“Small room sizes, Besser block construction, chain wire, “hotboxes” and problems with disease control…” and according to the RSPCA, when it comes to council pounds, the animals impounded at the run down Sippy Creek (QLD) Tanawh facility are some of the lucky ones!
Council officers warn the Sippy Creek facility and the Landsborough compounds “have now reached a stage where they no longer operate to required service levels and experience some safety and access issues”.
But construction on a proposed new $3.8 million facility, earmarked for a nearby site at Tanahwa, could be years away.
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RSPCA Queensland CEO Mark Townend has urged Sunshine Coast councillors to make sure “animals get some priority in the budget”.Mr Townend said the animal-welfare organisation was invited by the council to investigate its Sunshine Coast facility, which was constructed in 1983, “a couple of years back”.
“There was little room for the cats that are stuck in cages,” Mr Townend said.
“The community expects a lot better.
“It can be a real hotbox in there. It needs ventilation. It also is difficult to control disease in those facilities.
Despite the woeful review, other Council pounds in the state are reportedly even worse;
Mr Townend said the RSPCA could not force the council to upgrade its facilities and many other pounds in the state were worse off.
“It’s not that it’s illegal,” Mr Townend said.
“The standards in Queensland are subjective. Overall, it is not good for animal welfare.”
Council is voting on $50k’s worth of pound upgrades, at the next Council meeting.
