RSPCA hypocrisy

shadow boxer said :

Woulkd anyone like a towel to wash that egg off your face.

You had best retain the towel for your own use.

Merle said :

shadow boxer said :

or there’s 60 of us here, if we take care of 23 dogs each we can house 1400 dogs every day.

How many are there in the RSPCA on any given day ?

Slight problem – I’m not sure exactly how many kennels the RSPCA has, but I’m pretty confident they’re not hiding an extra 1350ish kennels out the back somewhere. There are, what, four rows at their shelter?

ooh pick me, so on any one day the RSPCA has one employee per dog,

Woulkd anyone like a towel to wash that egg off your face.

Mr Evil said :

shadow boxer said :

Pity said :

damien haas said :

I thought the banning of fireworks was supposed to end stray dogs escaping houses and roaming the streets.

If this isnt the case – bring our fireworks back!

Get over the fireworks and move on….

Never, I will hold the RSPCA accountable and never donate again until they come back.

Look, I realise that puberty is a very difficult time, and I understand that the big, bad man took your flashie-bangie things away, but really – build a f#ckin’ bridge you lame tool…..

Big thumbs up to the RSPCA from me.

And, which of these two scenarios is worse?:

a. The RSPCA asking for further funding to cover the cost of the services they provide to the ACT Govt.

or

b. A sporting code which makes millions of dollars each year through advertising, corporate sponsorship and media deals, expecting the ACT Govt to pay them a large sum of taxpayers money for the pleasure of hosting a couple of games in Canberra each year.

I dont understand your comparison, the RSPCA is better than Hitler but it adds nothing to your argument.

As for building a bridge, that aint going to happen, I think the damage the RSPCA has done to itself is deep seated and permanent.

the thing about cracker night is you only have to ask someone about what they did or where they were and you will see a quiet reflective grin spread across their face as they remember good times with their neighbours, family and friends. It’s about cracker night rather than the crackers themselves. To most people it is one of their fondest childhood memories and I would like to provide it to my kids.

Unfortunately I can’t because some people and an out of control lobby group were incapable of adhering to the law and restraining their dogs on their property for one weekend a year while for the rest of the year I have to dodge aggresive dogs, dog shit and listen to barking all night.

Selfish bastards.

The Antichrist said :

Who the hell are you to denigrate their choice in entertainment with some sort of holier-than-thou preaching ? Or does your choice of a shardy while listening to Mozart’s 4th make you a better class of human ?

My kids used to love the 1 day out of 365, where we could have a nice bonfire in the backyard, toast some marshmallows and watch $50 go up in colourful displays over our heads. Nothing more and nothing less, the dog went inside and was just fine with this for a few hours.

Fun Police 1. Kids 0

You know there’s at least 5 public fireworks displays in Canberra annually, all of which are proper, choreographed displays not just loud bangs and a quick flash.

And so glad to hear your dog is fine… about the others in the Suburb?

shadow boxer said :

Pity said :

damien haas said :

I thought the banning of fireworks was supposed to end stray dogs escaping houses and roaming the streets.

If this isnt the case – bring our fireworks back!

Get over the fireworks and move on….

Never, I will hold the RSPCA accountable and never donate again until they come back.

Look, I realise that puberty is a very difficult time, and I understand that the big, bad man took your flashie-bangie things away, but really – build a f#ckin’ bridge you lame tool…..

Big thumbs up to the RSPCA from me.

And, which of these two scenarios is worse?:

a. The RSPCA asking for further funding to cover the cost of the services they provide to the ACT Govt.

or

b. A sporting code which makes millions of dollars each year through advertising, corporate sponsorship and media deals, expecting the ACT Govt to pay them a large sum of taxpayers money for the pleasure of hosting a couple of games in Canberra each year.

creative_canberran said :

shadow boxer said :

Oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks……

Rednecks… the one bit of evidence against both evolution and creationism at the same time.

At home fireworks = childish play things for the same crowd who like grey hound racing and monster trucks after a meal at Hooters.

wow, like to generalise much do we ? Fireworks + greyhound racing (WTF?) + Monster trucks ( all motorsport fans?) + Hooters (what about Hogsbreath?) = Rednecks ?

You need to take a long hard look at your own recessive genepool buddy, there are members of the public out there who have every right to enjoy a night at the dishlickers, watch some motorsport – albeit massive V8’s in oversize F350’s – but fun just the same, and tuck into a good feed while being served by chicks with great assets !

Who the hell are you to denigrate their choice in entertainment with some sort of holier-than-thou preaching ? Or does your choice of a shardy while listening to Mozart’s 4th make you a better class of human ?

My kids used to love the 1 day out of 365, where we could have a nice bonfire in the backyard, toast some marshmallows and watch $50 go up in colourful displays over our heads. Nothing more and nothing less, the dog went inside and was just fine with this for a few hours.

Fun Police 1. Kids 0

The OP’s gone quiet… Change of heart?

shadow boxer said :

or there’s 60 of us here, if we take care of 23 dogs each we can house 1400 dogs every day.

How many are there in the RSPCA on any given day ?

Slight problem – I’m not sure exactly how many kennels the RSPCA has, but I’m pretty confident they’re not hiding an extra 1350ish kennels out the back somewhere. There are, what, four rows at their shelter?

shadow boxer said :

How many are there in the RSPCA on any given day ?

Too many.

jake555 said :

Merle said :

shadow boxer said :

8500 animals equals about 23 a day, 60 people to look after 23 animals ?

As for “running training classes, running events like Cupcake Day and the Million Paws walk, running the shop ” they all seem like optional extras or fund raising.

Lol, yes, and what about the animals from the day before? Do they melt overnight? Do they go where the leaves go in autumn? 23 animals per day would add up pretty damn fast!

You don’t like that the RSPCA gets money from the government… but you also don’t like them fund-raising or pursuing ‘optional extras’ in order to earn more income. What’s your suggestion, then, how can they get their funding?

Lol also.
Jake: “It’s 5pm and I’ve looked after all of my 23 animals today – job done! The next 23 tomorrow.”
Jake’s boss: “Ahmmm, you still have to look after those same 23 again tomorrow…”
Jake: “But 8500 divided by………..ah yep, got it – those same animals are still here…….damn you RiotAct….”

or there’s 60 of us here, if we take care of 23 dogs each we can house 1400 dogs every day.

How many are there in the RSPCA on any given day ?

Merle said :

shadow boxer said :

8500 animals equals about 23 a day, 60 people to look after 23 animals ?

As for “running training classes, running events like Cupcake Day and the Million Paws walk, running the shop ” they all seem like optional extras or fund raising.

Lol, yes, and what about the animals from the day before? Do they melt overnight? Do they go where the leaves go in autumn? 23 animals per day would add up pretty damn fast!

You don’t like that the RSPCA gets money from the government… but you also don’t like them fund-raising or pursuing ‘optional extras’ in order to earn more income. What’s your suggestion, then, how can they get their funding?

Lol also.
Jake: “It’s 5pm and I’ve looked after all of my 23 animals today – job done! The next 23 tomorrow.”
Jake’s boss: “Ahmmm, you still have to look after those same 23 again tomorrow…”
Jake: “But 8500 divided by………..ah yep, got it – those same animals are still here…….damn you RiotAct….”

shadow boxer said :

threepaws said :

shadow boxer said :

I don’t mind if they get money from Gov’t, but don’t pretend you are a charity. If you do take money from government, don’t use it to employ staff to raise more money.

Brilliant piece of reasoning there. Perhaps, instead of employing staff to raise the money they need, they should just keep asking the government for more money.

What about the fact that the money the government gives them is payment for services provided by RSPCA on behalf of the government?

Or perhaps they could just be a charity looking after animals and rasing funds the same way as all the other charities.

Oh that’s right, because NO other charities get any government funding.

Or, the government could take over the work that the RSPCA does for them, and they won’t need to ask for money to cover it.

{quote comment=”350089″]

8500 animals equals about 23 a day, 60 people to look after 23 animals ?

Their report says they employ about 50 people. Assuming that they are not all there full time, or seven days a week, lets say this cuts it down to 35 people there a day. Take off the administration staff and the people who work on the counter and perhaps that leaves 20 people a day who work hands on with the animals?

That doesn’t sound like a lot of people to look after 8500 animals a year. what if each animal is there for a month?

threepaws said :

shadow boxer said :

I don’t mind if they get money from Gov’t, but don’t pretend you are a charity. If you do take money from government, don’t use it to employ staff to raise more money.

Brilliant piece of reasoning there. Perhaps, instead of employing staff to raise the money they need, they should just keep asking the government for more money.

What about the fact that the money the government gives them is payment for services provided by RSPCA on behalf of the government?

Or perhaps they could just be a charity looking after animals and rasing funds the same way as all the other charities.

shadow boxer said :

Probably best not to go into where they go, suffice to say pet owners are the most selfish, inconsiderate sector of our society.

I don’t mind if they get money from Gov’t, but don’t pretend you are a charity. If you do take money from government, don’t use it to employ staff to raise more money.

I remember a time when everybody liked the RSPCA. It was a very different organisation though, it’s more like the heart foundation these days.

So instead of getting $800,000 from the government and raising the rest themselves, you think they should demand the whole $3.9 million?

shadow boxer said :

I don’t mind if they get money from Gov’t, but don’t pretend you are a charity. If you do take money from government, don’t use it to employ staff to raise more money.

Brilliant piece of reasoning there. Perhaps, instead of employing staff to raise the money they need, they should just keep asking the government for more money.

What about the fact that the money the government gives them is payment for services provided by RSPCA on behalf of the government?

If the salary sacrifice thing is the same as that used by non-profits in the health sector, then the way that works is $17k is tax-free, not the entire salary. And you have to show that you spent it on Stuff.

Probably best not to go into where they go, suffice to say pet owners are the most selfish, inconsiderate sector of our society.

I don’t mind if they get money from Gov’t, but don’t pretend you are a charity. If you do take money from government, don’t use it to employ staff to raise more money.

I remember a time when everybody liked the RSPCA. It was a very different organisation though, it’s more like the heart foundation these days.

shadow boxer said :

8500 animals equals about 23 a day, 60 people to look after 23 animals ?

As for “running training classes, running events like Cupcake Day and the Million Paws walk, running the shop ” they all seem like optional extras or fund raising.

Lol, yes, and what about the animals from the day before? Do they melt overnight? Do they go where the leaves go in autumn? 23 animals per day would add up pretty damn fast!

You don’t like that the RSPCA gets money from the government… but you also don’t like them fund-raising or pursuing ‘optional extras’ in order to earn more income. What’s your suggestion, then, how can they get their funding?

BenTact said :

Michael Linke is typical of a CEO – all that I am left with after reading his comments is a sense of his self importance and need for acknowledgement. I am so sick of turing on the radio or reading a local paper and hearing him talk about what a great job he is doing again! Does he care more about the animals or his own public image?

I swear the irrationality and almost pathological dislike of society some display is astonishing.

Merle said :

shadow boxer said :

Pity said :

damien haas said :

I thought the banning of fireworks was supposed to end stray dogs escaping houses and roaming the streets.

If this isnt the case – bring our fireworks back!

Get over the fireworks and move on….

Never, I will hold the RSPCA accountable and never donate again until they come back.

This is where the RSPCA lost the plot, they went from a charitable organisation of volunteers that everybody liked to an organisation that;

lobbies governmetns for single issues without a mandate
employs commercial fundraisers and
contracts out its services.

Why it needs 60 people to run an animal shelter is beyond me, especially when you can employ staff who can salary sacrifice their entire salary.

The RSPCA is now a commercial and political entity that is fair game.

oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks you selfish bastard pet owners.

If you think about it, in order to look after 8,500 potentially sick, wounded or needy animals in a year, in addition to investigating welfare problems, running training classes, running events like Cupcake Day and the Million Paws walk, running the shop and doing all the admin type stuff associated with an organisation like the RSPCA – well, 60 staff doesn’t actually sound like all that many people.

Seems a bit petty to have a go at a charity because you want to be able to play with shiny noisy things a couple of times a year.

That sounds like heaps of people, if the RSPCA wants to be a charity then that is fine, use volunteers, solicit donations and do what you can.

If it wants to be a commercial organisation lobbying Govt and and undertaking contracted paid work, expect to be scrutinised like the rest of us. You cant hide behind being a charity and untouchable when it suits you.

8500 animals equals about 23 a day, 60 people to look after 23 animals ?

As for “running training classes, running events like Cupcake Day and the Million Paws walk, running the shop ” they all seem like optional extras or fund raising.

Maybe less business and more charity, oh yeh and more fireworks, screw Hargreaves stupid cat.

Sorry about the salary sacrificing thing I assumed that was allregistered charities.

shadow boxer said :

Pity said :

damien haas said :

I thought the banning of fireworks was supposed to end stray dogs escaping houses and roaming the streets.

If this isnt the case – bring our fireworks back!

Get over the fireworks and move on….

Never, I will hold the RSPCA accountable and never donate again until they come back.

This is where the RSPCA lost the plot, they went from a charitable organisation of volunteers that everybody liked to an organisation that;

lobbies governmetns for single issues without a mandate
employs commercial fundraisers and
contracts out its services.

Why it needs 60 people to run an animal shelter is beyond me, especially when you can employ staff who can salary sacrifice their entire salary.

The RSPCA is now a commercial and political entity that is fair game.

oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks you selfish bastard pet owners.

Wow, I can’t believe anyone is still losing sleep over fireworks. Get over it.

Salary sacrifice their entire salary? Really? Do you have some evidence of that?

PBI tax status does not apply to organisations like RSPCA as they are not a ‘human’ charity. Perhaps you could do a little research before making such ridiculous claims.

If the RSPCA is doing work for the government, why shouldn’t they charge them for it? If the government asked you to work for them, wouldn’t you expect to be paid for it? As a welfare organisation operating under local legislation, why shouldn’t they lobby the government?

BenTact said :

Michael Linke is typical of a CEO – all that I am left with after reading his comments is a sense of his self importance and need for acknowledgement. I am so sick of turing on the radio or reading a local paper and hearing him talk about what a great job he is doing again! Does he care more about the animals or his own public image?

How else do you expect RSPCA to ask people to continue to donate? Donors would like to see what a good job the organisation they are donating to is doing.

shadow boxer said :

Pity said :

damien haas said :

I thought the banning of fireworks was supposed to end stray dogs escaping houses and roaming the streets.

If this isnt the case – bring our fireworks back!

Get over the fireworks and move on….

Never, I will hold the RSPCA accountable and never donate again until they come back.

This is where the RSPCA lost the plot, they went from a charitable organisation of volunteers that everybody liked to an organisation that;

lobbies governmetns for single issues without a mandate
employs commercial fundraisers and
contracts out its services.

Why it needs 60 people to run an animal shelter is beyond me, especially when you can employ staff who can salary sacrifice their entire salary.

The RSPCA is now a commercial and political entity that is fair game.

oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks you selfish bastard pet owners.

If you think about it, in order to look after 8,500 potentially sick, wounded or needy animals in a year, in addition to investigating welfare problems, running training classes, running events like Cupcake Day and the Million Paws walk, running the shop and doing all the admin type stuff associated with an organisation like the RSPCA – well, 60 staff doesn’t actually sound like all that many people.

Seems a bit petty to have a go at a charity because you want to be able to play with shiny noisy things a couple of times a year.

Reply

EvanJames said :

Do they really employ outsourced professional fundraisers? I thought during the recent discussion about Chuggers it was made clear that the RSPCA doesn’t do that stuff?

I would certainly hope not.

Chuggers are in it for the profit, not to actually help these organisations. Was once walking down a street in Melbourne wearing an RSPCA hat when a chugger for Guide Dogs wouldn’t let up, asking why I don’t support charity repeatedly (he could damn well see the RSPCA hat!). He was obviously behind on his KPI… a fact I confirmed when interrogating one later in Garema Place would couldn’t say much about the charity but confirmed they get a sizeable chunk of each donation.

shadow boxer said :

Pity said :

damien haas said :

I thought the banning of fireworks was supposed to end stray dogs escaping houses and roaming the streets.

If this isnt the case – bring our fireworks back!

Get over the fireworks and move on….

Never, I will hold the RSPCA accountable and never donate again until they come back.

This is where the RSPCA lost the plot, they went from a charitable organisation of volunteers that everybody liked to an organisation that;

lobbies governmetns for single issues without a mandate
employs commercial fundraisers and
contracts out its services.

Why it needs 60 people to run an animal shelter is beyond me, especially when you can employ staff who can salary sacrifice their entire salary.

The RSPCA is now a commercial and political entity that is fair game.

oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks you selfish bastard pet owners.

Get over yourself

Employees of non-profit organisations have fairly permissive salary sacrifice rules, but the upper limit was $16,000 p.a. last time I looked.

shadow boxer said :

This is where the RSPCA lost the plot, they went from a charitable organisation of volunteers that everybody liked to an organisation that;

lobbies governmetns for single issues without a mandate
employs commercial fundraisers and
contracts out its services.

Why it needs 60 people to run an animal shelter is beyond me, especially when you can employ staff who can salary sacrifice their entire salary.

The RSPCA is now a commercial and political entity that is fair game.

oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks you selfish bastard pet owners.

Can salary sacrifice their whole pay? How?

The RSPCA is doing what a lot of their supporters and the wider array of people who care about animals want them to do: advocating for animals across a wide spectrum of issues.

Do they really employ outsourced professional fundraisers? I thought during the recent discussion about Chuggers it was made clear that the RSPCA doesn’t do that stuff?

Pity said :

damien haas said :

I thought the banning of fireworks was supposed to end stray dogs escaping houses and roaming the streets.

If this isnt the case – bring our fireworks back!

Get over the fireworks and move on….

Never, I will hold the RSPCA accountable and never donate again until they come back.

This is where the RSPCA lost the plot, they went from a charitable organisation of volunteers that everybody liked to an organisation that;

lobbies governmetns for single issues without a mandate
employs commercial fundraisers and
contracts out its services.

Why it needs 60 people to run an animal shelter is beyond me, especially when you can employ staff who can salary sacrifice their entire salary.

The RSPCA is now a commercial and political entity that is fair game.

oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks you selfish bastard pet owners.

I think the young people say (or used to):

This thread delivers.

The RSPCA will continue you see the good will and quality of their well established ‘brand’ evaporate so long as they remain beholden to feral interest groups like PETA and Animal Liberation.

Whilst the majority of folk on the ground, working at the shelters and such do a great job, they get undermined by the dick-wads running the show.

Those of you who fail to accept the gross hypocrisy of the RSPCA on the one hand fat-mouthing off about a working dog that gets killed doing its job because ‘apparently’ the organisation would never ever knowingly send an animal where it might come in harms way and then at the same time shipping dogs off to be destroyed by the Government need to take a long hard look at what sort of reality they consider themselves to be living in.

Linke simply needs to man up and admit that the RSPCA cant save every animal that comes into their care rather than trying to score political points for his over-lords.

Michael Linke is typical of a CEO – all that I am left with after reading his comments is a sense of his self importance and need for acknowledgement. I am so sick of turing on the radio or reading a local paper and hearing him talk about what a great job he is doing again! Does he care more about the animals or his own public image?

Buzz2600 said :

Sounds to me like one very disgruntled DAS worker (or ex-RSPCA worker) here, venting his spleen all over Linke and the RSPCA’s very good work purely because in this less than perfect world, the RSPCA has to find a way to deal with real life situations that don’t always end well for the animal. The RSPCA is a charity created to protect animals not put them down where ever possible. DAS on the other hand is a government facility, there to carry out the law. Two very different places doing two very different things.

Smeeagain, Instead of attacking the RSPCA for not being purer than light, why not use all that bile you’ve got there to vent at the real scum here – the ones who abandon, neglect and injure the innocent animals who end up in these places?

I couldn’t have put it better myself – life isn’t always peach pie and rainbows. In an ideal world the RSPCA would have the unlimited resources they need to do all the good works they’d like but the unfortunately reality is that the world isn’t like that. The RSPCA is one charity that I will continue to support. The work they do with what they have always amazes me.

And anyone who thinks the RSPCA is “heavily funded” by the government needs to pull their head out. Shoot, personally I would have liked to see some of the money that was allocated to all that public art sent to the RSPCA. We don’t need a giant plastic phallic ORLY? owl when there are real animals out there that could use a little help. But that is a rant for another thread I guess 😉

Merle said :

smeeagain said :

I don’t think I’m being unfair, my comment relates to Michael stating that they will never place an animal into a situation where it may be injured or killed, and the numerous comments he has made about not receiving any funding from Government. He transfers dogs to DAS knowing that the probability of them being euthanised if not rehomed within 7 days is extremely high. Of the 7 dogs I orginally posted about on the DAS website, 4 of them are on the destruction list for this week. That’s more than 50% of the dogs they have transferred.

As I said, I think it’s a pretty well known fact that the RSPCA transfers dogs to DAS. If people are unaware of it, it’s not because RSPCA have made any effort to hide it – like I said, staff tell people when they drop strays off that they may be sent to DAS. When the RSPCA’s kennels are full and they have no more space to take in dogs, what is it that you want them to do exactly?

He has just told us that he gets a substantial amount of money from Government each year.
That he doesn’t pay any rent for the site he occupies.

That he will soon be receiving a new site and a new shelter, at the Governments expense.
$3.9 million a year. Lets say that the staff wages are $900,000 of that. I don’t really think that they are, but I’m feeling generous today.

They don’t have to pay rent out of that, and I imagine that there are probably huge subsidies from ACTEW as well, so pretty much, there is still $3million a year.

We all know that dogs and cats cost a lot more to feed, house and care for than birds, rabbits, chickens. If I remove them from the figures, a total of 315 animals, and say that they cost $200K to care for for a year, we now have $2.8Million. That averages out to $876.64 per dog and cat that is in your care. I really don’t think that you keep most of your animals for a full year, but considering that you are all about the welfare of the animals, you would be well aware that it very cruel to keep an animal in shelter conditions for that length of time.

That seems an awful lot of money for the majority of animals that you have in your care, who rarely stay for extended periods (and if they do, you’re not acting in the best welfare of the animal, merely satisfying your own personal ideals).

Instead of guessing, you could check out the 09/10 financial statement, which would tell you that 2010 saw a $3.9 million revenue, of which just over $2 million went on employee salaries and expenses and almost $600,000 on the goods sold in the shop and depreciation. Of the remaining 1.3 million, just under a million went on ‘other expenses’, under which I assume animal care comes (leaving a $300,000ish profit).

Discounting all animals besides cats and dogs in your appraisal seems pretty unrealistic, particularly when you consider the kind of specialist feed and equipment wild animals are likely to need. You’re also discounting things like the running cost of the shelter (lights, electricity, water, heating, including heated floors for the kennels, cleaning supplies and general repairs and maintenance). And then when you factor in how much veterinary equipment and supplies are likely to cost… I don’t think your estimate is very accurate.

What is it you want from the RSPCA? I’m not sure what you’re trying to get out of this post.

Add to that the welfare RSPCA provides to animals of people who may be in hospital, sick poor, or incarcerated. Everyone is so picky. I’m all for any organisation or person who cares for the welfare of animals. Your work is appreciated Michael and that also applies to your dedicated team.

damien haas said :

I thought the banning of fireworks was supposed to end stray dogs escaping houses and roaming the streets.

If this isnt the case – bring our fireworks back!

Get over the fireworks and move on….

EvanJames said :

The Qbn dog pound runs an active program where people interested in a certain type of pet (dog breed or whatever) leave their details, and when a possibly suitable animal is available they contact them. Pretty sure the ACT Gov’t doesn’t run anything like this.

Looks like they do: http://www.tams.act.gov.au/live/pets/lost,_found,_impounded_and_wanted_dogs/wanted_dogs

Waiting For Godot said :

Michael Linke struggled to justify his ownership of an American pit bull terrier on 2CC this morning. I found his claim that he was attacked by a chihuhawa while working at the RSPCA shelter rather far fetched.

Owning pitbulls is perfectly legal in the ACT – he doesn’t need to ‘justify’ owning one. In the right hands pitbulls are lovely dogs. Like a lot of other ‘scary’ breeds, however (German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Boxers etc.) they’re unfortunate enough to attract a lot of idiot owners.

Waiting For Godot said :

Michael Linke struggled to justify his ownership of an American pit bull terrier on 2CC this morning. I found his claim that he was attacked by a chihuhawa while working at the RSPCA shelter rather far fetched.

You doubt that he was attacked by a chihuahua? Most people who have been in proximity with a chihuahua would disagree. They are very prone to attacking. Luckily, they don’t do much damage.

shadow boxer said :

What an extraordinary rant from the CEO of a (largely) government funded organisation. All I got from it was the relationship between DAS, the Minister and the RSPCA is in tatters and this is clearly the remit of the respective CEO’s.

Translation: Don’t confuse me with contrary facts, I’ve already made up my mind.

It’s refreshing to see someone like Mr Linke come in and engage, rather than issuing bland press releases. I think he and the ACT RSPCA do a great job.

I certainly welcome a public discussion about the handling of excess pets in this area, and the information coming out from both sides is interesting. That the RSPCA picks up a lot of what a local council would normally do is a point worth remembering.

The Qbn dog pound runs an active program where people interested in a certain type of pet (dog breed or whatever) leave their details, and when a possibly suitable animal is available they contact them. Pretty sure the ACT Gov’t doesn’t run anything like this.

Michael Linke struggled to justify his ownership of an American pit bull terrier on 2CC this morning. I found his claim that he was attacked by a chihuhawa while working at the RSPCA shelter rather far fetched.

I agree with Watson that the response from Michael Linke sounded overly defensive and the tone was quite patronising to the person who posted.

Sounds to me like one very disgruntled DAS worker (or ex-RSPCA worker) here, venting his spleen all over Linke and the RSPCA’s very good work purely because in this less than perfect world, the RSPCA has to find a way to deal with real life situations that don’t always end well for the animal. The RSPCA is a charity created to protect animals not put them down where ever possible. DAS on the other hand is a government facility, there to carry out the law. Two very different places doing two very different things.

Smeeagain, Instead of attacking the RSPCA for not being purer than light, why not use all that bile you’ve got there to vent at the real scum here – the ones who abandon, neglect and injure the innocent animals who end up in these places?

Mr Linke,

You and all of your paid and unpaid staff do a fantastic job for the ACT and the Australian community at large. I don’t think I could undertake such a time and emotionally demanding job so I applaud you. As such, I’m not going to to through your numbers with a fine tooth comb but instead I’ll put some faith in you that the RSPCA is doing the right thing with the right intentions. Thanks.

Just thought you might like to know that despite this deconstructive thread, you do have some support on here.

Watson said :

Yeah well, if Mr Linke’s original reply would’ve been to the point and just answered the OP, it wouldn’t have turned into a nitpicking fest either.

Actually, I just re-read that response and it was fairly to the point. (Should really become a member so I can delete impulsive posts!) lol

Cinammon said :

Watson said :

Why is it so incredibly hard to have a constructive discussion on RA?

It’s not because an organisation does charitable work that they cannot be pulled up on inconsistencies in their statements. The OP asked some fair questions ..

They lost me when they started whinging about whether or not the RSPCA pays rent, and how much for its site. I’m glad to hear they’ve had it rent free for many years, and the same will happen with the new site.

Yeah well, if Mr Linke’s original reply would’ve been to the point and just answered the OP, it wouldn’t have turned into a nitpicking fest either.

Watson said :

weeziepops said :

For a big supporter of the RSPCA, the OP has done a great job of trashing the organisation and the person who leads it. I challenge the OP to take Mr Linke up on his offer and actually sit down with him and talk face to face instead of attacking him here. If, after that meeting, the OP changes his/her opinion then an open apology would be appropriate. If not, then I am sure Mr Linke would ge more than happy to take the OP’s counsel as to how he can do his job better.

Why is it so incredibly hard to have a constructive discussion on RA?

It’s not because an organisation does charitable work that they cannot be pulled up on inconsistencies in their statements. The OP asked some fair questions and the main one remains unanswered after a few replies from Mr Linke. Why are 4 dogs of the 7 that were surrendered to DAS last week on death row and how does that fit in with the RSPCA’s policies?

We all know that resources are limited, but come out and be honest about it then instead of shooting the messenger.

The OP purports to be a supporter of the RSPCA and then dumps a pile of hatred and vitriol on the hard-working people out there.

As has been noted, they work tirelessly to clean up the mess made by far too many irresponsible people in our community.

Now they have to clean up the mess made in their backyard by a thoroughly irresponsible smeeagain.

Congratulations on a destructive troll, smeeagain.

$900000 in salary. Check the annual report, you’ll find it’s closer to $2m. We engage 60 people and comply with fair work legislation and operate 365 days a year.

Also don’t forget the 3000 native animals we care for.

Having had to work with DAS regarding our next door neighbours barking dog, I can safely say that they are incomepetent and can well believe they have funding problems. RSPCA does a great job in the ACT so who gives a monkey’s if they have been a bit less well explained on some things.

The fact of the matter is animal owners should be responsible for the animals that they take on.

Watson said :

Why is it so incredibly hard to have a constructive discussion on RA?

It’s not because an organisation does charitable work that they cannot be pulled up on inconsistencies in their statements. The OP asked some fair questions ..

They lost me when they started whinging about whether or not the RSPCA pays rent, and how much for its site. I’m glad to hear they’ve had it rent free for many years, and the same will happen with the new site.

weeziepops said :

For a big supporter of the RSPCA, the OP has done a great job of trashing the organisation and the person who leads it. I challenge the OP to take Mr Linke up on his offer and actually sit down with him and talk face to face instead of attacking him here. If, after that meeting, the OP changes his/her opinion then an open apology would be appropriate. If not, then I am sure Mr Linke would ge more than happy to take the OP’s counsel as to how he can do his job better.

Why is it so incredibly hard to have a constructive discussion on RA?

It’s not because an organisation does charitable work that they cannot be pulled up on inconsistencies in their statements. The OP asked some fair questions and the main one remains unanswered after a few replies from Mr Linke. Why are 4 dogs of the 7 that were surrendered to DAS last week on death row and how does that fit in with the RSPCA’s policies?

We all know that resources are limited, but come out and be honest about it then instead of shooting the messenger.

smeeagain said :

I don’t think I’m being unfair, my comment relates to Michael stating that they will never place an animal into a situation where it may be injured or killed, and the numerous comments he has made about not receiving any funding from Government. He transfers dogs to DAS knowing that the probability of them being euthanised if not rehomed within 7 days is extremely high. Of the 7 dogs I orginally posted about on the DAS website, 4 of them are on the destruction list for this week. That’s more than 50% of the dogs they have transferred.

As I said, I think it’s a pretty well known fact that the RSPCA transfers dogs to DAS. If people are unaware of it, it’s not because RSPCA have made any effort to hide it – like I said, staff tell people when they drop strays off that they may be sent to DAS. When the RSPCA’s kennels are full and they have no more space to take in dogs, what is it that you want them to do exactly?

He has just told us that he gets a substantial amount of money from Government each year.
That he doesn’t pay any rent for the site he occupies.

That he will soon be receiving a new site and a new shelter, at the Governments expense.
$3.9 million a year. Lets say that the staff wages are $900,000 of that. I don’t really think that they are, but I’m feeling generous today.

They don’t have to pay rent out of that, and I imagine that there are probably huge subsidies from ACTEW as well, so pretty much, there is still $3million a year.

We all know that dogs and cats cost a lot more to feed, house and care for than birds, rabbits, chickens. If I remove them from the figures, a total of 315 animals, and say that they cost $200K to care for for a year, we now have $2.8Million. That averages out to $876.64 per dog and cat that is in your care. I really don’t think that you keep most of your animals for a full year, but considering that you are all about the welfare of the animals, you would be well aware that it very cruel to keep an animal in shelter conditions for that length of time.

That seems an awful lot of money for the majority of animals that you have in your care, who rarely stay for extended periods (and if they do, you’re not acting in the best welfare of the animal, merely satisfying your own personal ideals).

Instead of guessing, you could check out the 09/10 financial statement, which would tell you that 2010 saw a $3.9 million revenue, of which just over $2 million went on employee salaries and expenses and almost $600,000 on the goods sold in the shop and depreciation. Of the remaining 1.3 million, just under a million went on ‘other expenses’, under which I assume animal care comes (leaving a $300,000ish profit).

Discounting all animals besides cats and dogs in your appraisal seems pretty unrealistic, particularly when you consider the kind of specialist feed and equipment wild animals are likely to need. You’re also discounting things like the running cost of the shelter (lights, electricity, water, heating, including heated floors for the kennels, cleaning supplies and general repairs and maintenance). And then when you factor in how much veterinary equipment and supplies are likely to cost… I don’t think your estimate is very accurate.

What is it you want from the RSPCA? I’m not sure what you’re trying to get out of this post.

weeziepops said :

For a big supporter of the RSPCA, the OP has done a great job of trashing the organisation and the person who leads it. I challenge the OP to take Mr Linke up on his offer and actually sit down with him and talk face to face instead of attacking him here. If, after that meeting, the OP changes his/her opinion then an open apology would be appropriate. If not, then I am sure Mr Linke would ge more than happy to take the OP’s counsel as to how he can do his job better.

+1

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve always supported the work the RSPCA does, I’ve adopted a dog from there, and I don’t like seeing the RSPCA being attacked. To the OP, you should take up the offer you were given to meet with Mr Linke. That’d surely be more constructive than attacking the RSPCA here…

Umm… MP dog handler’s have been accepting dogs (GSD) from the RSPCA for decades! Get over it Linke and accept its your organisations policy!

threepaws said :

Skidbladnir said :

creative_canberran said :

Note for RSPCA ACT: It would be decent if you put something more recent than three year old Annual Reports online…

I don’t know how you missed it, but the 09/10 annual report is here http://issuu.com/cre8ive/docs/rspca_act_annual_report2010?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

I guess the 10/11 annual report will go on their website when it is published…

I didn’t say that quote.

Don’t forget that the DAS pound workers, the rescue organisations and the RSPCA are trying to pick up the pieces after people have dumped their dogs for often pathetic reasons which usually amount to ‘we got sick of it’. Or ‘we can’t be bothered to pay for its vet fees now it’s too old.’ There are some legitimate reasons for surrendering an animal, but there are also a lot of people who simply don’t deserve to own pets. And meanwhile puppy mills are churning out designer dogs. It’s all very sad.

Merle said :

smeeagain said :

If you get a list of dogs each Monday who are scheduled for the Wednesday euthanasia and go and rescue those dogs, why are DAS still putting dogs down each Wednesday? Why are the rescue groups begging people to go in and rescue the dogs who still remain on the list at lunchtime on Tuesdays?

You’re being pretty unfair here – DAS put dogs down because they don’t have unlimited kennel space and have new dogs coming in all the time. Same for the rescue groups, who can’t save every dog because they don’t have the space. The RSPCA operate under exactly the same constraints. Too many dogs, not enough kennels. It seems unreasonable to expect the RSPCA to somehow be able to achieve the impossible and do what every other animal welfare group can’t.

I don’t think I’m being unfair, my comment relates to Michael stating that they will never place an animal into a situation where it may be injured or killed, and the numerous comments he has made about not receiving any funding from Government. He transfers dogs to DAS knowing that the probability of them being euthanised if not rehomed within 7 days is extremely high. Of the 7 dogs I orginally posted about on the DAS website, 4 of them are on the destruction list for this week. That’s more than 50% of the dogs they have transferred.

He has just told us that he gets a substantial amount of money from Government each year.

That he doesn’t pay any rent for the site he occupies.

That he will soon be receiving a new site and a new shelter, at the Governments expense.

$3.9 million a year. Lets say that the staff wages are $900,000 of that. I don’t really think that they are, but I’m feeling generous today.

They don’t have to pay rent out of that, and I imagine that there are probably huge subsidies from ACTEW as well, so pretty much, there is still $3million a year.

We all know that dogs and cats cost a lot more to feed, house and care for than birds, rabbits, chickens. If I remove them from the figures, a total of 315 animals, and say that they cost $200K to care for for a year, we now have $2.8Million. That averages out to $876.64 per dog and cat that is in your care. I really don’t think that you keep most of your animals for a full year, but considering that you are all about the welfare of the animals, you would be well aware that it very cruel to keep an animal in shelter conditions for that length of time.

That seems an awful lot of money for the majority of animals that you have in your care, who rarely stay for extended periods (and if they do, you’re not acting in the best welfare of the animal, merely satisfying your own personal ideals).

In your first post, you stated :

‘Did you know, Smeeagain, that every dog RSPCA sends to DAS is vaccinated before we send it to protect against is disease? In 2010/11 we did this at our own expense.’

In your second post, it becomes :

Yes we do now charge for vaccinated dogs we transfer to DAS, surely that’s fair. We use to do it for free, but times are tough and in the absence of support from the government we decided to charge for this service.

We are only a few weeks out of the 10/11 financial year, and I know you have been charging the cost of vaccinations for a lot longer than that, so your initial statement, again, was designed to mislead people.

For a big supporter of the RSPCA, the OP has done a great job of trashing the organisation and the person who leads it. I challenge the OP to take Mr Linke up on his offer and actually sit down with him and talk face to face instead of attacking him here. If, after that meeting, the OP changes his/her opinion then an open apology would be appropriate. If not, then I am sure Mr Linke would ge more than happy to take the OP’s counsel as to how he can do his job better.

threepaws said :

I don’t know how you missed it, but the 09/10 annual report is here http://issuu.com/cre8ive/docs/rspca_act_annual_report2010?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

Because I was using google, not exploring manually.
Oh well.

Our most recent annual report is here

http://www.rspca-act.org.au/about-us/links-and-resources/

and has been since it was made public in September 2010. Our next report, due out in three weeks will also be made public.

Further to the audits undertaken by Ernst and Young of our accounts was an audit commissioned by the ACT government and conducted by PriceWaterhouse Coopers. The purpose of this audit was to fully assess government income.

Government income stood at $400,000 for the last four years and was increased to $570,000 this year. Our total budget is about $3.9M.

PWC found both our figures and our request for funding to be robust, defensible, and appropriate.

Yes we do now charge for vaccinated dogs we transfer to DAS, surely that’s fair. We use to do it for free, but times are tough and in the absence of support from the government we decided to charge for this service. We also desex all dogs rehomed from DAS at a very discounted rate.

I know volunteers also played a role in securing a washing machine, volunteers at DAS do a wonderful job, my point was, so did we and me personally.

With regard to taking dogs from DAS, if someone can provide me with a solution to magic up more space so I can take them I would. We are full 100% of the time and yet some people would still criticise us.

Re a new site, I have never made a secret of the fact that the ACT government will be paying for that. The former Chief Minister Jon Stanhope is in fact on Hansard as saying that the ACT Government will fund it.

Our current site was granted to us in 1955, so no we don’t pay rent. You will find this is pretty much the case with all of our 40 shelters across Australia.

The perceived ‘relationship in tatters’ appears to be purported by folks unknown to me. As far as I am aware our relationship on the ground with DAS is good. We work together and dogs are the winners. Canberra is the best place for stray and surrendered animals. Homing and reclaim rates are streets ahead of other jurisdictions.

I say again, rather that trying to knock us, perhaps get all the facts and lets work to improve animal outcomes.

And finally I make no apologies for defending RSPCA. We do some amazing things with next to no money and a magical team of people, paid and volunteer.

smeeagain said :

If you get a list of dogs each Monday who are scheduled for the Wednesday euthanasia and go and rescue those dogs, why are DAS still putting dogs down each Wednesday? Why are the rescue groups begging people to go in and rescue the dogs who still remain on the list at lunchtime on Tuesdays?

You’re being pretty unfair here – DAS put dogs down because they don’t have unlimited kennel space and have new dogs coming in all the time. Same for the rescue groups, who can’t save every dog because they don’t have the space. The RSPCA operate under exactly the same constraints. Too many dogs, not enough kennels. It seems unreasonable to expect the RSPCA to somehow be able to achieve the impossible and do what every other animal welfare group can’t.

Skidbladnir said :

creative_canberran said :

Note for RSPCA ACT: It would be decent if you put something more recent than three year old Annual Reports online…

I don’t know how you missed it, but the 09/10 annual report is here http://issuu.com/cre8ive/docs/rspca_act_annual_report2010?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

I guess the 10/11 annual report will go on their website when it is published…

I thought the banning of fireworks was supposed to end stray dogs escaping houses and roaming the streets.

If this isnt the case – bring our fireworks back!

If you get a list of dogs each Monday who are scheduled for the Wednesday euthanasia and go and rescue those dogs, why are DAS still putting dogs down each Wednesday? Why are the rescue groups begging people to go in and rescue the dogs who still remain on the list at lunchtime on Tuesdays?

I think you need to rethink your perception of what funding from the Government is Mr Linke. I’m sure that a freedom of information request would rapidly reveal that your statement that you are not funded is blatantly incorrect.

The site that you currently occupy? Paying market rental rates for that are you?

The new site that you hope to occupy when the housing development pushes you out? How is that going to be funded? How are you going to build your new shelter? From donations from the general public? Or are you going to gratefully take the money from the Government and then publicly state, yet again, that you receive no funding from the Government.

What do you do with the money you receive from the Government Mr Linke if you’re not using it for the cats? Do you only channel it into the stray dogs in your care that you believe should be at DAS?

As others have stated, the washing machine was obtained through rescue group intervention, not RSPCA intervention.

As others have stated, any vaccination costs you encounter are passed on to DAS, they don’t come out of your budget.

There are several rescue groups in the ACT region who accept and rehome cats. But you forgot to mention that there is a financial arrangement between you and the local government to provide that care for the cats, as DAS doesn’t have the facilities to house cats.

laughtong said :

shadow boxer said :

What an extraordinary rant from the CEO of a (largely) government funded organisation. All I got from it was the relationship between DAS, the Minister and the RSPCA is in tatters and this is clearly the remit of the respective CEO’s..

The point being that the RSPCA is doing a lot of the work that GovCo should be doing – it is part of the resposibilities of GovCo. RSPCA here are getting little government funding. Certainly not funding comensurate with the work they are untaking.

DAS is also severely underfunded and is having to close some days of the week.

GovCo is who you should be complaining to – complain loud and long to make them fund their animal management responsibilites at levels which will alloiw the work to be undertake properly and not rely on a charity to do it for them.

The RSPCA do a lot of work on behalf of the Government, and receive funding for it. They have an arrangment specifically in relation to the cats, as stated earlier in this post.

As I stated at the beginning of my original post, I am a supporter of the RSPCA, having had the pleasure of sharing my home with several animals from there over the years.

I’m not a fan of the smoke and mirrors employed by Mr Linke and the constant criticism he directs to local government agencies, who are trying to do the same job they are, without the benefit of the public donations that the RSPCA receives.

creative_canberran said :

As for RSPCA, they are not “largely” government funded, in fact I think a very small percentage of their income comes from government grants. And regardless of the sum of government support, how exactly is it “extraordinary” for the CEO of an organisation to defend that organisation in which they invest themselves? Are you advocating for some vale of silence to fall over any organisation who receives government funds. How does that work with ensuring responsible government?

Having not had the opportunity to audit RSPCA, I can’t say for sure what their financial position is.
Here is their FY2011-12 Budget Consultation Submission.
Consider it something of a quick executive overview of Government Services that RSPCA provides the ACT via contract.

As far as I can tell, their grants receipts are a significantly smaller portion of incomes than direct contracted service delivery, and their FY2008-09 Annual Report indicates that in FY07-08 total receipts from grants (ACT Govco or otherwise) were less than a third of retailed service total incomes (for a 20% contribution to verall operating profit), and in FY08-09 grants were a smidge over half retailed service incomes (for an 11% contribution to overall operating profit).
The largest single source of expenditure was staffing to support service provision (just shy of 50%).
Both years still experienced shortfall due to expenditure exceeding overall incomes, and larger than expected requirements for service provision (especially cats…).

Note for RSPCA ACT: It would be decent if you put something more recent than three year old Annual Reports online…

I think most people are fairly well aware that RSPCA sometimes transfer strays to DAS – in fact, the staff tell you as much when you drop one off. It’s pretty well publicised, and hardly what I’d call a secret. Until a fairy waves its magic wand and grants them unlimited resources and an unending supply of empty kennels, short of euthanising healthy dogs transferring them is probably the only practical option.

Supplementary to my post, the most recent figures I have place ACT Government support for the RSPCA at under 10%.

*So when we transfer the stray dog that has escaped its backyard four times, or the undesexed stray that has presented for the third time or the aggressive dog still not being controlled by irresponsible owners and we say, “hey DAS can you take this dog and enforce the ACT legislation (which RSPCA is not authorised to do) and try to improve the overall welfare for this case” you think we are doing something wrong. Give me a break.*

But I just noticed that those dogs mentioned in the OP are up for adoption? Which means they will be euthanised if they are not adopted within 7 days.

One would think that surrendered dogs and unclaimed strays would be treated the same way? Not claiming your dog if it has run off is just a very cowardly way of surrendering it, I would’ve thought.

Obviously there is some politics at play here, but from where I stand the dogs are still the biggest losers in all this.

creative_canberran said :

shadow boxer said :

What an extraordinary rant from the CEO of a (largely) government funded organisation. All I got from it was the relationship between DAS, the Minister and the RSPCA is in tatters and this is clearly the remit of the respective CEO’s.

Oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks……

Rednecks… the one bit of evidence against both evolution and creationism at the same time.

At home fireworks = childish play things for the same crowd who like grey hound racing and monster trucks after a meal at Hooters.

As for RSPCA, they are not “largely” government funded, in fact I think a very small percentage of their income comes from government grants. And regardless of the sum of government support, how exactly is it “extraordinary” for the CEO of an organisation to defend that organisation in which they invest themselves? Are you advocating for some vale of silence to fall over any organisation who receives government funds. How does that work with ensuring responsible government?

So you dont actually know how much govt funding they get ?, let me assur you it is a lot.

The maverick rednecks here appear to be the animal welfare industries more interested in fighting amongst themselves than getting together for the greater good.

Greyhound racing ? wtf ?, rednecks to me generally own pitbulls.

Wow, that sounded overly defensive and the tone was quite patronising. Just a factual reply would have sufficed.

Fair enough that they transfer dogs to DAS if they can be reunited with their owner and appropriate action taken to try and ensure they don’t end up in care again.

Still, without the various volunteers working with DAS, a lot more dogs would be euthanised there. That’s not to say the RSPCA doesn’t do a great job too. I didn’t know about them rescuing dogs from DAS though.

I got my first dog from the RSPCA. She’d was an unclaimed stray that had been there for 6 weeks. I was very grateful that the RSPCA saved her so I got to enjoy her company for the 10 years before she died recently.

shadow boxer said :

What an extraordinary rant from the CEO of a (largely) government funded organisation. All I got from it was the relationship between DAS, the Minister and the RSPCA is in tatters and this is clearly the remit of the respective CEO’s.

Oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks……

Rednecks… the one bit of evidence against both evolution and creationism at the same time.

At home fireworks = childish play things for the same crowd who like grey hound racing and monster trucks after a meal at Hooters.

As for RSPCA, they are not “largely” government funded, in fact I think a very small percentage of their income comes from government grants. And regardless of the sum of government support, how exactly is it “extraordinary” for the CEO of an organisation to defend that organisation in which they invest themselves? Are you advocating for some vale of silence to fall over any organisation who receives government funds. How does that work with ensuring responsible government?

shadow boxer said :

What an extraordinary rant from the CEO of a (largely) government funded organisation. All I got from it was the relationship between DAS, the Minister and the RSPCA is in tatters and this is clearly the remit of the respective CEO’s..

The point being that the RSPCA is doing a lot of the work that GovCo should be doing – it is part of the resposibilities of GovCo. RSPCA here are getting little government funding. Certainly not funding comensurate with the work they are untaking.

DAS is also severely underfunded and is having to close some days of the week.

GovCo is who you should be complaining to – complain loud and long to make them fund their animal management responsibilites at levels which will alloiw the work to be undertake properly and not rely on a charity to do it for them.

What an extraordinary rant from the CEO of a (largely) government funded organisation. All I got from it was the relationship between DAS, the Minister and the RSPCA is in tatters and this is clearly the remit of the respective CEO’s.

Oh yeh, and bring back my fireworks……

Great post Michael. I’m a bit dubious about the RSPCA in other states and territories but I’m a big fan of the work that you and the RSPCA do here in the ACT. I hope you keep up the good work – thank you for posting with such clarity and so factually. I hope it gets through to a few people.

I like your style, Mr Linke.
*tips hat*

‘Did you know, Smeeagain, that our staff go to DAS and collect dogs on the euthanasia list?’

RSPCA staff have not taken any dogs from DAS for a number of months now so this is not true.

‘Did you know, Smeeagain, that pressure from RSPCA helped DAS staff to acquire a washing machine?’

This is not true the DAS Volunteers actually were the ones that pushed for this. All we need now is for the Govt to actually give DAS more funding so they can hire more staff so they might have time to actually be able to use the machine!!!!

‘Did you know, Smeeagain, that every dog RSPCA sends to DAS is vaccinated before we send it to protect against is disease? In 2010/11 we did this at our own expense.’

Again that was true months ago but from what I have heard you are no longer orividing that service unless DAS pay the RSPCA

‘Did you know, Smeeagain, that I get a list of all dogs scheduled for euthanasia from a private source every Monday morning and we review each of these dogs and get many of them back to RSPCA ACT?’

Repeating yourself this is not true anymore.

‘Did you know, Smeeagain, that RSPCA DOES NOT send our euthanasia cases to DAS. Heaven forbid, my staff and volunteers would lynch me. Have you seen this process in action at DAS and RSPCA? If you did you would know that this would never happen. We are serious about animal welfare, we are honest about what we do and we are mature – we never, ever shift this aspect of our business. For you to suggest it simply shows your entire tirade to be false and misleading and designed to damage me and or RSPCA. ‘

I believe Smeeagain actually pointed out that she fully supports the work that the RSPCA does, it would be nice to just have all the facts.

Based on what you have written should we expect that the RSPCA will be going to DAS on Monday to pick up the 10 or more dogs that have not yet found rescue???

Also on a side note in regards to Lucky the courageous War hero, the RSPCA have in the past also released dogs to the Air Force so people in glass houses.

A couple of more points…

RSPCA ACT is the only place in Canberra to take stray cats. Again, this is another local council responsibility, however RSPCA cares for every stray and surrendered cat in Canberra, with no direct government funding for this service.

With regard to pest control, RSPCA today uses the most humane products available.

As humans we too recognise the service of our fallen soldiers, that however does not stop people from protesting or speaking out against war in general.

Perhaps rather than criticising RSPCA – an organisation that largely does good in our society people should work with us and assist solve some of our animal welfare problems in Canberra. I know the animals would appreciate it.

Michael Linke
CEO
RSPCA ACT

Hi Smeeagain and others. It’s Michael Linke here, CEO of RSPCA ACT.

It never ceases to amaze me how uninformed people are, despite me talking about this issue for a number of years, both in the media and here on the Riot Act. So here it goes again for those of you who still think what Smeeagain has said is accurate.

Lucky
With regard to this issue, RSPCA has in place a national policy that precludes any RSPCA shelter from rehoming animals into potentially dangerous situations. See our policy here:

http://kb.rspca.org.au/RSPCA-Policy-C01-Animals-in-sport-entertainment-recreation-and-work-general-principles_172.html

I was simply communicating that fact.

Rehoming Rates
What Smeeagain fails to note is that the only dogs ever transferred to DAS are stray dogs. CanberraGirl19 thinks we hide our euthanasia cases under the rug, this is quite simply rubbish. Stray dogs that remain at RSPCA after seven days become ours and stay with us until we get an outcome. We never transfer a long-term dog to DAS.

Smeeagain, and our Minister, Simon Corbell, both think it is OK for RSPCA ACT to undertake work on stray dogs, which is the role of a local council, at RSPCA ACT’s expense.

All being equal all strays should go to DAS and RSPCA should look after all other dogs. This is a point not accepted by our minister – see it’s cheaper for him to allow RSPCA to do the work of a local council pound and not fund us for this work because he knows we will do it as we are focused on animal welfare and we would never want a dog to suffer.

So when we transfer the stray dog that has escaped its backyard four times, or the undesexed stray that has presented for the third time or the aggressive dog still not being controlled by irresponsible owners and we say, “hey DAS can you take this dog and enforce the ACT legislation (which RSPCA is not authorised to do) and try to improve the overall welfare for this case” you think we are doing something wrong. Give me a break.

Did you know, Smeeagain, that our staff go to DAS and collect dogs on the euthanasia list?

Did you know, Watson, that we do work with rescue groups and we have a positive and healthy relationship with all of the groups in Canberra?

Did you know, CanberraGirl19, that we do publish how many dogs get transferred to DAS in our annual report and have done for a few years. We don’t hide behind anything and we don’t keep it a secret. The fact is the management of stray dogs is a local government responsibility.

Did you know, Smeeagain, that RSPCA ACT has donated food, bedding, training, support, advice and our entire volunteer program to DAS at no cost?

Did you know, Smeeagain, that pressure from RSPCA helped DAS staff to acquire a washing machine?

Did you know, Smeeagain, that every dog RSPCA sends to DAS is vaccinated before we send it to protect against is disease? In 2010/11 we did this at our own expense.

Did you know, Smeeagain, that I get a list of all dogs scheduled for euthanasia from a private source every Monday morning and we review each of these dogs and get many of them back to RSPCA ACT?

Did you know, Smeeagain, that RSPCA DOES NOT send our euthanasia cases to DAS. Heaven forbid, my staff and volunteers would lynch me. Have you seen this process in action at DAS and RSPCA? If you did you would know that this would never happen. We are serious about animal welfare, we are honest about what we do and we are mature – we never, ever shift this aspect of our business. For you to suggest it simply shows your entire tirade to be false and misleading and designed to damage me and or RSPCA.

Beserk, I refer you to our widespread live export campaign.

2010/11 Figures
During the last financial year DAS transferred 67 animals to RSPCA; 24 dogs, 17 puppies, 13 cats, 8 kittens, 1 ferret, 4 guinea pigs.

RSPCA also received 3,509 stray animals; 1,081 dogs, 216 puppies, 868 cats, 1,022 kittens, 99 birds, 15 ferrets, 50 chickens, 8 goats, 7 guinea pigs, 114 rabbits, 17 rodents, 3 sheep and 2 domesticated lizards.

So 1,297 dogs/puppies that were stray. Or in other words ones that should be looked after by the local council pound.

Of the strays we reunited 923 lost dogs and puppies with their owners. Or we did 71% of DAS’s work for them and found owners.

Where this wasn’t possible, or the dog was a repeat offender, or there were other concerns regarding ownership we sent the dog to DAS to work with. This happened with 219 dogs and no puppies. A net transfer of some 195 (219 minus the 24 they sent us), or 182 if you include puppies.

DAS work with about 2,000 dogs, so less than 10% of DAS’s intake is from RSPCA for legitimate, considered reasons. DAS claims its homing rate is 95%, similar to RSPCA. So one would surmise that most of these dogs in fact went back to their owners. DAS only euthanase 5% of dogs, or 100 dogs last financial year based on this estimate – I don’t know DAS’s figures, so this is purely a guess.

It would seem, Smeeagain, that very few, if any of the dogs RSPCA send to DAS are actually euthanased based on these figures.

I invite you into RSPCA Smeeagain so you can see all of the facts and continue your support of RSPCA.

Michael Linke
CEO RSPCA ACT

Couldn’t agree more, the public are not being told the whole truth. Currently there are pups under 6 months at DAS apparently another thing that the RSPCA would not allow to happen.

Beserk Keyboard Warrior said :

The RSPCA is the protector of all animals… so long as they’re cute and fluffy.

Too true – when I phoned RSPCA Canberra to get advice about humane pest control a few years ago the office worker told me that they poison rats on their premises with standard cruel commercial baits, and she was horrified.

It’s probably also worth noting that the RSPCA awarded Sarbi the bomb dog its “most prestigious animal bravery award .., the Purple Cross” a few months ago: http://www.rspca.org.au/news/rspca-awards-sarbi-the-purple-cross.html

It seems a bit odd that the RSPCA awarded this medal to the dog for her “service to humans” in Afghanistan, yet criticises the deployment of other bomb dogs to Afghanistan…

The RSPCA is the protector of all animals… so long as they’re cute and fluffy.

The RSPCA has done this for years. They stand there all high and mighty and proclaim how they never euthanise dogs, and then shove under the rug the fact that they give dogs to DAS on a regular basis.

I’m a huge fan of animal rescue organisations and the work they do, but the RSPCA seems to be turning into an Australian PETA.

I noticed that the other day when I was looking at the dogs on the DAS website. Meant to ask the RSPCA staff about it as I went there to look for a dog.

I wonder also why they do not seem to work with the local rescue organisations. They have one dog there that has been there for so long (talking years – can’t remember how many) that there is little chance he’ll ever be rehabilitated again.

There does indeed seem to be some room for improvement there. And especially because surely their ‘no euthanasia’ policy is one of the reasons why they get so many donations from the public. While DAS has to make do on a tiny budget.