Fraser Coast Regional Council/Hervey Bay pound
So my email has been blowing up this morning. Gone viral is a series of seven photographs of dead dogs and cats laying discarded on the top of a skip bin and laying sprawled in kennels at the Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast Regional Council) pound.
Warning – graphic photos at end of article.
The new pound, which cost local rate payers in excess of half a million dollars and that was opened just last year, is currently open to pet owners looking for lost animals by appointment only.
While this public-funded facility, is open to the public for adoptions exactly zero days of the year.
According to the Council’s statement this morning, the pound took in 1,968 pets (1,423 dogs + 545 cats). Of those, 963 were reclaimed, leaving 1,005 pets available for potential adoption by new families.
Council rehomed exactly zero – that is, no pets whatsoever were placed by them because they don’t ‘do’ adoptions. They only ‘do’ killing. Unless rescue is willing to throw themselves between the pet and the needle. Some rescue groups are allowed to step in and save some of the pets before pound staff get the chance to kill them and throw them in the garbage. Private non-profit community groups are permitted to do the work of council for them.
So of the remaining unclaimed 1,005 pets, 380 pets were able to be plucked to safety by rescue groups.
And 100% of the 590 pets remaining were killed.
But it’s ok you guys because irresponsible people…
In a statement today, Councillor Robert Garland said;
“It is very sad that so many animals have to be euthanised… We’re also working together to promote responsible pet ownership in the hope that people will do the right thing and ensure their pets don’t wander, they are registered, tagged and microchipped so pets and owners can be reunited quickly.”
HAVE to be euthanised – yup got it. Nothing more the poor council staff could do. Except, I don’t know… their jobs? Anything else at all?
Council have advised in future all pets will be bagged before being thrown in the dumpster, since all the while the public is happy to fund this now shiny-new pet slaughterhouse, Fraser Coast pound staff are sweet. They can simply keep baggin’em and shoving them into the bin. While the feckless masses can now find flyers on responsible pet ownership available for download on their website.
No one WANTS to kill… yadda, yadda.
See also: Fraser Coast oopsie kills Tara the German Shepherd
That educating the public thing is an interesting one – it’s been pretty much every animal welfare organisation’s missions forjustaboutever without any clear sense of what it means. I’ve been thinking about it lately: http://tinyurl.com/pnscc24
I’m sure the animals of the Fraser Coast will be comforted by the knowledge that while they’ll still be killed, they’ll have a nice plastic bag to keep them from shocking the locals with their rampant deadness.
Nailed it. How sickening that the overwhelming response in comments on the pictures is along the lines of “The council must not shock people with the truth! Respect the needlessly killed animals by bagging them thus hiding the truth from the ratepayers!”
Umm, how about putting those bins full of dead bodies in front of every pound so everyone sees what happens to pets as they walk in the front door? Nobody in the nation could ever use the excuse “I didn’t know they would be killed!” ever again, and some would think twice before breeding those back yard litters. Workers might think twice about their efforts to reunite pets with owners, or rehome pets instead of filling that bin.
Councils might be forced by voters to direct funds into subsidized desexing programs instead of bigger pounds and more killing.
This is disgusting – this HAS to be stopped – these animals deserve 2nd chances – am alarmed how one looks like it “died” in a temp holding pen :(
Petitions should be started – letters to the council – let’s bombard them NOW
This is very disturbing and sad that this number of healthy animals have not been re-homed and saved from death. What is even more concerning is that these poor animals are being thrown away like garbage. Aside from being heart breaking for those who see it, is it not a health issue having dead animals sitting outside in the sun? The smell would be overpowering! Surely the animal rights and health department need to do a complete audit of this place!
I can understand the “not bagging” being a health and safety issue. Not for the rampant deadness. the previous e comment seem to be a tad off the mark.
I’m disgusted , “……… How on earth can anyone do such things …………. What goes around comes around.