Are you a member of a rescue group, rescuing from Mornington Pound?
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council is now offering a boutique pet collection service, targeting the community's cat population for the purposes of impoundment and disposal.
Council are using their relationship with you, rescue groups, as part of their 'sales pitch'; like you need more cats to deal with.
The Shire’s Community Animal Shelter and Pound prides itself on working with more than 20 rescue groups across Victoria...
If you rescue from Mornington, it would be pertinent to contact them today and advise them that a "full, start-to-end service cat trapping program" is the last thing rescue groups, or cats need.
It is anti-social and unhelpful.
It is bad for cats.
It encourages cruelty against vulnerable animals by cat-harming psychotics and intolerant community members alike.
It drives up impounds and kill rates.
It puts extra pressure on already stretched volunteer, community rescue groups.
It does feck-all to manage the cat population.
And it's a huge waste of council resources which could be spent on useful programs which do help cats, like outreach desexing and low-income pet owner support.
If the "20 rescue groups across Victoria" Mornington is using to justify this program each sent them a quick email condemning the program, it would send a strong message that rescue groups don't want councils offering "full, start-to-end service cat trapping programs" in their communities. If those 20 rescue groups got together and publicly released a statement saying same, then other councils would be put on notice too.
Whatever you do, don't just keep on rescuing from Mornington, as it rolls out stupider, and more draconian, and more harmful policies. Rescue groups should not allow themselves to be put in the position of playing enabler to bad, bad Council animal management policies.
Act.
