As with every year during the holiday season, animal shelters around the state are overflowing with dogs and cats that have fled their homes or been abandoned. We visited a north coast animal rescue centre and met some of the pets looking for a loving home.

Even the bathroom is inhabited by a fox terrier and her five pups, who were abandoned on a hot day in a Lismore caravan park.

In the next room, sits a timid mother and her puppy, who were abandoned on a rural property after their owner was hit by a car.

There are currently more than 70 cats and dogs in care with the far-north coast Animal Rights & Rescue Group.

Thirty of those have come in after mid-December.

With a no-kill policy, most of the pets are housed in foster care until the centre can find a suitable long-term home.

Many animals have been rescued from pounds around the region, just before they were about to be euthanised.

But the group has reached capacity, which means they’re unable to collect any more of the dogs and cats facing death.

While in foster care, volunteers document the animal’s traits and characteristics to find a good match.

Animal Rights & Rescue Group founder and president, Barbara Steffensen says there is a detailed process to make sure each animal goes to the right home.

She says people need to be committed to caring for their pet for its whole life, including providing adequate care while they’re away on holiday.

If you’ve been thinking about getting a cat or dog and would like to see if there is one at the Lismore Animal Rights & Rescue Centre that would suit your home and lifestyle, visit its website or call (02) 6622 1881.

 

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INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL LAW

 

Most people would think that veterinarians would be the first professionals to support the concept that pets have sentimental value. After all, many veterinarians (particularly those in companion animal practice) witness the emotional attachment on a daily basis, and derive a substantial amount of their income from money that emotionally attached pet-owners spend on looking after their pet.

So why do you think the Texas Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA) and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) joined with other industry organisations to challenge the Courts finding that the legal “value” includes the animals “sentimental value”? The AVMA alleges that making veterinary professionals accountable (legally “liable”) for sentimental value would make pet care “unaffordable”. Really? Critics of the AVMA and TVMA action suggest that they are motivated by concerns about their own liability and potential financial loss, much more than concerns about the pet-owners willingness to find ways to pay for their pets care.

Back when speed-cameras were being introduced to catch those who were travelling at excessive speeds on the roads, there was a considerable amount of feedback claiming there would be all sorts of negative repercussions including, for example, loss of trust in state enforcement. Earl Nightingale (a speaker from that time period) said, “I can think of many reasons why people breaking the speed limit would not want speed cameras. In comparison, I can’t think of one reason why those people abiding by the law would worry about the cameras”.

Many people are of the view that the Courts will increasingly recognise the sentimental value of animals. New Zealand is one jurisdiction, for example, that within the last 24 months has seen three incidents where the courts have ordered payment in consideration of an animal’s sentimental value. With this precedent in place, it would arguably be remiss of a New Zealand lawyer not to consider this as a potential head of claim.

 

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