Animal Shelter

Pet greyhounds registered on the NSW Pet Registry no longer need to wear a muzzle in public places.

A greyhound still needs a muzzle in an off-leash area unless it has undergone an approved retraining program. Greyhounds that have been retrained will continue to wear identifying green collars.

Read more about greyhounds and muzzling on the Office of Local Government website: www.olg.nsw.gov.au

Read more...

We asked the community to vote on a preferred method for managing animal welfare services earlier in the year and now Council is scheduled to consider the matter on 8 July 2015. If you'd like to see the results of the survey, read the associated report and learn more about the recommendations made by Council officers, please visit www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/council-meetings (look for 8 July 2015 Agenda).

Thank you for such an overwhelming and passionate response! It has been pleasing to see the level of interest within our community when discussing pets and the treatment of lost cats and dogs. A total of 1944 surveys were completed within the 2 month consultation period (1522 surveys in printed format + 422 online) and over 90 people attended the Open Day and Presentation on 8 March 2015.

CONTINUE YOUR SUPPORT: If you’d like to adopt an animal from our shelter, donate some food or volunteer some dog walking or cat cuddling hours please visit www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/animals-for-adoption or call (02) 4868-1520.

Following consultation between staff and councillors, it was decided that the Alternatives to Euthanasia Policy be considered by Council on Wednesday 10 June 2015, prior to considering the management of the Animal Shelter.

This would enable Council to consider a preferred management model with a clear understanding of a euthanasia policy framework. You can read the report in the Agenda and resolution in the Minutes for 10 June 2015.

It was expected that Council would then consider the management of the Animal Shelter at it's meeting on 24 June 2015 however this is now scheduled for 8 July 2015. The reason for this delay is that the preferred management model will require additional resources which are outside of the current adopted 2015/2016 financial management plan.

Work is being undertaken to identify additional budget savings and efficiencies in order to reallocate appropriate funding towards the operational management model for 15/16.

In early 2015 we sought feedback from the community about management options for the Animal Shelter and since our survey closed on 23 March 2015 we have been considering responses and preparing a draft report for Council to consider.

We had originally planned to present a report to Council about the Animal Shelter Public Exhibition Period on 27 May 2015 however, in order to ensure our ongoing commitment to engagement with key stakeholders, it is now expected that the report will be presented to Council on 10 June 2015.

This will enable Council staff to consider further comment that has just been submitted, edit the draft report if required and provide information to councillors.

No further delays are anticipated but we will keep you informed.

Thank you for such an overwhelming and passionate response!

If you’d like to adopt an animal from our shelter or volunteer some dog walking or cat cuddling hours please visitwww.wsc.nsw.gov.au/animals-for-adoption(External link) or call (02) 4868-1520

We'd like to thank everyone who took the time to complete an online or printed survey. There was an amazing response which demonstrates how important our companion animals are to residents in the Shire.

At the time of writing this news item there was still a small pile of postal surveys to be entered into our database but we can report that at least 1897 (postal and online) had been recorded.

The project team will record survey submissions, analyse the results and summarise these for consideration by Council.

When the report goes to Council we will issue an emailed alert to advise all registered 'YourSayWingecarribee' participants. So if you missed the opportunity to comment but want to stay informed, please register now.

Almost 90 people attended our presentation in the Saleyards arena today. Thank you all for your continuing interest in animal welfare! We have uploaded the presentations now and hopefully a video of them early this coming week.

A combined public information session and Animal Shelter Open Day have been confirmed for Sunday 8 March from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.

Council officers and a representative from Sydney Dogs and Cats Home will present an outline of the three different management models currently being considered and be available to answer any questions.

Access to the Shelter will be via the Southern Rural Livestock Exchange (SRLE) car park off Berrima Road. The presentation will be held in the SRLE building at 1.00pm.

The opportunity to comment on the three options being considered for the operation of our Animal Shelter has been extended to 20 March 2015 as we were unable to confirm a date for the Open Day and Presentation before 2 March 2015.