Daily Liberal, LISA MINNER; 05 Jul, 2012
ABOUT 50,000 cats and dogs are euthanised in NSW annually so Dubbo-based lawyer for Companion Animals, Anne Greenaway, is demanding more pets to be desexed and is calling for backyard breeders to be licensed and regulated.She said the kill rate could be reduced by breeders and pet owners desexing their litters.
“People don’t appreciate the connection between backyard breeding and not desexing their animals and the high animal euthanasia rates,’’ she said.“Go check out some of the local noticeboards around town – there’s a never-ending supply of dogs and cats for sale – or free to good home.“Too many cats and dogs are seen as disposable commodities that can be thrown away when the puppy or kitten phase is over, rather than a commitment for the life of the animal.”
The Dubbo City Council’s 2011 figures (January to December) reveal 225 cats and 41 dogs were killed at the Dubbo City Animal Shelter.
The combined NSW RSPCAs saw 13,031 cats and 8209 dogs killed. The rest of the euthanised animals came from other (council) pounds and shelters within the state.
She said people mistakenly believed that if animals end up at the pound the RSPCA will find them a good home, which was not always the case.
Ms Greenaway said the RSPCA pounds and shelters are burdened with an unnecessary excess with the shame laying squarely at the feet of irresponsible owners and unethical breeders.
The lawyer said she believed breeders who do not desex their animals fall into three categories- ethical purebred breeders who are selective about who they supply to, puppy farmers who do not care what happens to the animals after they have made a quick buck and those “who probably do care” but are not seeing the long-term effects of the breeding cycle they perpetuate.
Companionanimalnews 
Read ‘Not Every Dog Has His Day: The Treatment of Dogs in Australia’ to get the full story on dog overpopulation and more.
Contact janeduck@iprimus.com.au