Dear Readers, thanks for the many comments from my last update. Unfortunately personal issues prevented me from responding quickly, but I hope to deal with all the points raised in another update.

The photo shows one of the inhabitants of Camp Kitty when the RSPCA NSW was saying `there were no welfare issues’.

I have just received a response from the Department of Primary Industries, and I present my reply.

With State elections coming up I feel this is the time to get politicians to make pledges regarding the improvement of Animal Welfare, and I shall be writing to some of the principal politicians this week.

Below my email to the Dept. of Primary Industries spokesperson.

Dear Mr Christie (Deputy Director General, Biosecurity and Food Safety) (4-03-2019)

I refer to your letter of 26-02-2019 received 1-3-2019, in response to my email to the Honourable Nail Blair MLC sent 16-01-2019. I confirm I have made contact with my State MP (Steph Cooke) on two occasions in order to get a reply and your response falls well outside NSW Correspondence Policy, (20 working days).

The majority of the questions that I have asked of asked of Niall Blair MLC have not been answered and I repeat them below (in italics).

Dear Niall, I have recently written to RSPCA Australia requesting information concerning the fate of the cats that were removed from Camp Kitty after the RSPCA NSW raided that establishment. Could you please approach that organisation and help me get an answer? I also ask if you can get the RSPCA NSW to disclose why it told me that there were no welfare issues when history shows that there were many welfare issues. Do you think that the RSPCA NSW was putting the profit motive before their duties to protect animal welfare?

Also I ask you if you knew that the NSW State leading animal rights organisation was a public company, and if you did know their status does that concern you?

I also ask if you consider the grant that the RSPCA NSW receives is money well spent and could it not be better spent by granting it to a charity?

I refer you to the comments made by members of the public at the end of the email which demonstrates a considerable amount of unease concerning RSPCA NSW activities, and I would like to write in my next update something that demonstrates that the present NSW Government takes a proactive approach to animal cruelty issues and only issues grants to those organisations that are demonstrably helping to prevent animal cruelty.

Email from Maree Thomas showing concern about RSPCA NSW activities.

Sorry but those that support RSPCA need to open their eyes and do some research and not just take what they say as gospel - I know for fact that they do kill animals willy nilly - a beautiful kitten was used in an ad many people wanted to adopt that kitten even a volunteer - after the ad was done they told the vet to Euthanasia that kitten and told everyone it was adopted. So don't tell they don't kill willy nilly. They also don't have morals and all these animals are just $$$ if they can't make big bucks off it then they don't save it.

In your letter to me you have stated that the NSW Government provides $533,000 of grant funding each year to support animal welfare groups. However according to the RSPCA NSW Annual Financial Report, for the year ended 30 June 2018, it received $1,074,421 in Government grants. Could you explain the discrepancy in those figures please?

Also in your letter you have stated that the RSPCA NSW is an independent charitable organisation, however the RSPCCA NSW Directors Report 2018 states `The Society is a public company limited by guarantee’. So please why have you told me that they are a charitable organisation?

You have also stated (in respect of RSPCA NSW) has a long and strong record of practical achievements in the animal welfare area. However when you look at the RSPCA’s own figures there is no indication that the RSPCA NSW has a record as you have stated. Would you please clarify your statement please? Below are the actual RSPCA Society figures for 2016-2017 financial year for the euthanasia of dogs and cats. Having read the figures I concur that it is a long and strong record, however the record is of euthanasia of dogs and cats in the RSPCA care. Do you consider the record of euthanasia for RSPCA NSW to be a good record?

Dogs ACT(35) Darwin(48) QLD(1515) SA(659) TAS(96) VIC(744) WA(122) NSW(2544)

Cats ACT(465) Darwin(26) QLD(1800) SA(1514) TAS(816) VIC(3222) WA(149) NSW(6571)

You also state ` regarding advice that you have received from the RSPCA NSW the Department cannot provide comment. This is provided directly to you by RSPCA NSW’ As I am a taxpayer and the government is giving a hefty grant to the RSPCA NSW, and as the taxpayers also fund government servants why have you stated this? Do you not believe that taxpayers should be provided with comments from the relevant government departments after they have made inquiries on taxpayers behalf?

You finish your letter by thanking me for my email and if I wish to discuss this matter further please contact the Director of Animal Welfare. Actually I contacted the Honourable Niall Blair (The Minister responsible for Animal Welfare in NSW) regarding these matters and I believe he is the appropriate person to address them with. I ask therefore if you are unable to provide me with answers could you please direct my email to Mr Niall Blair MLC.

I thank you for the time you afford me.

Regards Keith Climpson