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How MCC Can Reduce Their Kill Rate

On September 3, 2011, in adoption, lost dogs home, by Mike Bailey

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The Community Expects Better For Our Pets

Melbourne City Council is asking for public feedback on it’s Domestic Animal Management Plan. Part of the requirement under the Act is for them to address how they will reduce high rates of euthanasia for pets.

Submissions can be sent to animalmanagement@melbourne.vic.gov.au

here’s our submission… feel free to borrow from it!

5.2 Impounding of dogs and cats

Melbourne City Council has a live release rate of 50% for impounded animals. For every animal that goes home, either to their family or to a loving new one, one dies by lethal injection.

Industry best practice is a greater than 90% live release rate for animals entering a pound facility. The reason it’s not 100% is that animals with life threatening illness or injury that cannot be treated should be euthanased. Unfortunately there will also be some dogs who are too aggressive to be rehomed.

The three areas of improvement to reduce Melbourne City Council’s high rates of pound killing are pet retention, reuniting pets with their family and rehoming unclaimed pets.

Pet Retention

Council should be focusing on keeping animals out of the pound in the first place.

Council should discourage people from trapping and impounding cats that do not belong to them. Cat’s are not generally confined by fences and like to explore. Unless a cat is seriously sick or injured it should not be removed from it’s environment. There are very few lost cats.

When owners register their pets they should be provided with a free pet id tag with their phone number on it. Then if a neighbour finds their pet they can phone them and return it directly rather than call the Council to impound the animal.

When a Ranger picks up a pet they should have a microchip scanner in their vehicle. If the animal has a microchip they can either phone the registry to get the owners details or else use a smart phone with web browser to do so. They should aim to deliver the pet safely home to it’s family, avoiding stress for the animal and cost for the Council.

Reuniting Pets with their Family

If an animal is impounded, everything possible should be done to help the owners find their pet. A photo of each impounded animal should be uploaded to the Council website within 24 hours of impounding. For the distressed owners, this makes the process of searching for their pet daily so much easier as the web is open 24×7. It also avoids problems where people phone The Lost Dogs Home and are told their dog is not there because of misrecording of breed.

Rehoming Unclaimed Pets

In 2010, Melbourne City Council

killed 27 of the 40 impounded dogs not reclaimed by owners (67% killed)
killed 161 of the 180 impounded cats not reclaimed owners (89% killed)

The Lost Dogs’ Home has some of the highest kill rates in Melbourne. In 2010 their North Melbourne pound killed 13,594 cats and dogs and reported a $2.7 mil profit. Unfortunately The Lost Dogs’ Home vigorously defends its high kill rate.

Some options available to Council include:

making unclaimed cats and dogs available to other shelters willing to take them (e.g. Lort Smith)
requiring random spot checks to review medical and temperament assessments of animals selected to be killed

Victoria Mandates Family Pet Cull

On August 31, 2011, in bsl, lost dogs home, Victoria, by Mike Bailey

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The primary means of breed identification for non-pedigreed dogs and mixed-breed dogs is a visual glance and a guess. The dog may be compared with the breed standard for a breed; again, this is based on visual assessment. It is entirely subjective.

http://stopbsl.com/bsloverview/impossibleid/

Domestic Animals Amendment (Restricted Breeds) Bill 2011 Passed

I’ve just returned home from Victorian Parliament where a new Bill has been rushed through both Houses without being included in the Notice papers.

The Domestic Animals Amendment (Restricted Breeds) Bill empowers the Minister to approve “standards” by which an Authorised Officer can declare your dog a Restricted Breed Dog.

One year ago tomorrow the Domestic Animals Act was updated to enable “a standard prescribed by regulations” to be used. What’s changed now is that the definition of what constitutes a ‘Pit Bull Terrier’ is at the whim of the Executive with no ability for the Parliament to reject changes.

As Greens Minister Greg Barber put it, the Minister could draw a stick figure of a dog, approve it and therefore enable rangers to seize and kill and dog that fits that description that was not in Victoria prior to 1 Sep 2010.

The opposition, while not opposing the Bill, pointed out that the Governor in Council could have provided an exemption from the requirement to produce a regulatory impact statement. This could have epedited the process without removing Parliamentary oversight.

“an approved standard”

The Minister was asked how we could trust that such a ‘standard’ would not result in innocent dogs being wrongly identified as ‘pit bull crosses’. If the standard is too broad it would end up including dogs with no ‘pit bull’ in them that share similar physical characteristics. This would have serious consequences given Councils would be required to kill many of these dogs.

Parliament was told that the approved standard would be reliable because it was created by a working group that consisted of:

* one ‘all breeds’ judge
* one Authorised Officer
* one Australian Veterinary Association Official

The Minister went on to say that,

“Following the 2010 legislative amendment the working party consisted of a veterinarian who previously participated in the then minister’s restricted dog breed panel and was on the executive of the Australian Veterinary Association.”

spoken by Hon. P. R. HALL - Hansard

He seemed very proud to be able to claim that not only was there a dog catcher and someone out of ‘best in show’, they had someone with relevant qualifications.

What’s Motivating This Vet?

The Australian Veterinary Association (along with RSPCA Vic) opposes Breed Discrimination. Why would an AVA Official assist in creating this ‘standard’? Is it the same AVA Official who presided over the Restricted Breed Review Panel that led to Ouzie being killed by Manningham Council? How can the AVA allow this?

Patricia Stewart presided over the Review Panel that led to Ouzie being killed.

Pit Bull Hysteria in Victoria

On August 26, 2011, in bsl, Victoria, by Mike Bailey

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Hugh Wirth confirms RSPCA opposition to breed bans

Despite the RSPCA making their position clear to the Minister, Peter Walsh prefers to remember what Hugh Wirth said in 2009. ”The president of the RSPCA is on the public record as well in believing that this type of dog has no right to exist as well,” he said. Let’s see what Hugh Wirth had to say about this in 2010.

Minister Peter Walsh was recently happy with current laws

“I think we’ve actually got it fairly right at the moment so I don’t anticipate there being any changes”. Tune in from 2m40s to hear a prophetic interview with the Minister recorded several weeks before the Herald Sun Ayen Chol died and the Herald Sun started their #banthebreed campaign.

The Australian Veterinary Association Opposed Breed Bans

Despite having some of the most restrictive rules for dog owners in the world, dog attacks still happen in Australia. Vets say overregulation is not the answer.

“Following the tragic dog attack in Melbourne this week it’s vital that we redouble our efforts to improve education and socialisation of dogs and people,” said Dr Kersti Seksel from the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA).

“It’s understandable that people are now calling for the banning of some breeds, however all the good evidence available shows that this doesn’t work,” she said

“Unfortunately we believe the banning and overregulation of dogs in our communities could be part of the problem as this leads to poor socialisation and increased risk of attacks.

http://www.ava.com.au/mediarelease/vets-say-ban-deed-not-breed

So Who Is Supporting Breed Bans?

This clown again.

National G2Z Summit 2011

On August 23, 2011, in Uncategorized, by Mike Bailey

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National G2Z Summit 7- 9 September 2011

Fixing Victoria: One Law at a Time

View more presentations from Mike Bailey

The Story Behind The 7.30 Report Story

On August 15, 2011, in adoption, cat protection society, lost dogs home, media, Victoria, by Mike Bailey

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A Chance To Speak Up For Animals

In June 2011 I was contacted by the ABC to give comment for a story about the Cat Protection Society of Victoria. I agreed and they sent a reporter and camera operator out to to my place on the same day. About a month later I received an email to say the story would go to air on Friday 12 Aug.

Surprised to See RSPCA Vic Alongside LDH & CPS

I expected the story to be focused on claims the CPS had been misrepresenting its statistics to the public. The story ended up focusing largely on claims that the No Kill movement were “waging a cyber war” against the RSPCA, Lost Dogs Home and Cat Protection Society of Victoria. I was surprised to hear RSPCA Vic being lumped in with LDH and CPS when they are leagues apart.

Animal Advocates are Working With RSPCA Vic

The story incorrectly stated that animal advocates have been attacking RSPCA Victoria. The exact opposite is true for the simple reason that they are working steadily toward reducing their kill rates.

Their annual reports (including statistics) have been available on their website for many years now
Their foster care program saved over 600 lives in 2010
They respond promptly to all (reasonable) questions on their Facebook page
They emptied their catteries last year with an innovative ‘adoption fee waived’ promotion
Their ‘Twilight Adoption’ extended hours make it easier for people to adopt
They are open all day on weekends

"I see the No Kill activists as leading the way and that's the same with any social change."

Lost Dogs Home Are In The Doghouse

The Lost Dogs Home does not have many friends in animal welfare.

They reported a live release rate of just 14.2% for cats in 2010 (compared to 40% at RSPCA)
They won’t tell us how many animals were fostered in 2010
Their annual reports (including statistics) were not made available to the public till 2010
They remove reasonable questions from their Facebook page and ban people who ask them
They close at lunchtime on Sundays and public holidays

"They are cyber bullies because they're on the Internet trying to create controversy."

My Comments Were Not Directed At RSPCA Vic

I was interviewed about CPS, not RSPCA Vic. I have assisted them over the last couple of years and just last week attended their annual Seminar. I have no idea who told the producer that “the No Kill movement” were attacking RSPCA. Could it have been one of the other two shelters mentioned? It wouldn’t be the first time they let a reporter say something incorrect.

"The problem with allowing these people to be the public face of animal welfare is that they're holding back change and they're keeping us stuck in a 20th century kill model."

Stay Tuned For More On Cat Protection Society

There’s a lot more to this story. Out of the 166,000 viewers on Friday night, many will know someone who has worked there and may be able to shed more light on what goes on there. Expect to hear more over coming months.