7/27/2019 Mornington Peninsula Shire Non-resident Letter

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To: lynn.bowden@mornpen.vic.gov.au ; Colomb@mornpen.vic.gov.au ; Andrew.Dixon@mornpen.vic.gov.au ; Anne.Shaw@mornpen.vic.gov.au ;David.Garnock@mornpen.vic.gov.au ; Hugh.Fraser@mornpen.vic.gov.au ; Rodgers@mornpen.vic.gov.au ; Frank.Martin@mornpen.vic.gov.au ; Antonella.Celi@mornpen.vic.gov.au ; David.Gibb@mornpen.vic.gov.au ; Graham.Pittock@mornpen

.vic.gov.au

Subject: Draft Domestic Animal Management Plan 2013-2017

Dear Councillor,

I am writing to you as a concerned member of the public who cares about our communitys pets.

I have reviewed the draft DAMP 2013-2017 and I have grave concerns in particular about theoutcomes for unclaimed pets in Mornington Shire. It appears that 15% of unclaimed dogs and 25%of cats are euthanased. While on the surface these figures are better than many othermunicipalities, these statistics are misleading as euthanasia figures appear not to include the fateof post-8 day unclaimed animals transferred from Mornington to the RSPCA or AAPS. In otherwords, many of the shelter's animals who are transferred to these facilities appear to be includedin your statistics as 'rehomed' or 'adopted' when in fact many of these animals would have beeneuthanised. Thus, the final and true euthanasia figures would be higher than claimed.

May I draw your attention to one of the pivotal concerns of participants during your communityconsultation process: the belief that it is unacceptable to euthanize unwanted and uncla imedhealthy pets that are suitable for rehoming (source: Council Meeting report July 22 nd , 2013).

I was alarmed when I recently learnt that community volunteer engagement is now minimal,foster carers are no longer welcome and adoptions are no longer permitted at the CommunityAnimal Shelter. Why has all of this ceased? One of the primary aims of a pound/shelter is toenable and encourage adoptions of unclaimed pets within the community, directly from its facility.However, the Council is instead using re scue groups as the conduit by which adoptions can onlyoccur. For Council to use volunteer-run groups in this way I assume to save on costs unfairlytakes advantage of these organisations for what should essentially be a council pound service.

On pag e 38 you state The Team arranges desexing and microchipping of pets prior to releasewhenever it is required. This is factually incorrect. The burden, both financial and practical,currently falls on rescue groups.

I also note on page 38 that you state the Team makes every attempt to rehome all unwanted petswhich are assessed as being suitable. In 2012/13 Council has assessed 40% of its unwanted petsas being unsuitable for rehoming. However, it is generally accepted that around 90% of allimpounded pets are rehomeable. Boroondara and Stonnington rehome well over 90% of all theirunclaimed cats and dogs and have been doing so for close to three decades. Why is MorningtonPeninsulas performance poor in comparison?

Further, we note that council is listed on the Getting 2 Zero directory as a member

(http://www.g2z.org.au/directory/councils/pounds/mornington-peninsula-shire/?s=1&v=l&lc=au&lst=vic&o=n ). Membership requires that an organisation commits to therequirements of this program, one of which is to increase adoptions. How does Council claim to bepart of this program when it allows no adoptions at all from its facility?

mailto:lynn.bowden@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:lynn.bowden@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Colomb@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Colomb@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Colomb@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Andrew.Dixon@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Andrew.Dixon@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Andrew.Dixon@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Andrew.Dixon@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Anne.Shaw@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Anne.Shaw@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:David.Garnock@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:David.Garnock@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:David.Garnock@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Hugh.Fraser@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Hugh.Fraser@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Hugh.Fraser@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Hugh.Fraser@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Rodgers@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Rodgers@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Rodgers@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Frank.Martin@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Frank.Martin@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Frank.Martin@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Antonella.Celi@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Antonella.Celi@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:David.Gibb@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:David.Gibb@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:David.Gibb@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Graham.Pittock@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Graham.Pittock@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Graham.Pittock@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Graham.Pittock@mornpen.vic.gov.auhttp://www.g2z.org.au/directory/councils/pounds/mornington-peninsula-shire/?s=1&v=l&lc=au&lst=vic&o=nhttp://www.g2z.org.au/directory/councils/pounds/mornington-peninsula-shire/?s=1&v=l&lc=au&lst=vic&o=nhttp://www.g2z.org.au/directory/councils/pounds/mornington-peninsula-shire/?s=1&v=l&lc=au&lst=vic&o=nhttp://www.g2z.org.au/directory/councils/pounds/mornington-peninsula-shire/?s=1&v=l&lc=au&lst=vic&o=nhttp://www.g2z.org.au/directory/councils/pounds/mornington-peninsula-shire/?s=1&v=l&lc=au&lst=vic&o=nhttp://www.g2z.org.au/directory/councils/pounds/mornington-peninsula-shire/?s=1&v=l&lc=au&lst=vic&o=nmailto:Graham.Pittock@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Graham.Pittock@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:David.Gibb@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Antonella.Celi@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Frank.Martin@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Rodgers@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Hugh.Fraser@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Hugh.Fraser@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:David.Garnock@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Anne.Shaw@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Andrew.Dixon@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Andrew.Dixon@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:Colomb@mornpen.vic.gov.aumailto:lynn.bowden@mornpen.vic.gov.au

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On page 3 7 I note the statement under Local Developments and Trends: In the last 3 yearsnearly all the cats being euthanased have been either badly injured or diseased and/or areunowned or feral animals. I believe a cat being unowned or feral is not an accept able reason tokill it. Many other pounds are working with the community to provide medical and/or behaviouralrehabilitation for cats such as these. Why arent you making an effort with treatable pets?

As a concerned member of the community, I believe you should be implementing best practiceand progressive animal management strategies rather than the cheapest or most convenientoption. I want to see greater transparency and accountability for the fate of homeless pets.

I would like Council to:

Outline steps it will take to reduce the euthanasia rate to 10% over the life of the DAMP, asother councils Australia-wide have proved possible.

Reintroduce adoptions of cats and dogs from the shelter and promote them onPetRescue.com.au .

Have a program to rehome all healthy animals and those that can be rehabilitated with theaim to achieve statistics in line with Boroondara and Stonnington.

Work with volunteer foster carers who can assist with care and socialisation of animals(particularly kittens and puppies) by having them live with a family while awaitingadoption.

Demonstrate greater transparency and accuracy with your statistical reporting. Forinstance, publish on Councils website full statistics (as per the example set by Geelongscommunity pound http://www.gaws.org.au/shelter-statistics-2013/) , which also includesthe fate of each impounded animal. I wish to also see documentation that demonstrates alloptions were exhausted before euthanasia (including the fate of animals transferred toother organisations).

Introduce a community Facebook page similar to that of Renbury Farm(https://www.facebook.com/RenburyFarm ), Friends of Mildura Shelter Cats(https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheMilduraAnimalShelterCats ), Gaws Losties andStrays (https://www.facebook.com/GawsWeNeedYouStraysAndLostiesPhotoPage?fref=ts ) in order to increase reclaims.

Ensure no medically or behaviourally treatable pet is killed where a rescue group is willingto take them.

Hold regular discounted microchipping events. Investigate partnering with local vets to offer more low-cost desexing options in addition to

the subsidised voucher system. Reduce cat trapping in favour of humane cat management strategies.

I urge you not to waste this opportunity to improve the outcomes for the Shires homeless pets,ensuring that Council significantly raises the standards as demanded by our community.

Yours sincerely

Name:Address:

http://www.gaws.org.au/shelter-statistics-2013/http://www.gaws.org.au/shelter-statistics-2013/https://www.facebook.com/RenburyFarmhttps://www.facebook.com/RenburyFarmhttps://www.facebook.com/RenburyFarmhttps://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheMilduraAnimalShelterCatshttps://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheMilduraAnimalShelterCatshttps://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheMilduraAnimalShelterCatshttps://www.facebook.com/GawsWeNeedYouStraysAndLostiesPhotoPage?fref=tshttps://www.facebook.com/GawsWeNeedYouStraysAndLostiesPhotoPage?fref=tshttps://www.facebook.com/GawsWeNeedYouStraysAndLostiesPhotoPage?fref=tshttps://www.facebook.com/GawsWeNeedYouStraysAndLostiesPhotoPage?fref=tshttps://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheMilduraAnimalShelterCatshttps://www.facebook.com/RenburyFarmhttp://www.gaws.org.au/shelter-statistics-2013/