Blacktown Pound Compulsory Desexing

[Katdogs]

Yay!!!!!!!

Thank you Councillor Nick and cronies!

I wish I could see Tim V in action too.

[melzawelza]

F*$&%* YEAH!!!!!

[_PL_]

F*$&%* YEAH!!!!!

What she said.

[k9angel]

Fantastic news!

:cheer: :happydance: :dancingelephant: :cheer:

[Miss Squish]

Yay !!!

[Lhok]

Is it compulsory desexing of animals sold by the pound or any animal that goes through the pound?

--Lhok

[_PL_]

Is it compulsory desexing of animals sold by the pound or any animal that goes through the pound?

--Lhok

As far as I know, what they voted on is here LINK.

It did not propose desexing on reclaimed animals if that's what you mean by any animal, only those sold by the facility at the end of impound time. :)

[tdierikx]

Well done to all who lobbied for this change!

Awesome news...

T.

[juice]

Wasn't expecting it to get past Pendleton, so well done!!!!!

Anyone there last night to tell us how it went, was there alot of opposition?

[stellnme]

Great news and well overdue for the animals. Thank you to all who did the hard work to make it happen.

[Mila's Mum]

Wasn't expecting it to get past Pendleton, so well done!!!!!

Anyone there last night to tell us how it went, was there alot of opposition?

I received the following -

Wow! That was a great meeting tonight - you should have seen the numbers that turned up - the gallery was full, Council didn't stand a chance. I think that Tim Vasudeva and Steve Coleman coming on board with their offer to help with desexing made a huge difference. Tim spoke well tonight as did Dr Robert Zammit at the public forum.

It was great that so many Councillors (8 or 9) gave speeches supporting compulsory desexing, even Cr Edmond Atalla and Cr Stephen Bali who had voted against it at the Policy Committee meeting. I guess they had to redeem themselves. Cr Bali even said that animals issues (eg. bybs) in the community must be addressed to reduce the animal population. Cr Leo Kelly asked that it be implemented immediately, not in 6 months time. Several Councillors questioned why it had taken 12 years to come to this stage - well, we all knew the answer to that! Cr Collins moved that the trial period be extended from 12 months to 2 years before an evaluation is done.

When the vote was held and acceptance was unanimous, the gallery broke out whith cheers, whoops and whistles, and some Councillors left their seats to congratulate us. Well, we disrupted the whole meeting, for everyone was on their feet talking and hugging. It took a while to get everyone out so that Council could resume with other matters.

Many Councillors mentioned the mass of emails they had received. Some said they did not mind form emails (thanks Anne) because not everyone could write, or had the time, and they were still expressing their opinion.

Callan Lawrence from the Blacktown SUN was there and was interviewing Tim after the meeting. I'll be interested to see his story in the paper.

Well, Hawkesbury pound is next on the agenda - we'll have to do something, for now every puppy farmer and byb will be heading to Hawkesbury.

Plan B will also swing into action at the next UCAMASC meeting on Tuesday May 22nd, to reduce the numbers of animals in the community. Blacktown is over-represented in the numbers of animals entering the pound compared to the other 7 councils who also use the pound, AND an increase of 165% in the numbers of cats compared to 2003 is just shocking. Tim said that Steve Coleman had said that the RSPCA were considering Blacktown for their next CAWS project after Campbelltown. Good, bring it on, and also Joy's AWL Qld programs - we'll be pushing for it.

[shmoo]

Well, Hawkesbury pound is next on the agenda - we'll have to do something, for now every puppy farmer and byb will be heading to Hawkesbury.

That was my first thought after hearing the news. I will be interested to see if there is a marked increase in adoptions.

[greytpets]

Great work everyone! So pleased this has been passed.

[Mila's Mum]

Many people have contributed to last night’s success with the vote in favour of mandatory desexing. It was a huge team effort to get this issue across the line, and many people have provided support along the way - I wish it was possible to mention everyone who has lent a hand. However, two people in particular deserve special mention – without their input, it is doubtful Option 2 would have succeeded last night.

Mariette Blackmore (ex Blacktown volunteer)

Mariette has spent untold hours researching pound stats, pulling together relevant information, analysing data, and compiling it into reports that showed in no uncertain terms, just how bad the Blacktown situation was. Here is an example of one very important piece of data -

Blacktown Pound is the largest NSW Council Pound, and caters for the lost and discarded animals, mostly dogs and cats, of eight metropolitan LGAs, whose total population is 871,741 (2009 Census), of which Blacktown's population represents 34.4%. The eight Council areas concerned are Blacktown, Parramatta, Holroyd, Auburn, Ryde, Lane Cove, Hunters Hill and Canada Bay. According to the DLG's 2009-10 Survey of Council Seizures of Dogs and Cats, 8,104 dogs and cats were collected by those eight councils, of which 69.4% came from Blacktown.

If you compare the ratios, you might see that Blacktown has a huge community problem - they are vastly over-represented, with 34.4% of the human population contributing 69.4% of the lost and unwanted dogs and cats. The kill-rate in the past was horrendous, being up to 50% of dogs, and as high as 90% of cats, yet Blacktown Council steadfastly blocked all attempts to help reduce the oversupply of animals by desexing.

So while the Chairman of the Urban Companion Animals Managment Advisory Sub-Committee was claiming that people were responsible (and therefore should be entitled to adopt an entire animal from the Pound), the stats clearly showed this was definitely not the case.

Not only did Mariette pull together and present very critical information, but she has been a prolific email writer to various Councils, newspaper contacts, and rescue organisations. Her articulate and well written correspondence, coupled with reports and information that showed a very sad state of affairs at Blacktown Pound, was distributed far and wide.

I could write paragraphs about Mariette’s contribution over the last few years towards the issue of compulsory desexing, her drive to keep plugging away despite the bullsh*t that Council would trot out at each meeting, and her unrelenting emails that would surely have had more than one or two councillors squirming in their seats. Suffice to say, the information Mariette researched, analysed, compiled, and distributed to the various Councils and other organisations, was critical towards last night’s success.

Denys Clarke (former Blacktown councillor)

Denys’ contribution has been invaluable in providing Mariette with information and advice about the ins and outs of Council workings, tactics, politics, and contacts. Most significantly, it was Denys who alerted Mariette that the desexing report had been issued, and that it was going to the Policy Committee. Had he not done that, no-one would have known. It would have quietly gone through Council, and probably Option 2 would have been rejected. We would have known nothing about it until it was too late.

Thanks to Denys’ constant monitoring of the Council website, and his subsequent notification to Mariette as to what was about to take place, the floodgates opened, and the email tsunami kicked in. All councillors, in all the Councils who use Blacktown Pound were notified of the upcoming meeting, and were also provided with the critical information that clearly showed the Pound’s abysmal performance over the previous years. The Blacktown Sun was also contacted and printed the article listed in Post 1 (a big thank you to those who wrote comments at the end). Anne Greenaway started a letter-writing group, some of whom sent suggested (form) letters to Councillors. Councils and councillors were being bombarded with people urging support for compulsory desexing.

I’ve been told that having the AWL & RSPCA coming on board was what probably tipped the table completely, and the audience helped to clinch it as well.

Every contribution, both large and small, has played a part in finally bringing about this much needed change at Blacktown Pound. Hopefully this is the start of a brighter future for the Blacktown poundies, and greater awareness in the Blacktown community towards responsible pet ownership.

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED :)

[MissMolly]

I heard something that I think that those who have worked so hard to make this change at BP should be aware of. As i would hate BP to have to go back on it's decision..

I know this story was a few weeks ago, but just in case it was missed am posting it here, and I have heard this person also has their own website which has more information on it.

http://blacktown-advocate.whereilive.com.au/news/story/blacktown-council-desexing-impounded-animals-illegal/

Blacktown Council: Desexing impounded animals 'illegal'

Council

28 Jun 12 @ 12:26pm by Ben McClellan

John Carr believes it is illegal to desex impounded animals.

BLACKTOWN City Council's mandatory desexing policy was hailed as the best way to cut down on the number of animals euthanised at its pound.

The motion passed unanimously in May, despite initial opposition from Mayor Alan Pendleton, but one dog lover claims it is illegal for the animals to be desexed.

John Carr wrote a lengthy submission to the council outlining why under the Impounding and Companions Acts it didn't "own" the animals it impounded and therefore had no right to desex them.

Mr Carr, who worked at several councils in the animal control field, said desexing violated the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

"By desexing these animals prior to sale, I allege the council, and the veterinarians involved, are performing criminal acts and are leaving themselves open to litigation," he said.

"Someone may choose to claim their animal between the period of it being on the operating table and prior to the sale."

Mr Carr, who has seven pet dogs of his own, said the animals taken to the pound were protected under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and council shouldn't do anything that would prevent them from being rehomed.

Blacktown Council has sought legal advice on Mr Carr's claims and a spokeswoman said council was yet to receive that advice.

Mr Carr said council may sell or destroy an animal but had no legal right to desex it and the only way it could was with the consent of the owner, regardless of the time the animal had been in the pound.

"Any act that a council may do to an animal, which knowingly jeopardises its chance of a sale, is a cruelty offence," Mr Carr said. "This would include the increased sale price."

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I hope the Council looks into things VERY thoroughly before listening to this particular individual.

[ozsomerset]

once the animal has passed it impounding due date, then they do become council property and they can do what they want with the animal.

[tdierikx]

OK - they can kill an animal legally, but can't desex it?? Makes heaps of sense... not! Can't rehome a dead animal...

T.

[Nic.B]

Happy to stand corrected on this, though I believe this individual is a well known BYB'r who sources his animals from pounds and shelters who sell entire animals.

No wonder he is upset.

Councils will make sure it's rock solid, their legal teams are very thorough :)

[*kirty*]

LOL that person is a tool. Can't believe a newspaper gave him space in their paper!! Once an animal has done its time, it is owned by the council/pound and they can do whatever they want to it. They can kill it, sell it, paint it purple, desex it, etc. If the owner turns up after that time, well they can only hope it's still alive. If it has been sold, sent to rescue or PTS, then too bad. And how will desexing prevent them from being adopted? LOL, I think being PTS might stop them from being adopted but that's OK with Mr Carr?