'We are full': RSPCA ACT puts a pause on accepting surrenders and strays

The RSPCA ACT won’t accept surrendered or stray dogs for the next week as its shelter struggles with capacity.

The organisation announced late Tuesday afternoon (18 March) that it would temporarily stop accepting dogs until 25 March (next Tuesday).

CEO Michelle Robertson told Region the decision was made after 20 puppies were received in a single day.

The high number of animals at the shelter, combined with the newcomers needing to be quarantined for a health check, left “not even one single kennel spare”.

“It’s no small feat finding space in an already very full shelter,” Ms Robertson said.

“We have to make space to accommodate them, but we still need to keep them separate from the other dogs that we have.”

Other regular RSPCA ACT services remain uninterrupted.

Some puppies in the shelter’s care will be available for adoption throughout the week, while others will take a holiday from the shelter and become fosters.

“I feel pretty confident that by next week, we’d have fosters on board, and we’d have adopted dogs out, so it’ll be business as usual,” she said.

Ms Robertson said euthanising the dogs was “absolutely not” an option.

“We never euthanise for space,” she said.

Ms Robertson said the RSPCA couldn’t rule out rejecting surrenders at a later date.

“We are full. We have so many animals. If the trend continues where we get such a large number of puppies coming in at the same time, and we already have a full shelter, we will probably have to do the same in the future.”

RSPCA ACT has long warned it was struggling to find room at the shelter.

In late January, Ms Robertson told Region that the Weston facility was no longer fit for purpose.

She said the ACT faced an animal crisis that the current shelter could not cope with, from its cramped veterinary facilities to the animal accommodation.

RSPCA ACT has been dealing with an unusually high number of animals at the shelter.

“The number of young coming into the shelter has been consistently growing over the past 12 to 18 months,” she said.

“It does seem to be across the board.”

Ms Robertson said 215 puppies had come to the shelter already this financial year, compared to 205 in the previous one.

She added that if people were thinking about surrendering an animal, advance notice helps to create better outcomes.

“Please reach out. Help is available, but it might not be immediate,” she said.

“We have such a long list that we need to help other people first, who maybe have come to us before [other people had].”

In 2022, the ACT Government identified a site in Pialligo for a new facility, which was set to include larger buildings and enclosed dog kennels.

However, the chosen site on the southern side of Section 14, Block 2 in Pialligo, proved problematic due to the identified presence of the legless striped lizard and natural temperate grassland.

A government spokesperson said the design of the RSPCA facility initially commenced on the southern part of the new site, but in 2023, additional ecological studies and investigations were required as part of the environmental approvals for the project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conversation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

In early 2024, it was decided to move the facility to the northern part of the site to ensure the protection of the natural temperate grassland and striped legless lizard. The new site also does not require approval under the EPBC Act.

The spokesperson also said $40 million was provisioned in the 2023-24 ACT Budget for the project.

Labor promised a new shelter in the 2020 election and identified the Pialligo site in 2022.

RSPCA ACT shelter is at 12 Kirkpatrick Street in Weston. To learn more about RSPCA pet adoption, visit RSPCA ACT.

Until 25 March (next Tuesday), stray or surrendered dogs can be taken to Domestic Animal Services (DAS). DAS has a shelter on Mugga Lane in Symonston. It’s open 10 am to 3 pm from Monday to Friday and 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday.