Several shelter dogs killed by authorities who deemed them COVID hazard!
According to a heartbreaking new report, several impounded dogs, due to be rescued by a shelter, were shot dead to “protect its employees and community, including vulnerable Aboriginal populations, from the risk of Covid-19 transmission.” The incident took place in Orana, a region in central-northern New South Wales, Australia.
As per the Sydney Morning Herald, the Bourke Shire Council — Bourke Shire is a local government area in the Orana region — killed the dogs to prevent volunteers at a Cobar-based animal shelter from traveling to pick up the animals last week. Councils were told this month by the state government that, per a 1998 law governing pets — the Companion Animals Act 1998 — that “before destroying a seized or surrendered animal they must consider whether there is an alternative action and (if practicable) to adopt any such alternative.”
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A spokesperson for the council’s watchdog, the Office of Local Government said, “OLG has been informed that the council decided to take this course of action to protect its employees and community, including vulnerable Aboriginal populations, from the risk of Covid-19 transmission.” The spokesman added that the agency was examining the circumstances of the incident to find out whether companion animal and cruelty prevention laws had been broken.
An insider familiar with the arrangement said the shelter volunteers were distressed and had Covid-safe measures in place to handle the dogs, one of which was a new mother. The OLG spokesman said the agency issued advice to all councils about operating pounds during the pandemic, including changing procedures to ensure those services continued while keeping staff and volunteers safe. “Councils are also encouraged to continue to work with re-homing organizations and volunteers to care for animals, where that can be undertaken consistent with NSW Health advice,” the spokesman said.
As per the Herald, OLG’s Minister Shelley Hancock, who has previously faced questions in Parliament over the shooting of animals in council pounds, said, “If it was a practice, I would be concerned about it — if it was a cat or a dog.” Hancock later reportedly said councils weren’t required to tell the government how they killed animals under their care.
More than 4,800 coronavirus cases have been reported in New South Wales in the last week, according to state data, as parts of Australia endure ongoing restrictions amid an outbreak fueled by the delta variant. Animal Liberation campaigner Lisa Ryan called for an urgent investigation. “We are deeply distressed and completely appalled by this callous dog shooting and we totally reject the council's unacceptable justifications that this killing was apparently undertaken as part of a Covid- safe plan,” Ryan said. Animal Liberation is a nonprofit animal rights organization based in Sydney.
Abigail Boyd of The Greens — a confederation of Green state political parties in Australia — said the government had undertaken no action since the issues had been raised with Hancock during the parliamentary hearing. “While the Liberal-National government twiddles its thumbs on animal welfare issues, more animals are being killed,” she said. “Council pounds are paid for by local communities, and it is clear that shooting lost and unclaimed dogs housed in these publicly funded facilities falls far short of community expectations.”