Page 973 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 17 March 2010
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(2) encourages the ACT government to continue to look at practical ways to improve the welfare of domestic animals in the ACT.
I rise in this place today to speak to this motion, which acknowledges the importance of domestic animal ownership in the ACT and the responsibility that that ownership carries with it. The support that this motion garners today will say much for the progress we have made as a community. Indeed, it says much for the progress made by this civilisation. Czech writer Milan Kundera once wrote:
Mankind’s true moral test, its fundamental test (which lies deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect mankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it.
Indeed, there have been several disturbing trends in respect of domestic animal welfare in this jurisdiction in recent times. Sadly, there have been several incidents of irresponsible domestic animal ownership. For instance, there have been incidents of unrestrained dogs attacking other companion animals. There has been an increase, particularly last Christmas, of abandoned domestic animals. Increasingly it seems that there is a lack of understanding of the responsibility associated with pet ownership.
This motion does not call on the government for legislative change, although I can say that my government is working hard on areas that will provide legislative boundaries to further protect the welfare of domestic animals in the ACT. We need to develop an understanding that animals are sentient beings. Instead, they are considered as personal property. This is something that merits closer consideration.
Important work has been done and will continue to be done to set the parameters within which owners of companion animals may operate. Domestic Animal Services developed the charter for responsible dog ownership and the charter for responsible cat ownership to assist dog and cat owners to achieve responsible pet ownership goals. These charters are consistent with a requirement of the Animal Welfare Act 1992, Domestic Animals Act 2000, the Code of Practice for Welfare of Dogs in the ACT, the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats in the ACT and the Nature Conservation Act 1980. The Animal Welfare Act 1992, of course, is an act which covers all animals: domestic animals, livestock and animals in their natural habitat.
Promoting a more responsible approach to domestic ownership in the ACT is important. This motion is a contribution to the need to cultivate a culture of responsibility in respect of the ownership of domestic animals. In December 2009, the RSPCA circulated a media release that stated that since the beginning of that month they had received over 250 cats and kittens, representing an increase of over 20 per cent over the same period in 2008. I know that members went to a function at the RSPCA, along with me, at that particular time and observed a lot of these animals that had been surrendered just prior to Christmas and over that period.
This problem is by no means a recent phenomenon; nor is it unique to the ACT. But the outcomes of companion animal overpopulation remain clear: each year approximately 200,000 healthy cats and dogs in Australia are killed because there are
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