Dogs Seized From No Kill Shelter

[HeelerLove]

If they are blaming the person that I am thinking they are then that is disgusting as far as I am aware she had nothing to do with the current complaints at all someone else did and it involved their own animal purchased from Moorook. To be honest I am ashamed and disgusted that people involved in rescue and politics have stooped to the level of trying to harass, intimidate and defame innocent people or people asking justified questions. Regardless of what people think others have done and who they think have personal vendetta's against any shelter to constantly bring their name up and threaten them is vile and certainly tarnishes my opinion of rescue. If I was anyone involved in the Moorook saga I would be much more concerned about ensuring that every animal in care is kept in the best conditions possible, have the best medical and environmental enrichment possible and are found the best homes possible. Focus should always be on the animal, not ego's and not personal notority. People need to remember why they are involved in rescue is it for the animals or themselves?

Couldn't have said it any better

[Pailin]

Just thought I would add my input to this post, I have always been an animal lover, but never expected to become a rescuer and such a staunch animal rights activists, let alone spokesperson for Moorook Animal shelter.

I have read a few posts on here and thought a quick explanation may be pertinent, My wife and I many years ago started supporting Willow grove sanctuary, that of Peg Solomon, just a little help here and there fostering, and a few dollars when we had spare.

I visited one and could see Peg, who was then in her 70’s needed a hand around the place, so myself and a few friends jumped in and cleaned up, a few years later it became evident she could no longer run the Sanctuary herself, and Parks and Wildlife would have to put down some of the animals due to issues both moving them any distance and of course re-homing them.

So my wife and I put our hand up, we built a small sanctuary on our own property, and moved those animals in need to our home, our property coincidentally was called Willow wood, so we changed the name to Willow Wood Sanctuary.

We so do some rescues still, but prefer to remain small and out of sight, simply because the costs are far greater than I have anticipated, but we love all the animals and my wife treats them better than some people do their own children.

Over the years I have gained a good name in the political arena, albeit as a wannabee polly, but that has enabled me to lobby for a variety of causes with some media support, so when QLD was flooded out a couple of years ago, I help raise money for the rescue groups over there and several tonnes of feed and supplies.

I did this with a promise from a trucking company to take the goods over and I was to spread the money raised by phone, but once we have everything together the truck company lets us down, as did a few others in relation to goods for the many homeless people that the floods created.

I had publically promised to ensure the money and goods were delivered, so I took my hot rod (work in progress out the shed, managed to borrow a huge trailer and myself and a supporter simply headed off to do the job ourselves.

This is where I had the privilege of meeting many great people in animal rescue all be them in QLD, and of course the many carers here that helped me along the way, so this probably concreted my resolve to continue having a special interest in animal care.

In March this year, I was on a self funded trip in Canberra exposing issues within our electoral system, a very special interest of mine. My wife phoned to tell me what had happened at Moorook, I then phoned Lola who we had worked with over the years and where a couple of our furbabies had come from, and she said she needed my help, so I flew back immediately to lend her a hand.

I contacted a few people from Canberra to see what the story was and also had a chat with Today Tonight to see if they could back Lola up, as from what I had been led to believe the RSPCA intervention did not appear to be based around the best interests of the animals involved, up until then I had not visited Moorook personally.

The first visit was an eye opener, the RSPCA arrived and appeared to know little about the act that empowered them, yet I had only studied it on the plane back and when i arrived home, they were earmarking animals but without a vet present, and their understanding of medical issues appeared lack lustre to say the least, this I will explain.

The only dog they showed interest in was a new arrival, it had come with a massive flea infestation, and had been taken to Lolas vets (midway road) and had been treated, the issue was so bad it had to have a section of fur shaved, and it was receiving topical treatment, in the first RSPCA raid a week earlier it had been earmarked to be taken, but I assume they had full vans, so Lola was asked to have it vet checked, even thought she made the officers aware this had already been done.

Lola indeed did take the dog back to the vet, and the vet’s response was why it was back, well this is the very dog on the second inspection that was being questioned, and we all as animal lovers know fur does not grow back over night.

In regards to the shelter itself, it indeed was a mess wound the edges, and the property was also used to recycle scrap metal in the non shelter areas, so indeed Lola needed a hand, that said the enclosures were clean, the dogs happy and healthy and the documents I was given in relation to veterinary checks, desexing, micro chipping and vaccinating showed it was better run that I would have ever expected.

The shelter consisted of an old approved area of 9 concreted enclosures with an attached exercise yards no longer used and run down, A 4 run section for older dogs that was concreted and offered large areas to move again with a huge exercise area, a modern set of 19 concreted enclosures with attached exercise yards, 10 large back yard type settings that had Kennels but no concrete areas (used for animals in long term care) 8 larger enclosures with large kennels (now concreted) another modern run of 9 enclosures also up to modern standards, and a still used quarantine area with 8 enclosures, which met with the latest requirements, but could do with a makeover, on top of this are a few areas, Lola keeps her own dogs.

On the first inspection Lola had 120 dogs on the property and had several experienced volunteers, I was impressed to be honest with the set up in general, but changes needed to be made in both management and in upkeep of the surrounding areas to the shelter.

The 3 orders given by the RSPCA were minor in nature, so 1 weekend conquered them, some loose fencing and the concreting of 6 areas, and we met the RSPCA written orders, from there many good people stepped up and we renovated the entire surroundings, including years of junk that in the most was there when Lola brought the property.

The hardest work was by way of orders from the local council, that went from my point of view beyond commonsense and in fact any local bi-laws, but we complied, this included uncovering drainage pits, that all complied, cleaning the area and even inspections of tool and garden sheds, even an unused shed at the rear of Lola’s home.

Moorooks own records show they have homed in recent years over 2000 animals, which is massive and deserves respect, indeed things do get out of hand in terms of a property of this size when the owner puts the animals first, as for the charges made by the RSPCA, a detailed article is on my site www.markmaldridge.com , so I believe stepping in and helping was the right thing to do, other than my body telling me I am not fit enough for such manual labour 

I used everything at my disposal to help ensure Lola could keep doing what she loved for as long as she is able, media, social networking, and my supporters, I may not have done everything in a way that everyone would agree is right, but I did do the best I could for the right reasons and will continue until the shelter is safe.

All the way along I thought it pertinent to do so in a transparent manner, which is why I posted articles on what had transpired, as I was there for the shelter and I believe Moorook is a grass roots shelter, one that works only through the support and hard work of many.

The shelter is now down to around 50 dogs, and homing rates remain steady at around 7 dogs a week, as a measure to make life easier, I suggested Moorook only take in Riverland dogs from now on, so I believe now the number will remain steady, a new toilet block is going in, a new quarantine area is under construction (air-conditioned) and the old quarantine area will be renovated and used to show case adoptions, so although the shelter can handle up to 140 dogs, development planning will be for a maximum of 60 from here on in.

The cattery is also being overhauled and is looking good, every cat is de-sexed, immunised and treated by a local vet, and just for your information, Lola covers over $4,000 a month in vet bills.

As for the legal’s, I have found a very good legal team to cover the court case pro bono, and we are also having Moorook registered as a charity, until now it was a registered business and has since 1999 been an approved shelter operation.

I note there are a few people on here that back what has happened, and others that differ in opinion, so I post this to show my side of the story, thank you for listening.

Mark

How exactly do you explain your behavior in all this? It is one thing to cite transparency and it is entirely another for you to deliberately goad, provoke and harass the people tasked with looking into the allegations (the RSPCA).

I have absolutely no vested interest in either side of the "For or Against Moorook" debate, and am viewing this all as an unbiased outsider and I have to say that I have found the way you handled this whole situation appalling. It is my opinion that YOU and your behavior towards the RSPCA are the majority of the reason that Lola was charged with the offenses that she was. Instead of working with them and acknowledging that things needed to be cleaned up and changed and that you would be willing to put the time and effort in to assisting Lola, you made it into a huge oppositional farce and created and "Us vs. Them" mentality....it served no purpose, other than to make things worse, and was certainly NOT in the best interests of the animals for you to behave as you have.

You have used this situation to your advantage and as a platform to get media attention, renown and in essence have tried to turn it into the "Mark show". This was evidenced by your behavior to being left out of the loop when the solicitors cancelled the Support day. You acted like a tantrum throwing toddler and your insistence to remain "in control" and still call all the shots about moving it etc without first speaking to Lola or the Legal Team really showed you in a negative light. It highlighted that you were not a team player, that you had no interest in working for the good of Lola and the Shelter unless it also simultaneously benefited you.

[Linda K]

grass roots shelter or otherwise, it does not excuse animals being kept in conditions that preclude them having access to kennels to shelter from heat and cold, clean water, nor does the video footage you have uploaded to youtube of cats just wandering around freely provide an environment for them that is safe nor allow for them to be able to be easily treated and examined. Nor does it protect them from stray cats and the disease they may transmits, nor dogs that also just wander round (as noted that several dogs are described as also having access to the whole property and not just confined to pens. Seems to me that it is interesting how much the above post too is all about "me", and not one bit mentioning all the screaming and abusing you have done to people who dared to differ with you - when you post pictures on your page showing what things are like and how wonderful they are, when they do in fact look little different to some puppy mill operations, expect to be challenged when you then try to claim those as best practice. And the idea that one person can look after 120 dogs, even with 1-2 person volunteer help - given that the recent Vic DPI figures suggesting 1 person per 25 animals, think you will find not a lot pf people think such staffing would be best practice either. No problem with taking in animals if you can cope with them, and would seem the simplest method would being to add in fostering, esp if there are animals that need special treatment,/ rehabilitation etc that means they are taking up more than the normal amount of time a healthier animal would take.

[Mark Aldridge]

I am not here to argue with any one, I tried over and over to mediate with the RSPCA, info up on my site will explain every move, I only ever thought my position would be to work with the council and the RSPCA to ensure compliance, which I thought would be an easy task, until now I had been a big supporter of the RSPCA, the 1000 or more emails since beg to differ, in the support of the animals comes with support and understanding of the owners or those taking care of the animals, there lays the issue I believe.

I rescue native animals and those that can not be released I give a home for life, that is all I have to say, my website will continue to have articles updated, from here I will handle one more major media event, and back up 2 other enquires, one by Parliament the other by another news team, in which I will supply them information and witness names only.

I tried to show where I come from and in what I believe, how that is perceived is up to you all.

I have stood for what I believe for a long time now, and will continue to do the same, the chances of winning an election are very low, and after this federal election I will be steeping away from the political arena, and sticking to rights based issues, and that will include all sentient beings.

[Are You Serious Jo]

Where does one start :laugh:

Pailin has given a good run down and behluka has covered the sanctuary.

So if your rescues are in a sanctuary rather than a private home is it open to the public? What is your specialist license number required to keep that wedgetail eagle and who endorsed you to keep one? Natives are not pets, they actually belong to the government and you are just a caretaker. As they are not your pets you are under obligation to ensure that you are transparent in your management of them. If other wildlife carers who don't even claim to have a sanctuary are willing to be open about their licenses why do you refuse to discuss it. Makes it look like you have something to hide.

If your concern is only for Lola why did you insist on making an event out of the court date even when told explicitly that the lawyers have said no? Do you think you know what's better for the case than her actual legal team? Why did you threaten the rspca officers on your webpage if you just wanted to work with them. It ensured they could never work with Moorook with you as the spokesman as you were combative from the start. They have a legal obligation to uphold the law and act on cruelty cases, if you are so positive they have no case why continue to abuse them? Who was it yelling abuse at them from behind a fence at Waikerie? How could that possibly make them want to work with you?

Let's talk about the number of dogs shall we. By your own admission there was 120 at the property originally with only a few part time volunteers. Now doesn't Lola work as well? You have been seen on the last few days saying Lola has room for 150. Now how could she manage 150 when she couldn't handle 120, and you have even put out the call for help to clean up the kennels on the day of the last council inspection and that was with 50! How can she possibly handle large numbers of animals with her doctors appointments, work and trips down to the vet in Adelaide. I've done the run from the Riverland to Adelaide so many times I've lost count, it takes 3 hours, so how can she be adequately caring for them in the little time left. Of course she can't, hence the numerous rspca complaints over the years and the seizure of some of the animals.

On to the quarantine. I've watched your dig the hole a bit deeper videos. I saw that the "quarantine" building had no hand wash facilities or foot bath on exit. Now considering you were talking about seeking an injunction based on the rspca not washing their hands you are stretching that a bit don't you think. There appears to be no adequate exclusion zone around the "quarantine" area either. I also noted that there was something that looked like an old freezer that provided easy access on to the roof for the loose cats into the "quarantine" area, I saw cats near that so they have definite access.

The cats! Moorook posted that they have too many cats to house so they are loose on the property. Now I don't know if you actually are aware of infectious disease in cats and their mode of transmission. How are they protected from feral cats, snakes, getting run over, transmission of parasites? How are they prepared for rehoming if they are left run loose? What is the disease management protocol for this free population?

Why did you claim the last visit by the rspca was illegal entry when they have an open warrant, proven by the response from the minister on this matter?

Remember when you said everyone had to close ranks because the rspca were targeting no kill shelters and there were two shut down, one in Victoria and one in WA. Yet no one can find a thing about that, none have been shut down, care to explain why you said that?

I won't even go in to things like the fact you said you took five tonnes to QLD and Paul contradicted you by saying he saw your load and it was two, or the fact you go on about buy Australian yet import cheap Balinese statues, or the fact you aren't that popular as a pollie because you never come close to winning. the above points are a few of th

[Are You Serious Jo]

I have stood for what I believe for a long time now, and will continue to do the same, the chances of winning an election are very low, and after this federal election I will be steeping away from the political arena, and sticking to rights based issues, and that will include all sentient beings.

See people, a man who thinks Moorook will be the best in Australia and state of the art is going to attempt to influence the animal welfare industry, now do you see why we have persisted. It was puppy farm conditions and a lot of people know it. Why didn't you step in years ago to help her if you knew she needed and you were good friends as you claim, why did it take seizure for you to help, because there was no media attention possible before?

[Rebanne]

I wouldn't want any of my pets to ever end up in such a "state of the art" facility as Moorook. Drinking green water, sleeping in tin sheds in that climate, fed food exposed to vermin.

[HeelerLove]

Yes just things we've already read before and the usual spiel about how good he is.

[Are You Serious Jo]

He just wanted you to know how totally awesome and humble he is, not face the Spanish inquisition :laugh:

[Are You Serious Jo]

Too busy saving the world I expect.

[Are You Serious Jo]

What a surprise, no expose :laugh: Sorry boys, better luck next time

[BlackJaq]

I missed the TT thing Is it available to be watched online?

ETA: A google search turned up a video on youtube which is apparently "unavailable"......

Edited May 31, 2013 by BlackJaq

[HeelerLove]

They usually are put up on the website but probably not until tomorrow

[Are You Serious Jo]

LOL Glen is the guy who posted calling off the whole rally on the 24th.

[Are You Serious Jo]

Some things can only be administered by a vet, not vet nurses, wonder if they have been compliant.

[Steve]

you dont need a licence to be offered and accept donations - idiots. thats like saying if I give you a dollar for a loaf of bread you cant take it - sheez

[Linda K]

can't wait till it is uploaded to watch it, as according to the minions, they saw a different story - this from Marks page

Leanne Johnstoneposted toMark Aldridge

10 minutes ago via mobile

Well done Mark and Lola!! So glad they aired it. Frank did a great job! The footage of all the happy, healthy dogs and cats was awesome! If that's not hard evidence Lola is doing a marvellous job then I don't know what is. Points that needed to be raised were raised, but like I saw in someone elses comment, it's the tip of the iceberg. Animal welfare isn't only about their health and their age - it's also about their emotional well being. To me, the animals in her care are HAPPY. HEALTHY. SAFE. Today Tonight clearly showed that in their footage. Take that, RSPCA!! Bloody well done I say!!!

and this

Kat Trina Robertsposted toMark Aldridge

39 minutes ago near Adelaide, South Australia

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY....... SO SO PROUD OF YOU GUYS AND DARLING LOLA................GO MOOROOK. now rspca is going to wish they didn't do what they've done........... and Fk all them haters, hope they choke on there vicious tongues

11 people like this.

Kat Trina Roberts Imogen has a message for you and Helen, "you guys rock"....lol. ...... she has such a caring and genuine interest in all of this and cant wait for me to well enough to take her up to Moorook and help out. not bad for a 9 year old hey.

27 minutes ago · 1

Kat Trina Roberts now lets all us supporters join those hate pages just so we can all say "told you so"

17 minutes ago

Farmer Dolly no just a waste of space time and energy

12 minutes ago · 2

Kat Trina Roberts yeah your probably rite dolly..... they aren't going to have much to talk bout on there now

and this - which shows Mark still does not get it about the donations

Tania Green

40 minutes ago near Gepps Cross, South Australia

Mark Aldridge

RSPCA Can well N truly go N get totally stuffed Lola cares for all animals on her door step N will never turn any animal away I kno a huge amount about Lola thru a close friend N also her son in my Hm twn go Lola we are all behind u 100% N Mark Aldridge mate I take my hat off 2 u for ur public support isn't it a shame that Lola isn't even allowed 2 except even food donations yet RSPCA Ask for donations out in public fundraising like they say wots good 4 the goose is good 4 the gander RSPCA SHAME SHAME SHAME HTFU!!!!!!!!!

Share

5 people like this.

Bronwyn Princess Brooks Cant stop people visiting and leaving food lol stuff rspca

40 minutes ago via mobile · 1

Mark Aldridge Charge Lola 5 cents for the food, then it is legal as a transaction

37 minutes ago · 4

Bronwyn Princess Brooks What a good bloke

35 minutes ago via mobile

David Baker Don't give to Lola, only to the dogs and cats!!! let the RSPCA charge them!!!

32 minutes ago · 1

Tania Green Ppl can visit but aren't allowed to leave food donations simple all food donations go in the bin grrrr it makes me so angry Bcoz Lola has a huge heart N she's a true heart country girl N if it weren't for her how many dogs would B out in the streets abandoned , Hurt, Lost, etc etc but gotta say tho Mark Aldridge clever work N again all ur input is a credit 2 you N I kno Lola appreciates it she's not asking for hand outs Lola just has a huge heart N loves animals like any one would love their child so 2 say if animals are up 4 adoption she makes sure they go 2 gd homes so again it's called being an equal next 2 RSPCA same thing etc

30 minutes ago via mobile

Tania Green LOL David funny shit ay gd idea lol luv it now that would B hilarious lol

28 minutes ago via mobile · 1

Bren Hamilton Groom So what law is there stopping Lola from fishing the food out of the bin when they go?

27 minutes ago · 1

Bren Hamilton Groom Is it legal for her to do that?

26 minutes ago

Mark Aldridge Lola is a registered business, so anyone can sell her stuff for what ever price they like hint hint

26 minutes ago · 3

Bren Hamilton Groom 10 cans for 10c

25 minutes ago · 2

[Linda K]

there is more OTT stuff like that, but makes me ill to read it. Waiting to see the story online so can see the slant they took on it, although being TT and knowing what they did on the Calstead job, not expecting a lot

[Are You Serious Jo]

you dont need a licence to be offered and accept donations - idiots. thats like saying if I give you a dollar for a loaf of bread you cant take it - sheez

Because Lola is a sole trader she has specific guidelines to follow. She has to declare all income, she cannot use the word donations at all and she absolutely cannot imply in any way they are a charity or not for profit org. They have broken the law on these in the past, that is why they have changed some wording last week.

There are some special peeps in SA, from what I've heard the story was not that complimentary. They seem to have forgotten the big expose that never happened.

[BlackJaq]

Here is the cached view of the youtube page with the video I found......

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eNBVVyFrpcAJ:www.youtube.com/all_comments%3Fthreaded%3D1%26v%3DTKCX-6rsFLI+today+tonight+moorook+animal+shelter&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au

Wonder why it has disappeared?