Robyn Kippenberger, Richard Avanzino & Joy Verrinder
NDN Opening – G2Z elements
– Community clinic and desexing programs
– Proactive animal management
– Free living cats and dogs
– Effective shelter/pound animal care
– Community involvement and animal statistics
– Legislation
>>> The new Getting to Zero website can be seen here – www.g2z.com.au <<<<
Richard Avanzino, President Maddie’s Fund USA – Getting to No Kill in the US by 2015
Australia and the US are at the same moment in time. People have started trying different approaches and are getting good results.
Australia 53% save rate — Animal deaths per thousand people – 8
US 60% save rate — Animal deaths per thousand people – 10
Strategies that work:
– Adoptions
Overcome fear and uncertainty by smashing negative stereotypes and proclaiming: there is nothing wrong with shelter pets.
Shattering myths; too many pets, not enough homes
People won’t adopt older or treatable animals (injuries)
Easy to find homes for the cute and cuddles – only recently have we started looking to rehoming the old and uglies.
Maddies Matchmaker Adoptathon placed 2,204 pets in 2 days in 2 counties.
– Shelter medicine
Ten years ago there was only one shelter medicine program. Today 24 out of 28 vet schools have shelter medicine programs. The number of vet specially trained to keep shelter pets well and treat pets who are sick and injured is growing by leaps and bounds.
– Transparency and accountability.
Assomilar Accords
Collaboration
Publicly available shelter statistics
Publish your ‘treatable v non-treatable’ matrix for public discussion. Involve veterinarians, public & shelter staff to make determinations of which animals are treatable.
Most agencies develop ‘treatable’ criteria based on personal intakes vs what resources they have – Asimolar Accords looked at the base community expectation and vet’s belief of treatable to develop a matrix for groups to work towards.
My breastfeeding break!
Robyn Kippenberger CEO RNZSPCA NZ
How do you eat an elephant?
Piece by piece putting together what can be done to save lives – focusing on the ‘can do’.
– Desexing colony cats
– Provide a public education service to encourage pet owners to continue to care for animals.
– Commitment to rehabilitating behavioural and medical problems
– Local media relationships
– Commitment to desexing and microchipping as many animals as possible (for free!)
– Increasing the pool of foster carers and volunteers
– Maximising adoptions; including off-site adoptions. Free feline Friday (did 500 cats in a day, brought in animals from other shelters)
– Working with key associations – Animates Pet Store to rehome and reduce strain on the shelter.
– Cat Coalition of colony feeders (90+ groups)
– Maintaining the vision of ‘Saving Lives’
Dr Jeff Young – Planned Pethood USA
Dr Jeff Young – Planned Pethood USA
“The Controversy is Over: Early Age Desexing”
Desexing contract don’t work – if you’re releasing animals to the public undesexed in 2011, you’re doing something wrong.
US Stats: 30-60% of adopters don’t abide by desexing contracts.
Number one cause of death for companion animals is death in a shelter.
The ‘70%’ rule isn’t based on facts – 87% owned cats and 76% of dogs are desexed in the US, but still they have problems with animals breeding.
By fixing a street animal, you likely double its lifespan.
If you’re desexing kittens, make sure you find mum and desex her too.
EAD desexing is a important tool for sending a message to the community. You can’t say ‘desexing is important’ – then release undesexed animals into the community.
AMVA has endorsed the practice of EAD since 1993. Educate your veterinarian.
Animals welfare organisations:
– MUST ensure no animal will never reproduce
– MUST have an active educational campaign
– MUST look to the future of behavioural modification and counciling
– MUST not accept killing as the cornerstone of population control
– MUST have a desexing program
– MUST have an active feral/stray cat program
Advantages of EAD
– Extremely low complication rate
– Extremely low death rate
– Extremely quick recovery
– Ensures that pet never reproduces
Shan Lloyd – School of Vet Science University Qld
Attitudes towards breeding and desexing of pets in two rural Australian communities
This research aimed to investigate the reasons and factors which influenced owners to breed their bitches in the rural regions of Rockhamption and Yeppoon, which have relatively low socio-economic ranking based on ABS data. It focused on dogs being sold through the newspaper.
Results:
Why didn’t you desex your pet?
– Low socio-economic region is the main reason for not desexing. Differs from ABS findings.
– Only 20% consider themselves to be ‘breeders’
– Other reasons probably stem from a lack of knowledge or emotional reasons.
Half of the litters sold for less than $100 (20% free)
46% planned to desex (didn’t turn out to be the warm fuzzy experience they expected)
43% said they would be breeding again.
75% of people said, if there was a free desexing service if it were offered
Extensions of programs might be more effective than increasing rehoming for shelter animals.
….. And we’re back!
Q&A Panel on Desexing Models
Dr Jeff Young – Planned Pethood, Denise Bradley – AWLQ, Sara Elliott – SPCANZ, Nerinda Atkin – Cat Protection Society, Kevin Bradley – RSPCA QLD, Sylvana Wenderhold – National Desexing Network
MEDIA from the conference
Conference explores ways to save abandoned animals
“Getting to Zero (G2Z) is a whole community change model which includes a community vet clinic for ensuring all owned animals can be treated and desexed, a shelter clinic so that abandoned animals can be treated and desexed prior to rehoming, proactive rehoming including foster care and strong promotion of adoption, community education, breeder permit legislation which includes Desexing of kittens before selling or giving away, and desexing support programs.”
…
“People are invite people from all over Australia – shelters and rescue groups, animal management officers, local and state government – so they come from all Australia to hear the best practice and strategies,” says Joy.The summit will also include four international speakers as well as 150 delegates from every state and territory in Australia, and New Zealand.
