Pound for pound: rough ride for city’s unwanted pets

BY KYLIE FIELD

Sending lost pets to a new pound is Blacktown is almost an assurance of death, argues Nigel Reay-Young, president of the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.
Dogs impounded by City of Sydney rangers are no longer being taken to that facility in Carlton. Instead, the dogs are heading west to the Blacktown Animal Holding, known for its high-kill policy.
The changes came after the existing contract with the council expired in June.
When new management took over the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home concerns were raised about the level of care.
The council has confirmed that when rangers cannot identify pet owners, stray and lost animals are held in a pound so their owners can collect them.
Council say the Blacktown Council pound was chosen because it is the only other pound accessible to the city and because it provides certain services for councils.
According to councillor Di Tornai the arrangement with Blacktown is a temporary one, however she is concerned about the lack of information council has been given on whether Blacktown adheres to the same low-kill policy as the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.
“There is an emphasis on returning and re-homing pets. I have some anecdotal feedback relating to Blacktown as being a high-kill pound,” Cr Tornai said.
“I am anxious that we get information, so that a contract is in place to handle the post-Christmas wave. It’s sad that we need to respond to that but we do. We can’t have animals on the street not being looked after or being hit by vehicles and not being rescued. Whether they are legitimately lost or whether they are deliberately lost, we can’t have animals wondering around in distress.”
She believes the City needs to find a provider that operates according to the low-kill principles of council, which is to make all efforts to find the owners.
“I am aware that the CEO is looking at alternative options. I don’t know if a decision has been made and if it has, I am not aware of it,” she said.
From June 2007 to July 2008, around 144 dogs were bought into the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home. Of these, 76 were released back to their owners, 56 were re-homed and 12 are unaccountable, which the charity says does not necessarily mean they were euthanased.
“We are re-homing 90 per cent of the dogs, which is a huge amount.
“The decision wasn’t made by council but by the head ranger. He made the decision on his own saying the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home had gone downhill since new management took over.
“You would think that the council would be loath to send dogs to their deaths. I recently spoke to a ranger from Blacktown council who said the re-homing rate there is not good,” he said.
Paul Archer, an animal rights lobbyist who runs an website called deathrowpets.com.au, says some councils, like the City of Sydney, are low-kill but the problem is really about money.
“If a council says their animals are not to be killed unless they are aggressive or very sick, the pound will keep them longer than the seven or 14 days ‘ but only if the council is paying their board.
“The situation is that Blacktown is a high-kill pound,” he said.
Blacktown Council would not speak to The City News.