Responsible kittys & puppies
CCS supports responsible ownership of companion animals. We also respect animals rights and fully support Oscar’s Law, a movement designed to outlaw cruel puppy factory farms. Best not to purchase from Pet stores.
On lead and Off lead areas for dog walking are now specified, and you can obtain a map by contacting council, for one to be sent to you, or click on the following link.
CCS is currently lobbying Council to adopt mandatory de-sexing of cats. To appreciate the reason for this request here are some facts.
- Some 34,000 unwanted felines are euthanised in Victorian animal shelters each year.
- The Animal Protection Society at Keysborough takes in approx 3,500 cats and kittens, each year , 75% of these have to be killed, as there are no homes offered to them.
- Pet shops are not yet required to provide prepaid neutering vouchers with kittens for sale.
- Pretty kittens make cute “gifts” and then may be abandoned.
- Unwanted cats may turn feral, these cats exercise to catch food and may grow fierce and large
“Caught food” consists of
- native small marsupials
- lizards
- tiny bats
- frogs
- yabbies
- bird nestlings
- birds – many tiny ones that nest in shrubbery
- small possums – even if rescued, almost always die from infection from the cat bite
Image from Alice Springs NT govt. Kay Kessing artist.
Dogs – responsible ownership means keeping control of the animal at all times.
Ensuring it cannot escape to cause nuisance in the neighbourhood.
- creating a traffic hazard, wandering along roads
- Running loose in a park to fight with other animals or intimidate and or injure children or adults
- Ensuring dog poo is collected and disposed of appropriately – if left on roads it washes down drains into streams and into Port Phillip Bay, where we are then given an E-coli reading from the bay in summer, so you can decide whether to swim or not !
- Round worms from dog droppings can infect humans, the larvae can migrate to the human eye and affect the retina, causing blindness.
KNOX COUNCIL ADOPTS MANDATORY DESEXING
Knox City Council is the latest Council in Victoria to join the growing number of Cities and Shires to introduce mandatory desexing of cats. Unfortunately the Maroondah Council has not yet elected to introduce mandatory desexing in their Animal Management Plan for 2008 - 2011 for which the Croydon Conservation Society has lobbied strenuously. When announcing the introduction of mandatory desexing of kittens over 6 months due to be registered with Council in the currrent registration period, Ms. Tapley, Local Laws Coordinator said: "While cats make wonderful pets and can add a great deal to our lives, they also breed extremely quickly". Research has shown that one female cat can have 3 litters of kittens each year, which can result in an extended family of 54 in just 12 months!Desexed cats generally live longer, are less inclined to wander, become more affectionate and are less likely to exhibit anti-social behaviour. It also eliminates 'heat' cycles in female cats and can result in male cats becoming less territorial." If a cat stays close to home there is less likelihood of it getting into fights with other cats, or becoming a nuisance in the community.
Throughout the warmer months Animal Shelters are inundated with kittens and pregnant cats resulting in extremely high euthanasia rates.