By LISA MINNER

LAWYER for Companion Animals and animal advocate Anne Greenaway has played a part in the production of an SBS Insight program called The Tail End.

The show will highlight the high level of kill rates occurring in RSPCA shelters and council pounds around Australia.

In the last financial year in NSW 56,000 cats and dogs were euthanised.

Ms Greenaway said she had been working tirelessly to offer practical solutions to end the killing.

In addition to distributing thousands of virtual flyers via Facebook and email, the lawyer has been hitting the streets around Dubbo doing letter box drops advertising the program.

Ms Greenaway said she hopes people will take the time to watch the show to better understand the plight of companion animals who end up in pounds and shelters.

She said there were three people on the show’s panel discussing situations they had faced with animals they had fostered or worked with.

One of those people is Geoff Davidson, a foster carer from Newcastle, who will tell his story involving a dog called Max.

According to Ms Greenaway, Mr Davidson fostered the dog for a few weeks.

She said Max was eventually killed because he failed a temperament test despite video footage showing his behaviour appeared “quite normal”.

“I spent around two or three hours speaking with the SBS journalist/producer and helping her find people who had stories to tell or who have been involved in the industry at some level and who had seen first-hand what goes on with the large scale killing of companion animals,” she said.

Ms Greenaway said she hopes people will watch the program “with eyes wide open”.

“There should be a proper independent animal welfare authority that is completely impartial and include all people’s input,” she said.

“There should be no vested interest in any of this.”

Ms Greenaway said the program would make people aware that many animal welfare agencies were not doing the right thing by their animals.

She said she would ultimately like to see more shelters and pounds work in with animal rescue groups, to get the best results for animals.

The program airs tonight on SBS at 8.30pm.

lisa.minner@ruralpress.com

 

Showing 39 comments

  • Anne Greenaway

    One of the biggest issues animals in pounds and shelters face is that the majority of the public do NOT KNOW know what is really going
    on. The conservative estimate of companion animals killed in Australian pounds and shelters each year is 250,000.

    The SBS INSIGHT program “The Tail End” will, in prime TV viewing time, inform a large number of people.

    This large number of people includes everyday pet loving Australians who value and respect companion animals, have owned and do own
    companion animals, adopt, volunteer, advocate and donate to these same large ‘welfare’ organisations totally unaware of the profits being made by “animal
    welfare” organizations from council contracts and day in and day out killing of companion animals. The ‘excuses’ used for killing companion animals will not be
    accepted or tolerated by the Australian public. The ‘methods’ of killing including shooting cats and dogs, gassing cats and dogs and dumping their
    bodies in local council tips will not be accepted or tolerated by the Australian public.
    Study for yourselves the most recent kill rates of RSPCA – state by state and then study their profits.

    Study for yourselves the most recent kill rates of Lost Dogs Home and then study their profits.

    The various “animal welfare” organizations continue to crank up their media PR gurus with stories about “all the good they do” and “all the campaigns they support” and yet BOTH continue to kill the very animals in their care which is their fundamental and prime responsibility. While they kill they also refuse to work with animal rescue groups to save lives. They also fail to engage volunteer foster carers, or pick up the phone to call those on their books.

    They treat the Australian pet loving population as “stupid” and “irresponsible” and they continue to sap dry donated monies for greed, growth and expansion, not for saving lives as their media spin doctor’s suggest.

    In order to solve a problem, first we need to be aware that a problem EXISTS. I am glad that finally the dirty little secret of many of these “animal welfare” organizations will finally be told tonight. I have
    heard that due to pressures from animal advocates, things are changing. What a shame these organizations do not have proactive compassionate directors who truly speak for the animals and who have the animals best interests at heart other than reactive ones, who often only make improvements for animals after adverse media attention.

     

    http://www.dailyliberal.com.au/story/355634/poor-animal-kill-statistics-aired-on-tv/?cs=12

 

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