asal

eliminate breeders or restrict as much as possible how many they can breed so hopefully there will end up so few available there will be less available than people who want them perhaps? ...would this turn an irresponsible dog owner with an entire dog like me into a responsible dog owner with an entire dog???? well if there were no entire females left, surely then everyone would suddenly be responsible owners perhaps? feeling on the silly side tonite, n not even a drop of alcohol in sight, maybe a full moon? too lazy to check outside we will never make sense of any of it I suspect

wish I had a dollar for every time I was asked "when is the foal due" they were looking at my slightly obese gelding? although I think the winner was the neighbor who asked me why is my donkey mare beating up my stallion? went to have a look and standing there looking at me, were one donkey stallion and one donkey gelding?? how do you explain that to their owner ? He bought them as a "breeding pair"

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2016/09/10/apple-cider-vinegar-for-fleas.aspx?utm_source=petsnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20160910Z3&et_cid=DM115842&et_rid=1657574342

eliminate breeders or restrict as much as possible how many they can breed so hopefully there will end up so few available there will be less available than people who want them perhaps?

I like your idea very much. Also so many dogs disappear even though chipped, vets should scan automatically and check to see if the dog is not only registered, but is it listed as lost (your not allowed to say its stolen)at present the vets never do, unless they are injured and end up at a vets after a road accident do they get scanned. I know that's how one owner got their stolen dog back, he had been missing 3 years.

There's a number of shelters in the USA doing just that unless breed is known (i.e dog surrendered with pedigree papers). There's enough evidence around now to show that shelter guesses as to breed mix are generally inaccurate at best, so it makes sense. Those shelters are really happy with the choice and seeing increased adoptions. Interesting! But are they recording NO information about the dog in their database or just not putting it on the adoption pen notes - because that's a great idea. But what about dogs that are lost and found? Don't you need something to help people get their dogs back? The one I read about most recently was Fairfax Animal Shelter (awesome shelter, live release rate usually of 95%+), had a google and found this which seems to indicate they are removing breed labels from the software for adoptable dogs, but doesn't talk about strays etc. https://animalfarmfoundation.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/removing-breed-labels-easier-than-you-think/ I see what you're saying re lost dogs but the flip side is there have been numerous cases of dogs labelled by shelter staff as "X cross" and owner rings up asking if they've found a "Y cross" and the answer is no... but it was the same dog with two different breed labels given. To me it would be much less risk-fraught to instead ensure that all lost pets are listed online with good, clear pictures on the day they arrive. yes better to be asking have you seen a male/female of x colour, size and markings rather than say breed, so many havnt a clue as to the breed , even at dog shows I have seen an amazing number of people not have a clue what breed they are looking at. was admiring a stunning Kerry and complimented his owner on how nice he was. she said I was the first person to know what breed he was all day. n that was at a dog show. what chances of that happening at a pound? these days anything with a kink in its coat is presumed to be an oodle of one of the zillions of possible crosses

Remember that list of dont's if you want to be called an ' ethical'? You have to let puppy buyers come and inspect where their puppy has grown up. or you have something to hide. Yet as my car nut friend said, only an idiot will give their address to a complete stranger if you have something valuable to sell, He and his mates always meet at a neutal place, macca's or a local garage. Well a friend has a litter to sell, gave her address, and they never turned up. Next day she and I go to the pictures. when she gets home one of the chains locking her front gate has been tampered with, tried to cut it and failed. lucky the house was not broken into, she is on acres and its a km walk to the house so they must not like walking.

" prove their innocence." AND THERE LIES THE PROBLEM! whatever happened to innocent UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY? But hey a dog breeder today apparently is the lowest of the low in this supposedly democratic country. Although I agree a section for breeder contact is a good idea, as a chipper myself I discovered one good thing, the companies that sell them keep a record of who bought those chips, so a phone call out of the blue came when an impounded dog was scanned and the owner could not be traced, they contacted me as the dogs chipper to ask if I could look up my records. (we have to keep copies of every dog we chip) it took 3 days to find him, and he was one I bred and scampered down and picked him up. I can only go on what I saw happen to a friend. Had always chipped from the day they became available, Kept records of ever pup bred, chip number and new owner details except some 15 or more years later received a letter demanding the whereabouts of dozens of chips listed as the puppies had not been adult registered. seems a simple request. but no other details were given, not date of birth even to allow her to go to the book for that date. She was 80 at the time and the stress of going through those books from year one she ended up ill. She had good reason to HAVE to find the details. think the fine was almost 200 per dog if she didnt come up with the information wanted. in those days same as now, all puppies were chipped in the name of the breeder and a change of ownership form was filled out when it was sold. What you dont realise, is what she found out, many new owners never get around to paying their lifetime registration. what is even less realised is not all the transfer of owner details end up in the data base even if the breeder personally took the copy to council. or in the case of a puppy that died after being chipped and for obvious reasons never lifetime registered, its chip number had to be found and death notified or the fine was imposed. I had that experience myself only a few years ago. received a, where is this dog, why hasnt it been adult registered, register it or be fined. Same as my friend all they sent me was the chip number and no birth date or name of the dog not even the sex? that believe it or not was refused to disclose to me. Something about the freedom of information act? spent days going through my books. Finally found the number, the puppy had died 8 years previously. went down to council with the dates, birth, and death and submitted the information. still received a $169 fine with no right of appeal because I had found what they wanted the day after the deadline. Chips are not issued in numerical order, there is no system that I know of anyway where they can be recorded and stored in a numerical order to find them if required. they are random beyond belief. in my friends case trying to find and remember over a dozen different numbers while searching her records with no idea even when they were born is incredibly difficult. That is why so many breeders took up the practice of having the puppies registered with council with the actual name and address of the new owner. That way if they dont register their puppy, the letter goes directly to them instead of the breeder. there was no attempt to hide who bred it, many who saw what had happened to others, it was to keep the paper trail direct to the owner, instead of decades later a pay up or find that number letter would arrive from council, council records certainly are not always up to date, as my friend discovered. Or as I found council refused to give me any more information than the chip number of the dog.

read one lady with an Australian shepherd got back from that so called dna breed testing , that he had labrador, rottie and boxer the 3rd breed. since her dog was from pure pedigree parents I don't think any of those breeds ever contributed to the Australian shepherd somehow? Didn't they arrive in America with a shipload of sheep from Australia? hence the "Australian" bit to their name? German Coolies have been here in the land of oz for over 100 years and they too got their name because they arrived on our sunburnt shores along with a shipment of sheep from, have you guessed it? Germany old man. they are a feature out Tarana and Bathurst way. Hondo Gratton grew up on a property where the only working dogs were Coolies n gee they sure look like dare I say it? Nope better not eh.

As far as I am aware the origin of pound animals has already been proven, via many studies available on the net including those by the RSPCA, UQ etc. I agree with the remainder of your post. As far as Im aware its not possible to determine who breeds animals that turn up in pounds.There are some stats which say who dumps them for individual orgs but no way could they say where they originate from. If there are any studies of this kind I would be interested to see them. IF most of the dogs that end up in pounds are not microchipped, why on earth are so many new rules coming in to trace the breeders of microchipped dogs anyway? How is that going to stem the flow of the invisible impossibles to find? Harass the honest until they give up? so the only dogs to be found are the backyarders? still wont find who bred it unless having any dogs becomes illegal? pretty obvious that the unchipped dogs are coming from WHERE? THE REAL BACKYARD BREEDERS that no one, no way is going to find to eradicate let alone trace. you cant trace the never chipped ones can you? no matter how many laws are made. Another odd thing, Pet shops from what I have read anyway are to blame for the impulse buys and dumped dogs so stands to reason close them down. There is just one flaw to that reason, no pet shop can sell an unchipped dog or puppy? Yet they are to blame for the dogs in the pounds? As are those who obey the law and chip their puppies, regulate them into knots and there will be no dogs end up in the pounds. but all these dogs are chipped? There is a problem in this isn't there? Professor Summner Miller would ask, why is this so?

Pity that wasn't available long ago. what an incredibly difficult position to have been in. Just opened fb and up pops this. something else no mention has been made, whole heap of raids were done prior to the 7.30 report. but nothing as this lady wrote was said about the results. "Neath trainer Margaret Bright received a huge surprise recently when she saw a team of strangers jump over her fence and invade her property in the Hunter Valley NSW. Bright was just one target of a recent RSPCA and GRNSW ‘crackdown’ to bust alleged animal welfare issues within the sport. The search was reportedly one of three conducted in the area and has left local participants confused and irritated. “On Monday morning I had people jumping my fence at quarter to six in the morning”, Margaret explained of the shocking situation, “I woke up and I just looked out the window to see what the weather was like and I had one guy in my front yard and one guy jumping my front fence”. “I went to the door and they introduced themselves as RSPCA and GRNSW and I said ‘is there some problem? And they said, ‘We have had a complaint that there is live baiting conducted on this property at 5 o’clock every morning using possums, cats and rabbits’”. “They went through everything. They checked all of my dogs, they asked me if I have any cats or rabbits and I said ‘yes, my brother has a pet cat called Jessie, my granddaughter has a pet rabbit called Arthur’ and I said ‘other than that no’. They went through everything- fridges, freezers, cupboards....you name it” “He said he needed to inspect my entire property. He asked me every question under the sun. We had to follow them around the property, they went through every shed”. Ultimately, the search revealed nothing but healthy and happy greyhounds. With everything in perfect order, Bright wants to know why it was not made public that the raids uncovered no mistreatment. With recent allegations that the industry is rife with cruelty, corruption and collusion, releasing a statement on their positive findings could help to repair and rebuild the tarnished image and reputation of the industry. “At the end of the day everything was perfectly fine, but why don’t they say that we have inspected greyhound properties, we have found no mistreatment and no problems with it? That way the RSPCA is putting out there that they have won and that they are doing their job, but also that we are doing our jobs by everything being perfect” “I asked were there any problems and if there was anything wrong and the RSPCA basically said to me that from every dog they saw on the property, there was not one dog that was in any bad condition. Their kennels were brilliant, everything was clean and they said ‘you can hold your head high’”. “They have raided a few others and everything was fine but why don’t they say the positive things like that? The RSPCA have raided, visited whatever word they want to use and all the inspections have found that there is no mistreatment of the greyhounds. So why don’t they do that?” The raids were conducted on Monday 14th October- the day before the ABC aired a controversial 7.30 Report that alleged a plethora of uncorroborated accusations from race fixing and doping to animal cruelty. The RSPCA took a high profile stance though spokesperson Jade Norris, who alleged that "40% of all greyhounds bred never make it to the racetrack". There were also claims that over 17,000 dogs are euthanized each year because they are not fast enough to race. These baseless claims were left unsubstantiated with no clear evidence to support them. It had been widely publicised prior to the 7:30 Report going to air that NSW greyhound racing was to be presented in a predominantly negative light. Given the RSPCA were actively involved in the development of the 7:30 Report story, and knew in advance of the allegations to be levelled against the industry; the question must be asked - Was the timing of the raids influenced or encouraged by the ABC's 7:30 Report? Did the RSPCA seek to manufacture a high profile media event to secure higher ratings and consequently justify its own questionable allegations? Either way, the outcomes of the raids conducted by GRNSW and the RSPCA failed to make it to the air on the 7:30 Report; a report that many feel presented a one-sided and narrow insight into the greyhound racing industry. “As a trainer I feel it (7.30 report) was a one-sided misrepresentation of the greyhound industry. It was disgusting actually. They showed no positives of the greyhounds. For people to get on there and say they took a bitch and they were going to drown the pups, that’s just not called for. The other part, as a trainer, that I felt was bad was the actual fact that they showed the race at Wentworth Park. That should not have been allowed- they are one off incidents and that is not what greyhound racing is all about”, Bright said. “I didn’t understand why it was so one-sided. The RSPCA sees cases of cruelty probably more-so in the domestic animal world than in the greyhound animal world. If you got the figures from the RSPCA as to many were born, how many were put-down and the cruelty cases that come through there- they would be way higher than the greyhound industry. They are putting it all onto us but their rate would be a hell of a lot higher” “We have people rehoming such as GAP, the Belmont Vets and numerous other greyhound adoption organizations but it (the negative publicity) is detrimental to us rehoming them- people are not going to want them as pets because the industry has been portrayed in a bad light” Australian Racing Greyhound contacted both GRNSW and the RSPCA for official comment in aftermath of the 7:30 Report, but neither organisation would provide an official response. Australian Racing Greyhound contacted the RSPCA on a number of occasions by email and phone to comment on the factors behind the raids, the timing of the raids, and the outcomes; but the RSPCA failed to provide any information despite assurances to the contrary. Katherine Ernst About Katherine Ernst (All Articles) Katherine is a born and bred greyhound racing enthusiast from the Hunter Valley NSW. Growing up with greyhounds, she has an appreciation for all aspects of greyhound racing from breeding and rearing to training and retirement. Katherine has worked in many positions within the media industry, including as greyhound racing columnist for both the Maitland Mercury and the Greyhound Recorder and as a Producer for Sky Racing."

hot off the press it seems. http://www.theland.com.au/story/4134039/farms-on-trial-after-dog-ban/ Well that didnt take long after all? Although I tend to agree with him on two of the three listed. sow stalls for some sows save piglets. Animal Justice MP Mark Pearson says farming is 'on trial' after greyhounds ban Alex Druce@AlexDruuuce 1 Sep 2016, 5:05 a.m. News Aa Animal Justice MP Mark Pearson has vowed to hasten phasing out sow stalls, adopting pain-free mulesing, and embracing technology to stop male chick maceration. AN Animal Justice Party MP emboldened by the NSW Greyhound industry ban has put intensive agriculture “on trial” and says the banning of certain farm practices is inevitable. But the ultimate goal of Upper House MP Mark Pearson to halt all animal production is too much for even the Greens, who say it is absurd to suggest agriculture in NSW does not have a social licence. Mr Pearson, NSW parliament’s sole Animal Justice representative, said he and his supporters were inspired by the passing of legislation banning greyhound racing in NSW last week. “Whether we like it or not aspects of intensive farming will be put on trial,” Mr Pearson told The Land. “And I will certainly be a catalyst for that.” The Upper House MP had this year called for barbed wire on farms to be banned, and for wild Snowy Mountains brumbies to be left unchecked, and an increased focus on agriculture began in July when the Greyhound ban was announced by Premier Mike Baird. Since then Mr Pearson has supported calls to ban live export, urged a halt to the kangaroo harvest, and suggested this week pig hunting with dogs be outlawed. He has also vowed to hasten reforms already accepted as necessary by industry – including phasing out sow stalls, adopting pain-free mulesing, and embracing technology that would end the maceration of male chicks. During the Greyhound debate primary producers feared the natural progression of the discussion would see animal wastage on farms targeted, and agriculture’s social licence questioned. For his part Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair has consistently backed industry. He said the use of animals on farms was different to the Greyhound industry on account of farmers’ dedication to best practice. “I will neither introduce nor support legislation that prohibits or unnecessarily impedes intensive livestock farming in NSW, because it is not warranted,” Mr Blair said this week. But Mr Pearson says change is unavoidable. Whether we like it or not aspects of intensive farming will be put on trial - NSW Animal Justice Party MP Mark Pearson “In some ways the industries are already looking at what they do. Killing (male chicks) just because they’re born a certain sex isn’t going to fly with the average person for very long,” he said. Mr Pearson admitted the social licence of agriculture and greyhound racing were not comparable – but said the industries were linked through use of animals. “I wouldn’t say that (the two) are chalk and cheese,” he said. “But the difference is with the greyhound industry is the criminal behaviour… it’s animal abuse and torture. “I think the changes in agriculture will be more incremental” Mr Pearson could form a six-seat bloc in the NSW Upper House if he sided with the party most closely aligned to his party’s political beliefs: The Greens. But NSW Greens agriculture spokesman Jeremy Buckingham said he did not agree with Mr Pearson’s stance and said animals were an integral part of farming systems. “Of course the industry should meet the highest standards, but any suggestion that it does not have a social licence is absurd," Mr Buckingham said.

thanks

after what has happened re purebred dogs, now the row over the greyhounds suspended over a report that is being said is flawed yet acted on,despite a pending court judgement, suspect a proportion of the population are more than a little suspicious it is taxpayers money paying for adds not only on radio but tv as well, that's hundreds of thousands in taxpayers money, asking people to rubber stanp the premiers decision after the event. pollies penalised for not toeing the party line etc apologies for repeating whats already on another . but this pollie is paying the price for thinking she had the right to stand up for her voters. She had now learned a lesson. promise to represent the voters all you want but once elected do as you are told http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/story/4124370/agriculture-could-go-to-the-dogs-after-greyhound-ban/

have to admit I thought it had been, all the press said it was to be implemented in 2013 cant find a date on this one http://www.peta.org.au/issues/clothing/cruelty-wool/mulesing-barbaric-unnecessary-cruelty/ found a few others and the date it was supposed to be phased out was 2010 http://theconversation.com/how-the-wool-industry-has-undercut-itself-on-mulesing-956 I dont come from a sheep farming background and never had sheep until we rescued some from a pack of dogs and the owners never came to claim them so ended up with 3 , all three were merinos and constantly checking them for flystrike was no fun. hubby was once a jackaroo and could spot a flystruck sheep from a k away. the first time one of them was struck left me appalled at the suffering they must feel, its awful to see and treat. yet it was just a little strike, we gave them away to a friend who used their wool for spinning although as she said she preferred crossbred wool to the purebreds

so you are unaware that wool buyers were told to refuse to buy wool from mulesed sheep? they even got the industry to promise to phase it out, trouble is flies have no mercy. http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/mulesing.php http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/sheep-farmers-flocking-back-to-mulesing/story-e6frg8y6-1226557807686 the pressure did bring one interesting thing to light, there are some sheep with a naturally mulesed gene. selecting for that seems to be a good idea http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2005/03/16/1324361.htm

It's not a flawed system. It's just an issue with the datamatch. The details are being pulled from the NSW CAR. It's pretty simple to get it fixed - just ring your council and have the original details amended. The new system will prevent this kind of future issue. Regardless, the new system is here to stay. Vets, councils and authorised identifiers will all be using it. It's your choice to use it or not use it if you're a pet owner, but it certainly makes a lot of sense to begin using it. my friend just wasted most of yesterday. so soothing to my frayed nerves to see her so frazzled at her attempts. I couldnt even get it to digest my address. it says type your address, then click on window with address choices for automatic download into the magic boxes you dummy arent allowed to fill by your stupid self. for me the box dropped but it wouldnt even deign to notice when I clicked on the correct line of addresses. it happily digested her address, then automatically filled the locked boxes intself. EXCEPT instead of her street name in that spot its where the name of her suburb is, where is her suburb? in the spot for her street name? marvellous

hundreds of replies but these three are so on the mark. It really is about time to query what our govt is handing OUR MONEY too, with total control without accountability or avenue of appeal, is the money for animal welfare anymore? looks more like animal rights? To ban mulesing without a viable alternative, results in exactly what Leticia below describes. Yet this is what animal rights has forced on the millions of sheep in australia. Hayley Because theirs not animals that actually need to be rescued by the Rspca instead they go round and pick on the people who making a living off the industry who's animals are extremely well looked after What a joke. Rodeo is not just a sport it's a way of life. Stock are well looked after. Contractors won't make money damaging animals after every event. It's common sense. What about ladies breakaway roping? Is that cruel as well? What about barrel racing? Do you even know what events take place in a rodeo. How stock get there. The training involved. Anything about Country NSW? Leticia Oh for goodness sake. The rodeo is a world wide sport that showcases what happens in everyday life (apart from bull riding) on farms! Sometimes you need to rope a calf. We even pull them with rope......out off bog holes. Next we won't be allowed to ride horses in pony club because the city people said. Ffs.....you dont want us mulesing sheep but have you seen the direct repercussions if you dont, have you ever tried to save a sheep and your hand goes right through them caused by maggots. Oh i also seen now we are supposed to be saving and rehoming wild foxes! Get a grip people!!!

says page not found no idea why the link isnt working. this is the article it referrs too. The Daily Advertiser Tuesday August 30, 2016 Cootamundra MP Katrina Hodgkinson slams NSW Nationals leader over broken promise LOCAL leaders have aired genuine fear for the future of agriculture in the wake of the state government’s greyhound racing ban. It comes after Cootamundra MP Katrina Hodgkinson was unceremoniously demoted via press release late last week for crossing the floor of parliament to protect thousands of regional jobs. Ms Hodgkinson told The Daily Advertiser she was taken aback when NSW Nationals leader Troy Grant broke a commitment that members of his own party would not be punished for revolting against the government’s greyhound ban. “It’s the leader’s discretion, but he made a point of making sure nobody would be penalised for crossing the floor,” she said. Ms Hodgkinson worries the greyhound ban has set a potentially disastrous precedent for livestock farming and other forms of animal-related sports. “The greyhound ban was announced as a fait accompli, there was nothing I could do,” Ms Hodgkinson said. “What’s next; bans on camp drafting, rodeos, poultry farming, dairy farming, piggeries?” Riverina MP Michael McCormack said the greyhound racing ban was “the thin edge of the wedge”, which had emboldened “largely irrational” animal activists. “Animal liberationists will not stop until every animal is set free,” Mr McCormack said. “When they finally get their way and some stupid government in the future bans thoroughbred racing, we’ll look back and say the greyhound ban was the start of this nonsense.” In 2013 Temora community members volunteered 2,500 man-hours worth more than $340,000 to upgrade the greyhound track from grass to sand in a bid to secure the facility’s future. Temora mayor Rick Firman said the greyhound club injected $250,000 per year, money “the local economy cannot afford to lose”. “This decision is sickening and disappointing,” Cr Firman said. “Greyhound racing was part of the fabric of our community and promoted Temora across the country.”

http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/st...greyhound-ban/ Cant help but suspect she is right. AR have already changed how we breed purebred dogs despite this all in the name of placating AR and political correctness http://www.everythinggolden.com/new_page_195.htm

Couldn't read the clip, subscription only. Agree there are thug types in every strata of society. But likening them to Nazis is an insult to those who were there (just referring to the quoted response). this should open for you. scroll down the page second one down on my screen. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1083536528374841/1156642571064236/?notif_t=group_activity&notif_id=1472351272183632

interesting article.spotted on fb. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/turnbull-slams-baird-ban-on-greyhound-racing/news-story/b0d9fad6195b22b2c933f6b3c9237a47 this was below it by one of the people commenting on it "Talking about rabbits. When the RSPCA and the revenue raising council waltzed onto our place, two years ago.I had picked up a live baby bunny. So I walked out with it. Showed it to the by-laws manager, who cringed at the sight of it. Offered it to the vet (well thinking he might put it down humanely) nope he cringed at it. So one of the Nazi inspectors grabbed it out of my hand rung its neck in front of everyone with a big crunch, and threw it on the ground. I was shocked, as were the people I told." found my self thinking, if anyone complained about that, they would be assured by Coleman, the said rabbit had been euthanased by the inspector. Ashton the man who shot Ruth Downey's cattle, "euthed" em by standing beside a paddock gate and shot them as they were pushed through the 12 wide gate. no single shots to the head in that so called euth precdure. any one else or slaughter place would have been prosecuted for doing same. Yet rspca called it Euthanasia?

I still don't think that is a good argument thousands on unemployment benefits and being educated to do another job isn't going to cost for years??? Looking after redundant Greyhounds as they said they were going eventually make a plan for ha ha isn't going to cost. 53 million is chicken feed. Jobs that you can live off are very very hard to get educated or otherwise. Greyhounds haven't made money for them through gambling for years, from what I've been told, that's why the TAB didn't help. there is a story in the telegraph on friday. Baird loses nothing by shuting it down, Saves millions not maintaining nsw tracks and the nsw govt will still get their share of all nsw bets put on interstate greyhound racing. 18.7 million was incomed from interstate betting. he will still be receiving that.

I still don't think that is a good argument thousands on unemployment benefits and being educated to do another job isn't going to cost for years??? Looking after redundant Greyhounds as they said they were going eventually make a plan for ha ha isn't going to cost. 53 million is chicken feed. Jobs that you can live off are very very hard to get educated or otherwise. Greyhounds haven't made money for them through gambling for years, from what I've been told, that's why the TAB didn't help. there is a story in the telegraph on friday. Baird loses nothing by shuting it down, the nsw govt will still get their share of all nsw bets put on interstate greyhound racing. 18.7 million was incomed from interstate betting. he will still be receiving that.

Meanwhile the poor person employed by council becomes, so is made, redundant. Another job gone, another person on the scrap heap, and the back up tech job outsourced to India. OR, the overworked Companion Animals Officer that has no time to be proactive finally has enough time to be proactive! Exactly, overworked, because there are not enough staff to do the tasks at hand. Of course I do, Anne, but Council is no different to other areas of the public sector, starved for cash and cut back to the bare bones. You are probably a fan of small government, I prefer to see people in employment. However, this is completely off topic, and I had no problem registering and claiming my dogs after looking up my copies of the transfer forms. :) tried that too. no go