Truth about cats and dogs: 250,000 killed every year

RACHEL BROWNE

MORE than a quarter of a million healthy cats and dogs are destroyed in Australia every year because there are not enough homes for them.

Behind the numbers there is a vicious debate about the oversupply of animals and what can be done to tackle the problem.

On one side, animal welfare groups backed by Sydney lord mayor and NSW independent MP Clover Moore blame commercial breeders for breeding too many animals and pet shops for supplying them to an unsuspecting public.

On the other side, pet shops say they are operating within ethical guidelines and buy their animals from reputable breeders rather than so-called puppy and kitten farmers....

...Australian Veterinary Association president Mark Lawrie agrees the lack of regulation on breeding makes it problematic to enforce legislation. ''It's hard to know the extent of the problem of indiscriminate breeding. It's hard to get any reliable statistics.''

Dr Lawrie claims that animal lovers who accumulate large numbers of pets contribute more to over-population than farmers. ''I actually think animal hoarding is a bigger problem in terms of indiscriminate breeding. That's a complex issue because it involves mental health.''

But welfare groups maintain there are hundreds of puppy and kitten farms in Australia, and groups such as the RSPCA and local councils are not doing enough to stamp it out...." More

Breeder kept cats in freezer

By ANDREW PARKER

RSPCA chiefs had to put down 28 of cruel Innez Tyrell's 72 Persians after finding them in appalling conditions at her tiny two-bedroom house.

District Judge Bruce Morgan told the 60-year-old he had never heard of a case where so many animals had to be destroyed because of one person's actions.

He also branded her treatment of the cats "cruelty beyond belief" after hearing of the horrific conditions they had been kept in.

Rescuers were forced to stump up an incredible £100,000 for cattery and veterinary expenses to save the other 44 cats.

After a raid on Tyrell's home in Leegomery, Shrops, last year, investigators were stunned to find a scene of dead, dying and disease-ridden cats and a house full of animal faeces.
Corpses of four cats, three of them kittens, were found rotting in the freezer next to food for the other cats — and Tyrell's own food.

Telford Magistrates Court heard she had been selling the "beautiful" Persian cats for up to £300 each.

RSPCA prosecutor Paul Taylor said officers who raided the house were hit by a terrible smell.
He said: "One police officer, Inspector Sedden, had to leave the house as he almost vomited when he went in there.

"This is an officer of 20 years experience, so to get this reaction shows the level of ammonia in the air.

"Of the cats found many suffered ocular disease, dental disease, upper respiratory tract disease, and facial pioderma.

"One cat had severely deformed hind limbs and couldn't walk properly and should have been taken to the vets immediately.

"The hall stairs and landing of the house were covered in cat faeces and were stained with urine.

"This was not a case of a cat lover who had taken on too many cats to care for - this was a fully paid-up commercial cat breeder."

Tyrell sobbed as she told the court: "I just want to say sorry for what happened, I know they got into a mess but I love them so much.

"It was never a business, it has always been a hobby.

"All of us cat breeders keep cats for the same reason, we love them so much."

But Judge Morgan branded her actions "totally unacceptable".

He blasted her for causing so much expense to the RSPCA as he slapped her with a life ban from keeping cats.

He also ordered her to do 240 hours of community service and pay £5,000 costs.
Judge Morgan said: "I've never come across a case where so many animals have had to be destroyed over just one person's actions.

"You must have known what condition these cats were living in - the physical appearance of them show they were seriously suffering.

"The RSPCA had to pay nearly £100,000 in cattery and veterinary expenses. For that great British charity to lose so much money because of you is totally and utterly unacceptable." Link & photo

Court bans Falls Creek dog owner from having any animals

A Falls Creek man has been ordered to pay $155,000 in fines and costs, and banned from owning animals for 10 years, for multiple counts of animal cruelty.

Dario (David) Baena failed to appear in Nowra Local Court yesterday and was convicted in his absence.

He was charged in October last year after RSPCA inspectors found almost 200 dogs living in putrid conditions, with many in very poor physical state.

A number of dead puppies were found; some tied together with wire had died of strangulation.

The inspectors seized 185 dogs and charged Baena with a number of offences, including three counts of aggravated animal cruelty and eight counts of committing an act of animal cruelty.

Baena pleaded guilty in February, but 10 more charges were laid in May after a second RSPCA visit.

The new charges included two counts of failing to comply with the Animal Welfare Code of Practice, and one count each of failing to exercise reasonable care, failing to provide proper and sufficient food, and committing an act of animal cruelty.

Magistrate Doug Dick found Baena guilty of all 10 additional charges, saying it was his responsibility to protect animals.

Baena was fined a total of $20,350 and ordered to pay costs of $134,962.

Most of the fine was awarded to RSPCA NSW.

RSPCA NSW chief inspector David O'Shannessy said the conviction was pleasing and was a reminder to the community that housing animals in such deplorable conditions was unacceptable and would not be tolerated..." More

Squalor and hoarding – a secret epidemic in the spotlight

The first National Squalor Conference, being held in Sydney this week, aims to highlight the growing number of people living in squalor in Australia.

The conference will examine the links between squalor, hoarding, mental health issues and social isolation.

Confronting statistics collected by a number of agencies in relation to people living with compulsive hoarding and severe domestic squalor, emphasise the number of Australians living in squalor is far greater than previously thought.

Over 1 in 1,000 elderly people are thought to live in severe domestic squalor and of course it doesn’t just affect the elderly. Catholic Community Services has been working with a variety of agencies, including the RSPCA and the Fire Brigade, to address the complex issues of hoarding and squalor.

Catholic Community Services launched the pilot Severe Domestic Squalor project in Sydney 12 months ago to provide a central point of coordination for services. Since that time, the project has received 218 referrals from across Sydney...

...RSPCA NSW estimates that there are approximately 700 animal hoarders in NSW, owning an average of 30 animals each. There are potentially around 20,000 animals in the hands of animal hoarders in NSW alone. And the RSPCA sees approximately 200 new cases every year.

Animal hoarding results in extreme suffering, affecting large numbers of animals for prolonged periods. The extent of abuse, neglect and social deprivation is such that euthanasia is often the only practical option for many of the animals rescued from these situations,” says RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman.

Last year over 130 small dogs were seized from a property in the south of the state. Large seizures like this place enormous emotional and financial strain on the RSPCA.” Likewise, compulsive hoarding has become a huge concern for the Fire Brigade. “Hoarding represents an increased risk to the occupant, neighbours and responding firefighters in a fire..." More

Alarm over pet abuse

By: Eleni Hale, Herald Sun, Australia

AN increase in the number of people keeping excessive numbers of animals in their homes and garages has shocked authorities.

Some of the hoarders are even keeping the bones of dead pets.

In the past year, about 200 hoarding cases have been uncovered nationally.

In many cases the animals never leave the house or are kept in cages stacked to the ceiling, resulting in a build-up of faeces and carcasses.

Recent Victorian cases include:

A FAIRFIELD woman kept nearly 100 birds in stacked cages in her one-bedroom flat. There was no room for a bed. Chicks were kept in wicker baskets above oil heaters to "keep them warm".

A WESTERN suburbs man kept 40 rabbits in his garage. After RSPCA inspectors removed the animals the man replaced them with more rabbits.

A MIDDLE-AGED man in Rye kept 50 cats in a two-storey house and decorated his kitchen bench with the bones of dead cats. The animals rarely went outside and the house was covered in filth.

Animal hoarding is costing the RSPCA up to $1 million a year, with about 15 per cent of the group's anti-cruelty enforcement budget going towards fighting legal challenges from accused hoarders.

Mental health, animal welfare and even fire-fighting experts gathered in Melbourne on Friday to discuss a solution to the growing problem, as the RSPCA called for animal hoarding to be labelled a mental illness.

Some puppy farm owners and people who claim to be running animal shelters have also been exposed as hoarders.

RSPCA inspector Allie Jalbert said many were older women living in isolation.

She said hoarders started collecting animals with the intention of rescuing them, but the situation spiralled out of control.

"They think they are saving the animals, but instead find themselves in a situation where they cannot cope," Ms Jalbert said.

"The majority live in suburbia and we become involved when neighbours complain about the smell."

South Australian couple Joseph and Margarete Higham sparked a nationwide hunt last year when they packed most of their 120 dogs into a ute and fled to Victoria after being convicted of animal cruelty in Adelaide Magistrates' Court.