Dogs are being surrendered to Ballarat Animal Shelter at an alarming rate: more than 80 per cent of the dogs that come through the shelter are surrendered by their owners.
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On one hand the shelter staff are pleased that owners trust them to look after and find a new home for their pet, but there’s also a sense of frustration that people are choosing animals that are not suited to them or their lifestyle.
“Our responsible pet ownership program is not doing as well as we would like it to do,” said City of Ballarat executive manager of regulatory services Amy Boyd.
Since taking over the Ballarat Animal Shelter from the RSPCA in September, almost 3000 cats, dogs and other animals have been impounded – a figure that has shocked council staff.
“More than 80 per cent of dogs we had were surrendered, which is alarming. We need to assist our community. It’s about where we can better serve them in supporting them to help them pick the right dog,” Ms Boyd said.
Owners giving up their pets cite moving house, family additions, incompatability with other pets, old age, medical conditions and cost among reasons for handing their dogs over to the shelter.
“For us, responsible pet ownership has to be the primary objective – how to keep animals in and keep them safe, and to educate the community on what the right dog is for them.”
Ms Boyd said the shelter wanted to increase the promotion of responsible pet ownership but in its current cramped quarters and with the high numbers of animals coming through the facility it was difficult.
Council is lobbying the state government to fund a new $13 million shelter to improve animal welfare, efficiency and cater for the larger-than-expected numbers.
“For us to get a more efficient, safer environment, that will help us enormously to be able to start to put resources back in to education. Right now we are dealing with the acute issues rather than the prevention and we want to put more resources in to prevention,” said City of Ballarat director of infrastructure and environment Terry Demeo.
Mr Demeo said it had been a tough decision for council to take over the pound from the RSPCA.
“We didn’t know exactly what we were entering in to in terms of rebranding and remanagement … and numbers didn’t reflect what we had partly because the RSPCA has a number of shelters so they were able to manage and transfer animals between them,” he said.
Ballarat Animal Shelter takes in impounded animals from the Hepburn, Pyrenees and Golden Plains shires as well as other areas.
The shelter is also almost permanently full of cats. This week its feline facility was full and kitten season is just around the corner.
“Most days of the week we are at capacity, which is where concern come in. As Ballarat’s population grows, and domestic animal numbers grow, we need a facility to house them and to educate the community about responsible pet ownership,” Ms Boyd said.
“If we could spend more time educating the community than caring for their animals that would be great.”
*All these animals are available for adoption. Call 5334 2075 or click here.
