Letter to the Editor, Tuesday August 19, 2014

Female hands at the keyboard of a laptop

Shooting dogs

The petition to stop council shooting pound dogs (July 29) is at best badly framed, and asks questions rather than stating the facts. It is clear from comments in social media forums that people have not been well informed.

The questions included in the petition imply that dogs are lined up for execution and shot in front of each other by incompetent, untrained people.

This is not the case or the procedure that the BOISPCA has witnessed. The council officers responsible for this thankless and heart-breaking task are well trained and often have to work with difficult and irresponsible people, as well as with dogs that have been trained to attack and harm.

The Bay of Islands SPCA would prefer to see humane injections used to euthanase dogs. However, we do feel that the current procedures are carried out as humanely as they can be. They are undertaken by two trained dog control officers, who are fully proficient in the use of firearms. The dogs are not tied to a pole, and any other dogs present are not in view. One officer fires the gun while the other uses a dog control pole to restrict the dog's movement.

The BOISPCA does not support the use of firearms to euthanase dogs. We understand the FNDC are currently reviewing their procedure for destroying dogs, and we have made it clear to council that euthanasia by veterinary injection is a more humane and preferred option.

The BOISPCA firmly believes that in all situations when euthanasia is necessary, the methods used should be as humane as possible. They should achieve rapid, painless death and minimise fear and distress to animals. Our goal is that all individuals or organisations adopt the humane methods endorsed by the RNZSPCA and the WSPA, who encourage authorities to make the recommended drugs available.

SPCA NZ policy supports the methods of euthanasia recommended in the World Society for the Protection of Animals: Methods for the Euthanasia of Dogs and Cats: Comparison and recommendations and those outlined in the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the euthanasia of animals: 2013 Edition.

The BOISPCA and the FNDC dog control officers work together, looking after the many dogs and puppies neglected and abandoned by people in our community. We applaud the commitment of our local dog control officers, who work in very challenging situations to care for the most vulnerable animals in our community.

We urge all readers to get their pets desexed and to encourage their friends and neighbours to do the same. The BOI SPCA are about to undertake a major desexing campaign for both dogs and cats. This is the most effective way we can promote responsible pet ownership and reduce the numbers of sad lives that have to be destroyed every year.

JOHN LOGIE

Manager, Bay of Islands SPCA