Australia: Rescue Dogs Killed By NSW Council Because Of Covid-19 Restrictions

Several rescue dogs that had been impounded while waiting to be saved by an animal shelter have been shot dead by a New South Wales (NSW) council.

Apparently, the dogs were killed as part of their strategy to stop people travelling to save them thus preventing the spread of covid-19, but the move has alarmed animal activists and prompted a government investigation.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Bourke Shire Council, in the state’s north-west, killed the dogs to prevent volunteers at a Cobar-based animal shelter from travelling to pick up the animals last week, according to council’s watchdog, the Office of Local Government.

“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,” a spokesman from the government agency said.

The spokesman said the agency was examining the circumstances of the incident to find out whether companion animal and cruelty prevention laws had been broken.

The Herald attempted to contact the council administration multiple times, but received no response, and a member of Rural Outback Respite/Rescue – the shelter that was supposed to receive the dogs – declined to comment.

A source who is familiar with the arrangement said the shelter volunteers are distressed and had COVID-safe measures in place to handle the dogs, one of which was a new mother.

According to NSW Health, there have been no recent locally acquired COVID-19 cases in Cobar, although fragments of the virus have been found in the area’s sewerage system.

The Office of Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock, who has previously faced questions in Parliament over the shooting of animals in council pounds, did not comment. However, 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 council’s unacceptable justifications that this killing was apparently undertaken as part of a COVID- safe plan,” Ms Ryan, Animal Liberation’s regional campaign manager, said.

Asked during budget estimates in March whether she knew about councils shooting animals to euthanise them, Ms Hancock said she didn’t.

“If it was a practice, I would be concerned about it — if it was a cat or a dog,” she said, before agreeing to answer questions on notice regarding the practice.

A later answer said councils weren’t required to tell the government how they killed animals under their care.

• About
• Latest Posts

Niamh Harris

Writer at The People's Voice

Latest posts by Niamh Harris (see all)

• Researchers Pitch ‘One-And-Done’ Single Shot Covid-Flu Vaccine For Babies - April 19, 2024
• Former Russian President Says West May Be Plotting To ‘Liquidate’ Zelensky - April 19, 2024
• Erdogan Says Israel Has Outdone Hitler By Killing Over 14,000 Children In Gaza - April 19, 2024