Shel PetRescue From the Dog Rescue Association of Victoria ~ "Why did the Government decree that it was ‘best practice’ for local pounds to close and the era of the superpounds to begin? What politics were at work here? Did it help the animals? No. It sought to manage the problem by removing from the local community. They didn’t have to be concerned about the local dogs and cats. They were quickly whisked some suburbs away. And if you happened to be someone living on the border of two councils with contracts with different super pounds, to ensure you had done what you could you would need to go to Burwood and to North Melbourne within every eight days. Because neither super pound lists the animals they hold. And for goodness sake, even the shelters themselves say, don’t rely on a telephone call. How sad it is that someone is out there looking frantically for their dog; while that same dog could be dying at that moment in a super pound because he wasn’t carefully scanned? And is so far away from where he was lost. Does each pound and shelter have two people scan each dog and cat carefully? No. Why not? Could it be that really the saving of lives, the reuniting of dogs with their owners, is not as high on their list as the lucrative contracts they have with Councils. Now there is even a hint that a local council like Darebin, with a contract with the Lost Dogs Home, may look at building a local shelter. Melton Pound was one of the few that ignored the original ‘best practice’ request and have recently upgraded their facilities. What a shame others did not have the same foresight? The community is registering. The community is beginning to speak out."
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 13:42:50 +0000