AMuse

Not rehomed by a pet shop but rather, as Pet Barn and Pet Stock do now, rehoming days run in conjunction with RSPCA and AWL. They are not the only ones, nor the first but just FYI the AWL and RSPCA refused to rehome through Independents for years and only started with the Corporates who have massive marketing dollars. Thousands of animals could have been saved and rehomed well before the Corporates were on the scene Thanks for that. Obviously the 'biggies' are more visible to us all. The fact remains that no matter who is doing it the model is good - better than couping up pets in pet shop windows.

I understand Ness. One of the things that you need to understand is that this is a report put together in a short time by a large bunch of gifted amateurs who met infrequently and had to try to get their ideas together and onto paper for release to the Minister in an 11 day period between the last deliberation day and yesterday - really under a week actually because the report had to be printed and in the hands of the Minister some time before it waas presented to him last night. What I can say is that there was much much more discussion and a lot of ideas that were discussed and possibly, given time, would have been further fleshed out but weren't - leading to these types of small 'detail level' issues. The other thing to know is that throughout the Jury's deliberations there were senior staff members from both the minister's office and the Dog and Cat Management Board in attendance quietly observing what was being said. The concepts are in the report and the detail will have to come. The detail is already part of what was discussed and picked up upon by those whose job it is to work out that stuff. The concepts are the things that matter in the report.

Also the recommendations are (after much seeking of vetinary opinion) are that cats should not be sold until they are 1kg in weight and that this is a perfect time for a cat to be desexed. We recognise that this is not going to apply for dogs. My own dog came to us at 10 weeks and as not desexed until 6 months - on vet advice. Mine is a small breed and this is suitable but the Jury also realised that larger breeds especially require more time for development before desexing is indicated. The report therefore only recommends desexing of cats before sale or transfer and not dogs but suggests that a time frame be established for the desexing of dogs based on the longest recommended time frames. There will be exemptions to this on the obvious grounds of requirement to breed and animal health as well as some specialised needs for working dogs etc.

Not rehomed by a pet shop but rather, as Pet Barn and Pet Stock do now, rehoming days run in conjunction with RSPCA and AWL.

Also on the RSPCA's FB site:

Good coverage from the ABC this morning too: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-13/mandatory-desexing-recommended-by-citizen-jury-in-sa/6693236

After a total of 5 full sitting days for our Citizens' Jury of 35 ordinary and randomly chosen South Australians, calling evidence and listening to many people who have expertise in the various aspects of the issues that form a part of this (most of which this forum has been covering), carefully sifting through the evidence, doing our own research and spending considerable time developing and refining our recommendations, we finally presented our report to Minister Ian Hunter last night at Parliament House. You can view the report here: http://yoursay.sa.gov.au/decisions/citizens-jury-dog-and-cat-management/about and I'd encourage you to do so. I've also uploaded the summary with this post. It is a product of 'group think' and that group included people who don't own and never have owned pets, from all walks of life and circumstances - chosen randomly to statistically represent the South Australian population. Personally, I think that not only is it pretty good (albeit perhaps not perfect) but that it is truly 'saleable' within our community and palatable politically. The main thrust of our recommendations is that if we want to reduce the number of companion animals that are euthanased each year in SA (currently in excess of 10,000 but probably more like 15,000) then we need to change societal culture so that responsible pet ownership becomes the social norm and those who aren't responsible owners become social pariahs. Part of responsible ownership also then becomes the identification and updating of the details of dogs and cats so that it makes them easier to return to their owners and the reduction in unwanted litters through compulsory desexing of companion animals at an appropriate age and with appropriate exemptions for animal health reasons, breeding purposes and other valid requirements. I do hope that you might now get behind the report and make sure that the minister and the government are held to its implementation. Ian Hunter guaranteed to us at the start of the process that he would lay the report before the Cabinet and the Parliament unedited and he confirmed this last night. He also undertook to report back to the jury (hence the public) on his plans for implementation or any reasons why he would not accept any of our recommendations. Happy reading. I'll look forward to seeing your comments!

Is there a possibility of mandating that pets that are non-breeding (ie not on the main register) are sold with a voucher for desexing and that this must be done by a certain age (eg 18 months for dogs)? I'd think that there would have to be a lot of things very carefully sorted out before this happened, like: * a standardised (and regulated) vet fee for desexing - so that the breeder could buy a voucher that is sold with the animal * a way of registering breeders and mandating that any animal sales must be through a registered breeder * an 'out clause' that allows a registered vet to certify that the timeframe for desexing needs to be extended for a particular animal for an particular time for reasons that are related to the animal's health and/or needs (not those of the human owners). What do you think? What have I missed or got wrong?

Don't people need to have a realistic view of the financial burden that comes with taking on the responsibility of a pet? To me a fine is a fine and should be punitive - and payment is not an option either is is a must, and enforceable. One of the possibilities is to make sure that all people who purchase a dog or cat are given a sheet that explains the true cost of ownership before they are able to purchase the animal - say at least a week beforehand - and that this covers things like desexing costs, food costs, an allowance for vet bills, bedding and toys, etc. If people are properly informed then they are less likely to make an impulse purchase and then look to dump the animal later.

Thanks Christina. I agree that there is a great need to ensure that breeders are regulated in some way to ensure that the best interests of the animal are always paramount.

Thanks for that. These are all good things for me to take along and put into the mix over the next few weekends. I appreciate your time.

I've been asked, and have accepted the task of being a part of the Citizen's Jury on Dog and Cat Management - a community consultation move by the state government to obtain weighed community opinion on the reforms that are being proposed. The focus is very much on the reduction of unwanted litters of dogs and cats. The idea is that 36 of us will spend 5 days over the next few weekends being briefed on matters by experts, reviewing submissions made by organisations and the public and then asking to speak with people that we feel will add particular expertise and value to the discussion and will inform our views. At the conclusion of the process we will be presenting our findings to the parliament. I just thought that it might be worthwhile spreading news of this around the community of responsible breeders and dog owners because the opportunity for public comment is open until 10th July - the website is http://yoursay.sa.gov.au/yoursay/citizens-jury-dog-and-cat-management. We are, as jurors, being encouraged to talk about this with others. Please have your say!

Thanks all for the advice. Have now joined DoL and expecting the delivery of our little pup in the next fortnight. Based on what you've all said (passed on to me by Westiemum) I bought a Vebo wire crate and have that set up and ready for crate training at home right from the word 'go'. Aim to do a 4,500 km 4WD trip with Leo in April/May this year and want to make sure that he is happy for the duration. My aim is to secure him when he is in the crate and to have the crate mounted between the two front seats on the folded down back seat of our 4WD so that Leo can get in and out of the crate between the front seats. This will keep him safe in the very centre of the vehicle - and also in touch with us at all times. We're doing Goog's Track, the Anne Beadell Highway and Maralinga so it should be a wonderful experience for Leo - and the start of many more, we hope! Anyone else got good tips about taking dogs out in the bush?