Back in February the Land and Environment Court dismissed the Society of Companion Animal Rescuers (SoCares) appeal against Cessnock Council’s decision to outsource its animal pound services to the RSPCA, even though the RSPCA facilities were at capacity, and without consulting or opening the tender to other local animal rescue groups.
But it seems the story might not end there. In yesterday’s Cessnock Advertiser a community member has questioned the Council’s payment of a $870,000 ‘Facility Access Fee’ over and above the $365,000 annual fee figure for the pound service care of stray animals from the Cessnock Local Government Area.
According to council documents, nearly a million dollars has been pumped into the RSPCA by Cessnock Council this year. Meanwhile, an estimated 800 dogs and 300 cats a year were expected to come from the Cessnock region, making the current rate being paid by council for services around $1,000 PER PET.
With no new pound to speak of, the rate payers of Cessnock need to be asking some serious questions of their Council; not the least being is the enormous sums of money changing hands here keeping community’s pets safe?
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