RSPCA gets 12,000 strays a year

RSPCA manager Vicki Beer with a stray cat that was found in Moodies Rd, Bargara.

Mike Knott

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THE Bundaberg RSPCA shelter's manager has demanded assistance from Bundaberg Regional Council as the refuge buckles under the weight of an influx of new admissions.

Frustrated RSPCA staff have sent council a speculative bill for $80,000 to highlight an explosion in the population of feral and unwanted animals in the Bundaberg region.

Bundaberg RSPCA manager Vicki Beer said it should be the job of the council rather than animal welfare agencies to deal with stray and feral animals.

“RSPCA specialises in the care and re-housing of unwanted pets,” she said.

“We are not set-up to operate as a pound, but that's essentially what we have been doing.”

In other regional council areas, RSPCA is paid a fee in compensation for the operational costs of running an animal shelter or refuge.

Ms Beer said the Bundaberg Regional Council animal management procedures were inadequate to deal with the volume of stray and feral animals.

The RSPCA shelter takes in up to 12,000 stray animals each year at an estimated cost of $80,000.

The cost of food, medical care and euthanasia drugs take a considerable bite out of the not-for-profit charity's funding.

“We take them in because we are lovers of animals and we care but it takes an incredible toll on our resources,” she said.

Bundaberg Regional Council operates a pound located near the airport but only accepts stray dogs, not cats.

Ms Beer said the feral cat population of Bundaberg was now out of control and needed to be dealt with immediately.

“Every time another cat ends up stray and stays out there the cycle continues,” she said.

“They breed and we have more and more feral cats.”

Bundaberg Regional Council's Health and Environmental Services spokesperson councillor Mary Wilkinson said the charity's request for financial assistance came in too late for the budget.

Cr Wilkinson said council needed to wait until a change in local laws to come into affect before it was able to impound cats.