Griffith City Council has introduced changes to the way animals can be surrendered at the Pound and Rehoming Centre in a bid to ensure the welfare of surrendered cats and dogs.
Residents will no longer be able to surrender a cat or dog using the 24/7 drop-off boxes.
Council's Director Sustainable Development, Bruce Gibbs said, while it may have been convenient for people, it unfortunately put the animals at greater risk of harm, particularly if they were placed in a pen with an existing medical condition.
"For us to provide better care for animals in need, and promote responsible pet ownership in the community, we've had to rethink our surrender intervention," Mr Gibbs said.
"To start, we are removing overnight cages or 'drop boxes' from our Pound and Rehoming Centre. It is extremely difficult to rehome a dog or cat without a proper detailed history of the animal."
Residents are advised that there are many other avenues you can investigate prior to calling Griffith City Council to surrender your pet, as a last resort.
"We work with a number of Rescue Groups, that we can help put you in contact with regarding the surrender of your pet, there is also local Animal Rescues and with a small amount of travel involved, you may contact the RSPCA and other specific Rescue Groups to take on your pet also. If your pet has had all its veterinary work complete you can also advertise them privately for rehoming yourself," Mr Gibbs said.
"We have many responsible pet owners willing to adopt from our Pound and Rehoming Centre, although they are more likely to adopt a pet if they know for certain the pet has grown up around kids, never been involved in an attack and is dog or cat friendly. The reason for the surrender also impacts what sort of homes the animal can be rehomed too hence it is crucial we know the animal's history to rehome it suitably and safely."
In NSW under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, abandoning an animal is a cruelty offence and anyone who does this can be charged.
Lost animals found afterhours can be dealt with using the following options:
• Take the lost/stray animal to a local Vet where Council can later collect them and safely bring them back to the Pound and Rehoming Centre
• Make your own enquiries to find the owner such as asking neighbours in the area or if the animal is wearing a collar or identification tag, try to contact the owner.
• Advertise the lost animal you have found on social media and house it safely until it can be reunited with its owner.
Please note however, if you fail to find the owner within 72 hours, the animal must be turned over to Council so that further attempts can be made to locate the owner.
