RSPCA states, “You can help RSPCA NSW create a world where animals can enjoy a life safeguarded by five important freedoms.”

We matched up RSPCA’s five important freedoms with outcomes from the NSW Animal Welfare Code of Practice, which states that Council Pounds “must comply with the standards of this code”.

RSPCA: “2. Freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.”

Code of Practice: “After cleaning, animal housing areas should be left dry. Kennels and cat runs should be dried with a mop or squeegee.”

“All kennels should be provided with a raised sleeping area and sufficient bedding, appropriate to the breed, or trampoline style beds.”

“Very old and very young animals which are more sensitive than others to changes in temperature may require provision of heating or cooling.”

“Animals must be protected from extremes of temperature… to minimise distress to animals.”

Council pounds MUST comply with the standards of this Code.

In the old dog kennels the dogs/puppies were often left to sleep on broken beds, metal/canvas beds with pools of water on them, or tyre beds that had water in them. There were several occasions when the temperature was below zero. Wagga Council stated “…I am informed that the [RSPCA] inspector identified no issues relative to the condition the animals are in during their time at the shelter”. We do not agree with this statement.

Some diary notes from 2015 showing the conditions the dogs were in:

18/05/15 - some cages doubled up with dogs (only one bed in each cage), one cage had no bed (2 dogs in it), tyre beds wet, no blankets out at all, chihuahua (thin) shivering, bigger dog medium sized, very, very thin shivering.

22/05/15 - dog cages full, only a couple of dogs with blankets, English staffy no bed, forecast is 2 degrees tonight, dogs sleeping on damp wood, broken stretcher beds and tyre beds that are wet and full of water.

01/06/15 – minus 1 degree tonight, two Dalmatians have one plastic tub (that a volunteer had bought) but both dogs can’t fit in, no blankets, 2 brown kelpies no blankets.

10/06/15 – kelpie pup sick no response to calling out, curled up tight, dog in ‘Alcatraz’ (these were cages separate from the others) no food, 2 staghound x pups shivering, some dogs have no blankets.

When we went back to Wagga pound in September 2015 (some of us had been banned, which was later revoked) the dogs had been moved to the new dog kennels. For the next 6 months the dogs/puppies were left to sleep on often wet, cold and unheated cement, with no bedding at all. On many occasions, the dogs/puppies slept amidst their own urine and faeces because there was no bedding provided. On a couple of occasions the puppies had curled up into their food bowls, we think to get off the cold cement.

- Why did Wagga Council find it acceptable to move the dogs into the new kennels knowing the in-floor heating was not working?

- Why was the floor in the cages left wet on many occasions?

- Why were no beds/bedding provided?

- Why were the dogs/puppies kept in these conditions for over 6 months?

- Why did Wagga Council need media exposure to fix the in-floor heating?

We raised the issue of the dog kennels (wet floors, no beds, was the in-floor heating working) with Council several times. From an email Myriam sent to Council in March 2016 after visiting the kennels at Wagga pound, “…Some of the cages are so wet. Others have urine and faeces all over the floor, especially when there is more than one dog in the cage and also when the dog has walked through it and spread it around. I have seen 2 dogs slip and skid in the wetness of the floor… The dog Imp141 had walked faeces everywhere in his cage. There was not a clean dry space for him to sleep. The list goes on. However what upset me the most was to see the 2 thin puppies, so malnourished, without water and food and who will be sleeping on wet cement. Those water bowls are not big. As soon as there is more than one dog in a cage an extra water bowl should be placed in the cage. Then to be told [by the ranger] that they had water that morning and that they would get water that afternoon is wrong, as if water has to be rationed out…” We did not receive a reply to this email.

In an email we received from the DPI (Department of Primary Industries) it states, “It is the Government’s clear expectation that local councils comply with the law and ensure animals are housed under appropriate conditions that ensure their health and welfare, meeting the animals’ physiological, behavioural and social needs.” Who enforces this? How do we as rate payers know that Council Pounds follow legislation? We think it is disgraceful that the dogs were kept in such conditions in the new dog kennels, made even worse by the floor being left so wet on many occasions. When was Wagga Council planning to fix the in-floor heating (it had not been working for nearly 11 months)? For how much longer was Wagga Council planning to leave the puppies/dogs to live in these conditions? The dogs were in their cages basically 24/7 as at this time there was no exercise yard at Wagga Pound.

We appreciate that the animals at Wagga Pound now have beds, the in-floor heating has been fixed, the water bowls have been replaced by automatic water drinkers and that there have been staff changes. But the past needs to be properly addressed. We consider that addressing the past properly is twofold. Firstly, that the animals are appropriately cared for and we agree that the animals are being cared for at Wagga Pound. Secondly however, is that the issues we have raised in regards to the treatment of animals at Wagga Pound have to be investigated thoroughly, that there is accountability for what occurred, and that policies, procedures and quality assurance protocols are implemented so that it will never occur again. We do not think all of this has been done. We also think that until all the recommendations from Dr Michelsen’s Review on Wagga Pound are implemented, the past has not been properly addressed.