Kurri Pound Online Petition

[DMA]

Below you will find the wording to the "Preamble" to the petition: Cessnock City Council (Kurri Kurri) Pound Petition

The actual wording of the petition can be found at the address provided below.

At the moment I plan to let it remain open until 08/03/2010 (now extended to 05/03/2010). That will give us a month to collect as many signatures as possible before it can be presented to Council. I beg you all to spread the internet address of the petition, http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/cessno...imal-pound.html, to everyone you know in order for this action to succeed in forcing the council to take the problems at the pound in a serious manner.

For further background to the council's handling of the situation, please follow this link to DOL's News Subforum where I've put all the information together in one thread: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=188721

I will thank you in advance for your time & support. We need about 1 000 signatures to make council pay attention. So let's make something important happen for our fury friends!

Preamble

The animal shelter facility, located in Kurri Kurri New South Wales, is a council service of Cessnock City Council. Built many years ago, what was once fitting in its day, has been allowed to decline in both quality of animal care and maintenance care for several years. This is not the fault of current staff members who do whatever they can under an extremely limited budget. Successive Council administrations have been neglectful of their duties, under various Acts of the New South Wales State government, in ensuring that such a facility, not only services the citizens of Cessnock City Council, but also the animals impounded at the facility. The Council itself has recently admitted, in their own report, that The Kurri Kurri Animal Shelter does not meet the standards prescribed in the draft Code of Practice (Council Agenda Report 3/02/2010 P39).

Although the council is offering to open the pound by a further hour a day, this will only mean that the pound will be open for somewhere between eight to eleven hours per week. Given the fact that comparable facilities, namely Wyong and Port Stephens Shelters, are open between 30 and 40 hours a week, this offer by Cessnock City Council is deemed to be unacceptable by animal rescue groups, local citizens, and other interested parties.

Furthermore there are five more fundamental issues at stake. The policy of the destruction of animals at the pound is haphazard and varies constantly from week to week. Given the fact that rescue groups are more than willing to take as many animals as possible, from the pound, consistency in this policy is critical as it means impounded animals are needlessly destroyed when they could be otherwise saved. Yet, as community demands for do-not-kill pounds are becoming louder and louder, there is no reason why such requests should not be seriously considered by Cessnock City Council. In fact, given far longer opening hours, whereupon general members of the public are given the opportunity to adopt an impounded dog or cat, along with the operations of animal rescue groups, the requirement for destruction of releasable animals could be significantly reduced if not eliminated altogether.

The next issue is that of a volunteer program where general members of the public, deemed suitable by facility staff, could conduct work activities approved by said staff. This could ensure that, not only is the extremely demanding workload eased on staff and rangers, but the rangers could conduct their other duties efficiently and effectively. Most importantly, however, the welfare and rehabilitation of impounded animals would be significantly improved, by having dedicated volunteers seeing to their requirements, leading to less animals being declared unfit for release, thus ensuring more animals are saved. Hence issues raised about exercise, inhumane confinement, and degrading health, by not meeting the requirements of the COMPANION ANIMALS ACT 1998, IMPOUNDING ACT 1993 and the CODE OF PRACTICE, would no longer be of concern.

Another important issue must see a vast improvement of the security arrangements for not just the staff but also for the impounded animals. Over the last 12 months the facility has been vandalised several times, causing thousands of dollars in damage, whilst four or five dogs have been stolen from the pound. This is in breach of the IMPOUNDING ACT 1993, Sect 21 para (d) where it states animals must be kept secure. Furthermore staff members have been threatened, on several occasions, with little protection offered. The current alarm system, which maybe of use when the pound is occupied, has proven to be next to useless when there are no staff members present at the facility. This is most certainly the case during night-time.

These issues, and more raised in the REPORT ON THE SECTION 430 INVESTIGATION INTO CESSNOCK CITY COUNCIL in respect to the pound, need to be seriously addressed and the reforms implemented as soon as is practicable. It is believed that it is not just merely a requirement by law, but a moral and ethical obligation by those we trust to perform services to the community at large, just not within the Cessnock City Council LGA, but for the many Australians who cherish companion animals. The staff at the facility do an incredible job, under the circumstances, yet the Council has ignored their plight, and that of the impounded animals, for far too long. I hope you will sign this petition, knowing that every bit helps in having Cessnock City Council conduct the necessary reforms to ensure the proper and fitting running of Cessnock City Council (Kurri Kurri) Pound.

Now that you've read the Preamble, please sign the petition at the address provided below. Thanks

Petition address: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/cessno...imal-pound.html

PS: My personal thanks to those who have helped me prepare this petition. You know who you are

PPS: I know I've already posted this in the General Rescue section, but it's been wisely suggested to me that this just isn't a rescue issue, yet one which potentially effects all animal owners. These issues just aren't solely a Cessnock Pound situation but ones which are nation wide.

Edited March 28, 2010 by DMA

[Jigsaw]

BUMPing it back to top of page!

[DMA]

We're almost at the 200 mark, but we need 800 more in order for council to take the petition seriously. So please sign & spread the word to everyone you know.

[butch's dad]

Hoping that all you animal lovers out there will help support this petition by taking less than 30 seconds to sign it. We need your help now. As dog enthusiasts we need to ban together for the good of the abandoned and orphaned animals at this facility.

[DMA]

We've just gone over the 250 mark, but we need many more. So if you haven't signed yet, please do, & don't forget to let everyone you know about the petition. Thanks

[DMA]

Bump!

[Schnauzerlover]

I really hope Cessnock COuncil pays attention to this. I have just signed. Good Luck and keep us posted of course

[DMA]

I really hope Cessnock COuncil pays attention to this. I have just signed. Good Luck and keep us posted of course

Thank you & will do. We're actually hoping to have a walk around in Cessnock & Kurri soon to get signatures of locals as well as the online petition.

[DMA]

We're getting signatures from around Australia, even some of the USA, so that's good

But we need more

So please sign, if you haven't already, & pass on the petition website to everyone you know

[DMA]

Ok we've hit the 300 mark, but we need 700 more. So bump!

[DMA]

I just like to pass on that the cattledog pup, who sparked off the petition due to getting stolen from the pound, was found again last week. Anyway she went into rescue care & is now having the time of her life on a farm on the Central Coast. Here's some pics:

Photos curtesy of the carer

[SoL]

Petition signed #308. We're getting there, slowly.

[mona]

Done - happy to sign ...

Good luck

[DMA]

Many, many thanks SoL & mona

Every signature counts

[OSoSwift]

Done

[DMA]

Done

Excellent

Thanks for that

[Frankie]

DMA

I tried to sign- but the verification code came up as a red cross

Is it just my computer?

Will pass on to my dog-loving colleagues at work- as I am from the Hunter

I assume the local rescue groups such as HAR know about it? If not I will send to them

[DMA]

DMA

I tried to sign- but the verification code came up as a red cross

Is it just my computer?

Will pass on to my dog-loving colleagues at work- as I am from the Hunter

I assume the local rescue groups such as HAR know about it? If not I will send to them

Oh that's odd. Alas I have no control over that website. Could you try again? It may have something to do with the "compulsory fields" as against the "optional" ones. Other than that, about the only other advice I can give is to ensure you type exactly the verification code as displayed, & that the "compulsory fields" have been completed. I know that's probably not much help, but as said I have zero control over the petition website.

And yeah, please spread the word to everyone you know. That'd be fantastic

HAR have been informed, along with other such groups, but a remainder wouldn't go astray

[DMA]

Bump!

[tybrax]

Signed