Thousands Die As Pet Dumping Soars

[samoyedman]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/thousands-die-as-pet-dumping-soars-in-nsw/story-e6freuy9-1226091842544

HUNDREDS of unwanted dogs and cats are put down every week across NSW.

Startling new figures show as the number of dumped animals has soared, a third of dogs and two-thirds of cats are destroyed.

In the year ending June 2006, NSW pounds destroyed 68 per cent of cats. Although that number fell slightly to 67 per cent by the middle of last year, the number of impounded cats doubled from 12,000 in 2006 to 26,000.

The number of impounded dogs increased from 39,500 to nearly 50,000 during the same period. More than 15,400 dogs were destroyed last year.The proportion of pound pups sold to new owners remained unchanged at 10 per cent in the four-year period.

The figures come despite an increase in microchipping, an explosion of charities set up to save them and education campaigns urging pet buyers to be ready for a lifetime commitment.

The report, by the Division of Local Government, will go before NSW councils in coming weeks, with animal charities demanding an inquiry into pet dumping.

The report found 11,832 dogs and 14,813 cats were put down last year due to inability to re-home, with a further 2000 dogs and 925 cats put down at the owners' request.

Nearly half the cats and a quarter of dogs sent to the pound were classified as "dumped" - taken in by someone who is not the owner, with a further 10 per cent left by their owners.

But animal campaigner Monika Biernacki, who founded Doggie Rescue, said council statistics did not show the full picture, with many non-government organisations also putting down unwanted animals.

"I'm horrified at the number of dogs and cats we kill each year," said Ms Biernacki, who has 200 dogs in need of a home.

"We are killing 150 dogs and cats every day in NSW. We need an inquiry into why we are breeding so many dogs and cats when we kill them the next year. Taking on a dog or cat is a 20-year commitment, not an impulse buy."

 

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Will there ever be an end to this mass dumpage? People make me sick.

[tarope]

Must be a slow news day.

[WoofnHoof]

Those are just staggering numbers

[WreckitWhippet]

"We are killing 150 dogs and cats every day in NSW. We need an inquiry into why we are breeding so many dogs and cats when we kill them the next year

No, we need to know why they are being dumped and who is breeding them.

[jacqui835]

"We are killing 150 dogs and cats every day in NSW. We need an inquiry into why we are breeding so many dogs and cats when we kill them the next year

No, we need to know why they are being dumped and who is breeding them.

This. And why there is no way to stop people dumping a dog and buying a new puppy on the way home.

[john.davey.1960]

Will there ever be an end to this mass dumpage? People make me sick.

Yes, when we stop traeting dogs other than the companion animals they are and supporting organisations which kill them because they refuse to buid sufficient shelters. Go No Kill Australia.

[BJean]

Will there ever be an end to this mass dumpage? People make me sick.

Where have you been?

AUSTRALIA WIDE RSPCA BRANCHES AND SHELTERS 1999-2000

DOGS RECEIVED - 67,204

EUTHANISED - 26,339 (39.2%)

REHOMED - 21,415 (31.9%)

RECLAIMED - 15,323 (22.8%)

AUSTRALIA WIDE RSPCA BRANCHES AND SHELTERS 2009 - 2010

DOGS RECEIVED - 68,746

EUTHANISED - 20, 177 (29.4%)

REHOMED - 19,007 (27.6%)

RECLAIMED - 24,223 (35.2%)

** RSPCA killed less dogs not as a result of rspca 'work' but because more owners reclaimed their pets.

RSPCA actually rehomed LESS dogs in 2009-2010 than in 1999-2000.

RSPCA NSW deserve a special mention of merit

in 1999-2000 they received 20,631 dogs, killed 44.7% of them and Rehomed 36.5%.

Ten years later

despite all the chicken littles ...

RSPCA NSW received 20,619 dogs [they transferred 709 to other non RSPCA facilities],

killed 40.5% of them and rehomed 24.8%.

Edited July 22, 2011 by lilli

[BJean]

"We are killing 150 dogs and cats every day in NSW. We need an inquiry into why we are breeding so many dogs and cats when we kill them the next year

No, we need to know why they are being dumped and who is breeding them.

This. And why there is no way to stop people dumping a dog and buying a new puppy on the way home.

Why should there be?

Are you claiming there is a current state of emergency with citizens abandoning their pets?

Are we seeing unprecedented events?

BTW: 2009-2010 is nothing like the 90s recession.

And so it should be that way. People were getting booted from their homes and bankrupt like there was no tomorrow.

And there wasn't any tomorrows for 80,776 dogs that year (1997-1998)

Probably 1996 - 1997 is worse.

Always the fare of animals is a reflection of the lot of their people.

[Horse2008]

LDH numbers are even worse then the RSPCA.

[Christina]

Always the fare of animals is a reflection of the lot of their people.

That final line at the end of lilli's post really made me think.

I think it is not because people cannot afford to care for them that pets get discarded I think it is their attitude towards them that makes them do it.

New house, new pet, got to have what everyone else has, too hard now I realise it is not a machine & doesn't run to the book, too lazy, can't be bothered, it makes a mess, disposable mentality I need a newer model, not cute now its grown up, inability to bond, no sense of responsibility, not high on list of priorities.

Not saying some people do not get into desperate situations beyond their control, some even die, but guess that is the minority reason in regard to pets being got rid of.

[Staranais]

Not saying some people do not get into desperate situations beyond their control, some even die, but guess that is the minority reason in regard to pets being got rid of.

I also think it is the minority that are truly forced to abandon their animals.

In my experience, what most people are willing spend on their animals has more to do with their subjective feelings about the animals than their actual financial situation.

It's the same at the clinics I've worked in - some poor folks will sell the car to raise money to treat their sick pet, whereas some far richer folks will much rather PTS a treatable animal and replace it if that's going save them $50. (Of course, the fun starts when the wife has one opinion and the husband another!)

[WoofnHoof]

Not saying some people do not get into desperate situations beyond their control, some even die, but guess that is the minority reason in regard to pets being got rid of.

I also think it is the minority that are truly forced to abandon their animals.

In my experience, what most people are willing spend on their animals has more to do with their subjective feelings about the animals than their actual financial situation.

It's the same at the clinics I've worked in - some poor folks will sell the car to raise money to treat their sick pet, whereas some far richer folks will much rather PTS a treatable animal and replace it if that's going save them $50. (Of course, the fun starts when the wife has one opinion and the husband another!)

I agree I know many people who are in a much better financial position than I am and they even seem a little proud of the fact that they would never even consider spending any significant amount on vet bills etc. I understand that some people aren't willing to go into debt for the sake of their animals but I'm not even talking about thousands of dollars just mentioning a vet bill of a few hundred sends these people into a rant about 'why would you spend that on a dog? Just shoot it'. A lot of people just don't see any real value in their pets, yet why have them if they don't believe they are worth anything?

[sandgrubber]

These days, lots of people, in effect, abandon their kids, particularly when they hit the mid-teens. No surprise that pets are treated the same way.

Society's got some BIG problems. I'd love to know the demography of the pet dumpers. I suspect what we're seeing that my generation (the boomers), on average, didn't do well teaching responsibility to their kids.

Edited July 25, 2011 by sandgrubber

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Not sure what you mean Lilli but I'm where I have been for the last 7 years, at the rough (and expensive) end of rescue, it's just constant.

Got a purebred puppy aged 7 months approx on Friday, dumped at the pound by elderly owners because he kept getting an upset stomach. Never mind they were feeding him a completely inappropriate diet. Not desexed, wormy and presumbly unvaccinated too.

[Maddy]

Will there ever be an end to this mass dumpage? People make me sick.

Yes, when we stop traeting dogs other than the companion animals they are and supporting organisations which kill them because they refuse to buid sufficient shelters. Go No Kill Australia.

Even if "no kill" directly conflicts with the welfare of the animals involved?

[toy dog]

i think years ago you didn't hear of this over flow in shelters like you do now since the publicity of making a quick buck with breeding dogs 15-18 years ago or so, i believe it has created this low value for animals as disposals.

when you look at backyarders and we have one at work, who encourages people to breed their undesexed dogs (had to really convince a recent buyer of a BB to desex their dog) all the while this backyard breeder kept pushing they could make a lot of money. when i asked them what do they do if someone brought back a puppy they bred saying they can no longer look after the dog and want to put it down, the answer was so???? who cares. its their dog now got nothing to do with me. so this is the society we are creating instead of having breeders who care about what they breed and make sure the home is suitable then back up the dog if ever it is in need of going to another home.

too many are breeding without a thought for the dogs for just money and don't care if the dog ends up in a shelter. if every breeder cared about what they bred and rehomed then this i believe would reduce the amount in shelters significally.

and this intense dog farming operations able to survive because of society's attitudes. they make a good profit despite one farm producing 2 thousand puppies a year - if there are 20 25 farms in one area alone then how many puppies a year, and you have to wonder where do all these pups go? they said that there is a need to produce pets and fill demand and that demand is something like 300,000 pets a year but then how many are we killing a year, its just looney.

Edited August 8, 2011 by toy dog