Wagga Pound Cruelty - Not For Easily Upset

[Dame Aussie]

Yeah look I have worked with overzealous rescuers and volunteers and they can get things wrong and out of context sometimes, BUT I would never support confidentiality agreements. If they've got it wrong then that will come out in the investigation. We should never try and stop people from coming forward when things aren't being done properly and the majority of volunteers are just normal people who care about animals.

[Dame Aussie]

Yep, Sars and Powerlegs you're right. I've been there, done that earning absolute minimum legal wage to do a difficult job, along with my colleagues, as our full time income trying to keep a roof over our heads, and that doesn't make it ok to throw a kitten around or put an animal in a freezer without definitively confirming it is dead.

And yes, volunteers are absolutely invaluable when it comes to animal welfare. Yes I agree, and have stated before that sometimes some speak out without a full understanding of what they are seeing but, as I have also said before, if organizations cannot provide an honest answer they are comfortable with then something is wrong. And that isn't the fault of volunteers.

Same here. I've worked under some pretty awful conditions and with horrendous amounts of animals for barely minimum wage but there's no justification for this. I also have NEVER seen an animal put in a freezer without being bagged up.

[Salukifan]

Yeah look I have worked with overzealous rescuers and volunteers and they can get things wrong and out of context sometimes, BUT I would never support confidentiality agreements. If they've got it wrong then that will come out in the investigation. We should never try and stop people from coming forward when things aren't being done properly and the majority of volunteers are just normal people who care about animals.

Despite my views, neither would I. Whistle blower legislation would apply in any event.

BUT

When there are issues there are channels to raise them. You don't go running to the press every time something goes wrong and expect management to smile about it. You also have to remember that you are not management.

And no, I do NOT defend animal cruelty. If that's proven then heads should roll.

But gee, people have been known to guild their stories for the right effect. See it all the time.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Haredown Whippets

[melzawelza]

Yeah look I have worked with overzealous rescuers and volunteers and they can get things wrong and out of context sometimes, BUT I would never support confidentiality agreements. If they've got it wrong then that will come out in the investigation. We should never try and stop people from coming forward when things aren't being done properly and the majority of volunteers are just normal people who care about animals.

When there are issues there are channels to raise them. You don't go running to the press every time something goes wrong and expect management to smile about it. You also have to remember that you are not management.

This happened easily six months ago. They've been trying to go through all other channels all that time. If the council doesn't care, then all you can do at that point is make it public.

[keetamouse]

Maybe the volunteers were told right at the beginning over 12 months ago why the 2 instances with the cats happened and like most people don't believe the rangers and just decided to run the story anyway in the papers.

[BarbedWire]

Maybe the volunteers were told right at the beginning over 12 months ago why the 2 instances with the cats happened and like most people don't believe the rangers and just decided to run the story anyway in the papers.

How did the rangers explain it?

[BarbedWire]

I know I am going Off topic but more of this would help solve the problem of stray cats and unwanted kittens in our pounds.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-08/young-canberra-citizen-of-the-year-award-winners-announced/7312550

Fixing the problem of stray cats

Alexandra Craig was named Canberra's Young Environmentalist of the Year for her work with her charity Canberra Cat Fix.

It raises money to subsidise desexing procedures for cat owners who could not afford the vet fees.

Ms Craig said she had worked in animal rescue organisations for some time and was seeking to do more to reduce the number of stray cats and those in shelters.

"I wanted to do something to fix the problem, and fostering and donating litter and food didn't seem like enough," she said.

"I thought we need to fix this problem — we need to encourage people to desex their cats."

She said some estimates put the number of stray cats in the ACT at around 20,000 but every cat desexed would help reduce that number.

"So far we've done about 200 cats in a year," she said.

"We're pretty happy with that."

Edited April 8, 2016 by sarspididious

[melzawelza]

I know I am going Off topic but more of this would help solve the problem of stray cats and unwanted kittens in our pounds.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-08/young-canberra-citizen-of-the-year-award-winners-announced/7312550

Fixing the problem of stray cats

Alexandra Craig was named Canberra's Young Environmentalist of the Year for her work with her charity Canberra Cat Fix.

It raises money to subsidise desexing procedures for cat owners who could not afford the vet fees.

Ms Craig said she had worked in animal rescue organisations for some time and was seeking to do more to reduce the number of stray cats and those in shelters.

"I wanted to do something to fix the problem, and fostering and donating litter and food didn't seem like enough," she said.

"I thought we need to fix this problem — we need to encourage people to desex their cats."

She said some estimates put the number of stray cats in the ACT at around 20,000 but every cat desexed would help reduce that number.

"So far we've done about 200 cats in a year," she said.

"We're pretty happy with that."

These programs are excellent but they'll never solve the issue of kittens in pounds unless they are targeted towards unowned cats as well (i.e, a well resourced trap/neuter/return program). A good percentage of the kittens in pounds come from unowned or semi owned mums.

Targeting owned cats with desexing programs will do very little to change that situation. The evidence out there shows that the vast majority (95%+) of owned cats are desexed. The issue there is that they aren't desexed early enough. Most vets are still touting 6 months old as the ideal time for desexing however they can already be pregnant by that age. That means a lot of cats are having litters prior to being desexed. Changing the attitude of the vets and the narrative in the cat-owning public of desex age needs to be a priority.

ETA: I wouldn't be surprised if even the vets performing these very surgeries for this desex program would be recommending the cats come in 'from six months old'. You see it constantly - low cost/free surgeries but still with vets who can't/won't educate themselves on the importance desexing cats prior to 4 months old (unlike dogs, studies have not found any negative effects of this for cats). People trust their vets and do what they're told and voila - cat has a litter or two before it is eventually done.

Edited April 9, 2016 by melzawelza

[Steve]

I agree that something else needs to be done via cats .The town I live in has a huge population of stray [wild] cats that are not owned by anyone and if they were ever owned it would be at least 20 generations ago.

Driving through the town after dark will see them everywhere and some of the local businesses feed them. A little further out around where I am they are as big a problem as the foxes. By the way Im only 50 ks from Wagga.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Steve

[Sheridan]

Maybe the volunteers were told right at the beginning over 12 months ago why the 2 instances with the cats happened and like most people don't believe the rangers and just decided to run the story anyway in the papers.

It wouldn't surprise me at all.

[*kirty*]

Who cares what they were told? It is NEVER excusable or acceptable to put 1, possibly 2, LIVE cats in a feeezer.

[Dame Aussie]

Who cares what they were told? It is NEVER excusable or acceptable to put 1, possibly 2, LIVE cats in a feeezer.

Yeah, I can't think of an acceptable explanation

[Simply Grand]

No me either. At best it's incredible negligence, at worst it's horrible cruelty.

[keetamouse]

Maybe the volunteers were told right at the beginning over 12 months ago why the 2 instances with the cats happened and like most people don't believe the rangers and just decided to run the story anyway in the papers.

How did the rangers explain it?

I and the rest of the world have no idea how they explained it.

[keetamouse]

Who cares what they were told? It is NEVER excusable or acceptable to put 1, possibly 2, LIVE cats in a feeezer.

1 cat was dead form being hit by a car and was bought in to the pound, from memory by a member of the public the likelihood of it being alive is very remote OR are people saying that cat was alive also when put in the freezer.....

[*kirty*]

According to the volunteers, there were bloody claw marks in the freezer which is why they thought that cat may have been alive too.

[keetamouse]

According to the volunteers, there were bloody claw marks in the freezer which is why they thought that cat may have been alive too.

Were there any pictures of this cat? did the volunteers see any injuries on the cat?

[*kirty*]

I saw one picture of that cat in the freezer with blood around it.

[Simply Grand]

I saw one picture of that cat in the freezer with blood around it.

And in a strange position and not in a bag.

[Simply Grand]

Who cares what they were told? It is NEVER excusable or acceptable to put 1, possibly 2, LIVE cats in a feeezer.

1 cat was dead form being hit by a car and was bought in to the pound, from memory by a member of the public the likelihood of it being alive is very remote OR are people saying that cat was alive also when put in the freezer.....

The black cat clearly was alive when it was put in the freezer because it's still alive now. The council's explanation for that was that it bit the ranger, the ranger threw it around and knocked it unconcious, thought it was dead and put it in the freezer (again not in a body bag).

As previously stated by several off us something is wrong there. No animal should be put in the freezer without definite confirmation that it is dead!!