Following the ‘whatevs it was just a dog’ shooting of a family’s impounded pet – Ninja, a twelve month old black labrador – back in December, Walgett Shire Council is debating whether or not using a rifle to dispatch a companion animals is appropriate;
Walgett Shire Council director of planning and regulatory services Matthew Goodwin said, while council still administered a gun shot to euthanise animals, all of its procedures were now under review.
“Some people support our current practices and others are wanting change,” he said.
“We will consider the range of community views before making any decision.”
Now I’m not certain which ‘some people’ think that rather than impounding dogs, having them assessed by a vet and giving them to a new family – that we should instead ‘support’ driving pets directly to a tip and shooting them… but the Council is now asking for community feedback.
So, is a rifle an appropriate way for a council to manage their companion animal issues?
Their first community meeting is 12 February at 10.00am
Laws do need to be bought in for council pounds to take more drastic action tion remove animals and to allocate their owners. All animals in pounds sshould be pictured in local papers and obviously the internet. Most people have no idea what or how many animals are I pounded at one time.
A gun shot is never the answer, lead by example you want responsible dog ownership what message does that send . Animals should be regarded as something precious that should extend to how they die. With DIgNITy please …