***In our last update “Update: Inconsistencies from Council, many issues still need addressing” we made an error - the Letter to the Editor was published on 28 March 2017, not May. Sorry for confusion.*** Thank you for all the comments and support on our latest Update. It’s very encouraging to have the support and we really appreciate it. We will be doing an update on our experience with the RSPCA in the next few weeks, as we feel that we have been let down by them. It has been interesting to read how many others also feel let down by RSPCA. As well as emailing Council in regards to their inconsistencies, we have continued visiting GRAS to check on the welfare of the animals. We continue to petition Council so that all our requests will be fully implemented. We know this takes time, but we had hoped for a lot more to be achieved by now. We are very pleased that sick animals are being treated and that animals are being kept for longer periods. However we had hoped the basics, such as water and dry bedding, would no longer be an issue, as they are part of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the NSW Animal Welfare Code of Practice No. 5. We note that the “NSW Animal Welfare Code of Practice No. 5 – Dogs and cats in animal boarding establishments” must be complied with by boarding kennels and pounds: “1.3 - Establishments which provide commercial boarding services, Council Pound services and veterinary hospital services must comply with the standards of this code”. (see link - http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/animal-welfare/general/welfare-of-dogs/aw-code-5). Both the Department of Primary Industries and the Office of Local Government replied to our emails saying the Code is “enforceable”. We note in the Code it states: - 4.1: After cleaning, animal housing should be left dry. Kennels and cat runs should be dried with a mop or squeegee. - 6.2: Each animal shall be checked at least once daily to monitor its health and comfort. - 7.2: Fresh water must be available at all times. These have been some of our observations this year: - 6 January: 3 dogs had wet beds, one dog no bed. Many dogs had really wet cages. - 7 January: Kitten covered in fleas, jumping from kitten to towel, fleas sucking on stomach, talked to ranger and then went home to get some flea treatment for the kitten. - 12 January: 3 cats had low amount of water. Some dog beds wet. Small dog had no bed. - 14 January: Cat with hyperthyroid condition had no water, bowl completely dry. Cat 0013 small amount of water. 2 dogs no bed, 4 dogs with broken beds, 3 dogs with wet beds. - 19 January: 3 cats had low amount of water, 6 dogs had no bed. - 21 January: 5 dogs no bed (2 were little dogs). - 2 February: 3 dogs no bed (one was a small dog). - 3 February: 2 cages, one with 3 kittens one with 4 kittens, both no bedding. - 7 February: 4 kittens in cage, NO water. - 11 February: Big plastic sheet at front gates, looked inside, dead dog with gauze/bandages, told staff, no one had checked inside the plastic and were not aware a dog was in there – when was this dog dumped and when did it die? Cat in small carry cage left on floor in cattery with no litter tray and towel soaked with urine, after discussing with staff I went home and got a larger cage and transferred cat to it. 6 dogs had no bed, 2 dogs had wet beds, some with wet floors. - 13 February: 1 dog wet bed, 5 dogs no bed. - 18 February: 1 dog no bed, 2 dogs broken beds. - 20 February: 2 dogs no bed, 1 dog soaking wet bed, 2 cats had less than half full water bowl. - 27 February: Some cats/kittens had very low amounts of water, 3 dogs wet beds, 6 dogs no bed. - 28 February: 3 kittens (looked frightened) in cage with no water, food or litter. 5 dogs no bed. Kelpie pup had no bed and very wet cage floor. - 1 March: 5 dogs had no bed and wet floor. Brought a bed for the kelpie pup I saw on 28 February as I was so concerned, saw kelpie still had no bed and had very wet cage floor. - 2 March: 7 dogs had wet floor, 1 dog with wet floor and wet bed, 2 dogs no bed. - 4 March: Many dog cages had wet floors. - 7 March: 1 dog wet bed, 1 dog broken bed. - 14 March: 1 dog with pool of water on bed. - 18 March: 3 kittens given kitty litter in food bowl, instead of biscuits. 2 dogs wet bed. - 21 March: Walkway wet, I slipped. 5 dogs had wet beds and floors. Some dog cages really wet. - 22 March: 3 dogs had wet cages and wet beds, some dogs had wet cages. - 24 March: Small whippet had wet cage floor and pool of water on bed, puddles on kennel walkway, I nearly slipped. - 27 March: Some dog cages very wet, big dog slipped on wet cement and fell heavily on its side. Whippet slipped on wet cement. Walkway very wet in patches. - 31 March: 2 dogs with wet beds. Slipped on wet kennel walkway. Why do such incidents still occur? Is it due to lack of staffing, lack of proper protocols and procedures to follow, lack of quality assurance protocols in place, lack of time, the ratio of animals to staff? We think Council management needs to take all these factors into serious consideration. It was also of concern to read the comments on social media regarding the dehydrated cats over the festive/holiday period (from 24 December 2016 to 3 January 2017 *EDIT: GRAS reopened to the public on 3/1/17*), when GRAS was closed to the public. Council’s response stated that there were 28 cats and between 25-29 dogs, and that there was one staff member on duty per day for the holiday period for only 2-4 hours per day. We do not consider this to be an adequate amount of time to do daily health checks, feed/water the animals and clean/dry their cages, as well as performing other duties, e.g checking the deposit pens, responding to inquiries, etc. We also consider this to be an OHS issue that management needs to address. We are concerned about the upcoming Easter holiday period. The design of the new dog kennels is more labour intensive and animals are being kept for longer periods, so this has to be taken into account by management when staffing levels are considered. There have been staff changes over the past few weeks. We have emailed Council regarding who are the animal rangers working at GRAS and what formal animal qualifications do staff have. We are waiting for a response. We are concerned that GRAS appears to be understaffed recently. We think Council management needs to provide an adequate budget and an action plan with a timeframe for GRAS that is going to meet all our petition requests and Dr Michelsen’s best practice recommendations.