RSPCA NSW announces support for Companion Animal Task Force recommendations

The RSPCA NSW today gave the thumbs up to all of the recommendations of the NSW Companion Animal Taskforce. And why wouldn’t they? The recommendations place no extra responsibility, or requirement on them as an organisation (or, as it happens any other pound or shelter in the state), to do anything different in their animal sheltering.

As the document is a chunky 44 pages, and there are 22 recommendations. I’ve made it easy for you:

The recommendations which target an ‘irresponsible public’;

While below are the highlighted recommendations that require lifesaving programs, and mandates that groups like the RSPCA stop using killing as a tool to manage their companion animal populations.

The recommendations which target regressive policies at council pounds;

Sort of…

RECOMMENDATION 19 – Better practice guidelines should be issued to councils with a view to standardising impounding practices.

(bolding mine)

But…

It is also recognised that council cat and dog impounding and re-homing services are funded from a limited pool of resources and councils have varying abilities to fund their impounding facilities in light of other resourcing demands.

So while…

Discussion paper submissions were overwhelmingly supportive of the proposal to encourage greater collaboration between councils and animal welfare organisations on the delivery of impounding and re-homing services to reduce euthanasia rates. However, numerous submissions suggested that a number of conditions should be placed on councils with regard to the operating of their pounds, such as the mandatory adoption of ‘Getting to Zero’ or ‘No-kill’ policies by pounds.

And that would mean actually putting the responsibility for life saving and protecting pets back onto those people who still want to be able to blame an ‘irresponsible public’, and continue killing, so…

The Taskforce acknowledges these suggestions but considers that better practice guidelines would be a more appropriate initiative.

Better practice guidelines. Or as those in the local council pounds will call it – where pets aren’t listed online, are shot with firearms, aren’t made available for adoption – the government and RSPCA’s rubber stamp to keep on doing what we’ve always done.

Pet owners should be outraged. Not only that because the companion animal management system in NSW is failing pets, but that the RSPCA NSW has again validated the pound processes it should be condemning and working to overhaul.

See also: The RSPCA NSW gives a big FU to rescue groups

A year in NSW pounds

RSPCA NSW awards ‘certificate of appreciation’ to ranger who shot dogs