September 17, 2008Comments are closed.shelter procedure
When we talk about pets being killed in pounds around Australia, we tend to gloss over the detail by saying it’s a ‘humane death’ or that ‘we’re putting them to sleep’, which of course is to make everyone feel better about the situation. But while we use euphemisms to describe the act of euthanasia everyone is familiar with (anesthetic overdose via injection) often this purported ‘kind death’ could not be more violent.
Nearly every Australian pound outside the metro area has the same problem; a lack of a resident vet. And since rangers aren’t medically trained and often work alone (killing by injection requires two people – one to hold and one to inject), they have to come up with solutions that see the pets killed in ways we wouldn’t dream of for our own pets.
When my mum inquired with her local council on available resources to euthanase her oversized, terminally ill dog, the ranger informed her that they could send someone out to ‘shoot him’ as that is how they kill the dogs in their facility. Now this isn’t some remote country location, this is York, one hour out of Perth.
Last month the shire of Horsham in Victoria (3hrs out of Melbourne) was pressured into changing their practices by their community;
The council has been criticised for shooting strays not claimed from the pound within eight days, but a report tabled at last night’s meeting said using a vet would cost council about $50,000 a year. ref
The council voted last night to adopt the use of lethal injections. The decision came after months of pressure from a group of Horsham residents advocating a change of policy. ref
And today, Wyong pound (located 1hr out of Sydney), was found to have been killing their animals by stabbing them in the heart.
It has been revealed Wyong Council has been using a method known as heart plunging to euthanise homeless dogs at its Charmhaven facility.
The ABC understands local staff have euthanised more than 1,000 dogs by this method over the past two years. ref
These aren’t in any way isolated cases – these are common practices around Australia. In fact, some councils work to move backwards when it comes to euthanasia techniques. In 2003, the Collie Shire Council (3hrs from Perth) tried to change the method they used to destroy dogs from lethal injection to firearm.
“We are reviewing it to see if there is a more cost effective way'”
In this case the RSPCA stepped in and recommended that the council not put cost above animal welfare.
RSPCA WA shelter manager Rona Raftinger said if the designated firearm conductor did not shoot with pinpoint accuracy there was the chance the animal could be injured instead of killed and consequently experience an excessive amount of pain.
“They draw a line between the eyes from the right ear to the left eye and put a cross in the middle,” she said.
“If the dog moves just a tiny fraction it could enter the head and just wound the animal.”
Now, I’m not picking on rangers; they have a job to do of which animal control is just one small part. But why is the community not being told of the terrible methods they’re being forced to use? Once the public is told their money is being used to shoot and stab pets to death, they’ll demand more from their local councils. And both rangers and pets will be set to benefit from better welfare practices.
