Innocent animals in the doghouse

Animals are held for an average of two years at the SPCA shelter while their custody is being sorted out, Sophie Bond reports
Walk through the doors marked "Staff only" and out to the back of the SPCA. There's another set of cages - the ones the public doesn't see when hunting for a new pet.
Bob Kerridge, the RNZSPCA's national president, walks past the cages. Dogs leap desperately at the wire as he pauses to say hello.
Some have been abandoned but most are what Mr Kerridge calls "uplifts" - animals removed from abusive situations and kept in SPCA custody until a court case decides their future.
The Auckland SPCA uplifts around 1000 animals a year and holds each for an average of two years. The cost of care and taking owners to court is crippling the charity.
"There are some cases that drag on, and under the current [Animal Welfare] Act we must hold onto the animal until the case is completed," says Mr Kerridge. "The only variation on that is if the animals themselves cannot be kept alive."
The Animal Welfare Act needs reform to resolve cases faster, he says. One of the most drawn-out cases involves five fox terriers - here for six years already.
"The cases we take to court are the serious premeditated and vicious ones where there is no remorse. We would dearly love to take people to court as quickly as police can," he says.
Auckland SPCA chief executive Christine Kalin started in her role 10 weeks ago. "I'm new to the animal welfare world, and I'm going, 'this is madness'. When I think about the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on human justice, there should be some recognition of the time we spend caring for the animal, holding it until the legal process is sorted."
Six months ago several dozen cats were uplifted from one property. The cost of caring for them thus far has been $80,000.
"That is a fulltime vet nurse, and we've had to put a prefab on site to house them. There's absolutely no government support for that," says Ms Kalin. "We are 80 per cent reliant on legacies at the moment. And we can't say, 'sorry, we're not picking up that animal'."
"Over the next three years [the Government] will apportion some funds to the SPCA to assist with prosecution, but that's not for caring for the animals."
While the SPCA does its best to support animals during lengthy stays, it is far from an ideal home. "Ideally cats and dogs thrive most in an environment where they are part of an intimate family, receiving individualised love and attention," she says.
"The SPCA is really a short-term option, designed to care for animals' immediate needs and then place them in a permanent environment that will meet their needs."
Mr Kerridge hopes an upcoming review of the Act will lead to a quicker turnaround of neglect prosecutions and sentencing that reflects the seriousness of animal abuse.
A spokesperson for Agriculture Minister David Carter says work has begun on the Animal Welfare Act strategy and review.