Hopping mad about community attitude to new cat and dog laws

pic by Sephiroty Fiesta

Generally in life, I avoid ranting and raving. Instead, I try and focus on the things that ARE working, or that ARE going right in order to create more of them. But I attended a community meeting last night on the new cat and dog laws that have been introduced by the State government, the Animal Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2008, and it left me hopping mad.

I expected that I might be the lone voice in a sea of hostility but I also found it exceptionally difficult to stay calm and not slap people around. (The facilitator of the presentation did a wonderful job at staying calm and neutral, I might add, and I am certain that I could never do his job.)

Which part of the new legislation could you possibly object to?

The part that requires you to take responsibility for your animal (cat or dog) and register them every year? The part that requires you to microchip your animal in the event that you are separated so that a reunion can be facilitated? The part that requires vets to tattoo a desexed animal to show that it has been desexed? Really, what is unreasonable about any of this?

The loudest complaint I heard was that they weren’t the ones responsible for the mismanagement of cats and dogs and therefore they objected to paying the money. With the incentive to desex your animal (hello, that’s a no brainer), a cat registration will cost $18. But hey ho no way, was all I heard. Nothing over $5 was acceptable… We are mostly pensioners you know.

I passed my viewpoint (a little forcefully, but then it was hard to be heard over the shouting) that it was all about priorities. That many of the same pensioners raving about the cost would be seen down at the pub drinking each night, or lining up to buy cigarettes that cost at least that much.

The Animal Management Act has been introduced in response to the horrific numbers of dogs and cats that are euthanased each year, or end up living feral lives in the bush. But in response to this, the other big point consistently raised was that we should simply place a bounty on the feral dogs and cats’ heads and send out people to shoot them. I can guarantee that I was the only person in the room who thought that was a terrible idea.

Whatever way you look at it, it comes down to priorities and values. Don’t take on the responsibility of caring for an animal for its entire life if you aren’t prepared to adjust your life to accommodate it and model good behaviour for others. If you want the priviledge of spending your life with a cat or a dog, and you truly believe that you are not one of the people that need managing, then stand up and show it. Lead by example.