given they’ve not gone home). Whether they are need special care. Whether they need TLC to get fatter, learn to eat or be well enough to be a candidate for rehoming…

Suddenly every single pet is able to be churned under this ‘kill-able’ interpretation.

We haven’t got room and you’re not chipped = feral. You’re small and need extra care = infant. You’re scared and suffering from a (treatable) illness = feral. You’re young and skinny = infant.

Did you see how they did that? It’s like a magic trick. Turning killing into ‘reducing stress on the animal’… you know humane, like.

This will be the new trend. Once the public starts to pressure for better performance, the result will be a blurring of statistics and a re-label of killing with a new, humane-friendly title.

Stay tuned.