This morning, across the nation, council pounds are killing the dogs and cats in their care.
Not because they’re sick.
Not because they have behavioural problems.
Not because the community doesn’t want to adopt them.
But because it’s Christmas.
Pounds who close from Sunday 25th December through to Tuesday 3rd January do not want to have to pay holiday rates for staff to manage the pound. So they empty their establishments. They kill the healthy, the adoptable, the young and the old. At a time when literally thousands of people are opening their hearts and homes to a new pet, they close their doors to adopters.
These are pounds who throughout the year, make little to no effort to rehome pets. These are pounds who keep pets in run down, noisy, unhealthy kennels which scare off potential families.These are pounds who refuse to allow access by volunteers to help care for the animals. These are pounds who fail to promote lost or available pets online. These are pounds who burn out overworked rescuers by threatening to kill pets unless they’re collected under impossible deadlines. These are pounds who shoot the pets in their ‘care’ with a shotgun.
One by one. People’s lost companion animals, held the required 72hr hours, are disposed of like garbage. Their furry bodies dumped in pits in landfill.
These pounds are using the community’s tax dollars to run pet slaughterhouses.
Is this your local council pound?
Animal lovers must demand to know; what is your pound doing this Christmas?
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‘Pet City’ is open every day 7-days-a-week except for xmas day (9am – 5pm), and on the public holidays through the xmas/new year season (10am – 4pm) to allow people looking to get a pet to visit while they’re home off work and spending time with their families.
By contrast the major animal shelter in WA has announced… “Over the #Christmas break we will be closed from 24th-27th Dec & will re-open on 28th Dec.”
We know this is the most popular time for people to bring a new pet into their families, and we implore people not to go to pet shops at this time of year. We also know that with firework spooks, lost pets, surrenders and kitten season, the xmas/new year ‘rush’ period is by far the busiest time for shelters and pounds generally.
With that in mind, why aren’t more shelters running high-excitement-pound-emptying-promotions in the lead up to this weekend? If the Sydney fish market can promote its 24hr-fish-buying-marathon on major media, why don’t we see pounds and shelters throwing open their doors, extending their trading hours and BEGGING people to offer homes for the holidays, to the pets they would otherwise kill?
