Hunter animal watch inc

Hunter Animal Watch has been in existence for eleven years. Over this time we have given financial help to spay/neuter over sixteen thousand animals belonging to pensioners/low income earners in the Lower Hunter. Two thousand of these occurred in the last 12 months.

It is worth mentioning that some of the vets who participate in our programme now practice early age desexing, which means that many animals can be desexed at a younger age than was previously the case.

The vast oversupply of cats is an ongoing concern. We call on local councils and the Department of Local Government to address this issue with public education programmes. People just do not realise the speed with which cats breed and the dangers to wildlife posed by domestic cats belonging to owners who do not limit the number of cats in their households, do not desex their animals and do not keep them confined at night. These cats as well as dumped and feral cats, are a concern from both the animal welfare and environmental points of view.

We hope very much that the Animals (Regulation of Sale) Bill introduced to the NSW Parliament by Clover Moore MP will become law before too long. The effect of this would prohibit the sale of dogs, cats and other mammals in pet shops, fairs and markets. Something certainly needs to be done when a very conservative estimate is that 60,000 unwanted animals are destroyed in NSW every year. Not to mention animals that are simply abandoned to fend for themselves. Many of these animals have been bought on an emotional whim by people with little idea of what pet ownership involves.

Ms Moore’s initiative is strongly supported by the Say No To Animals in Pet Shops campaign. Visit www.saynotoanimalsinpetshops.com Why buy an animal from a pet shop when there are hundreds of animals in shelters and pounds waiting for homes? If no homes are found, these animals will be put down.

The Animal Welfare League of Queensland has initiated a national programme to help pensioners with the cost of pet desexing. Hunter Animal Watch is part of this.

funding for our programme

Our funding comes almost entirely from our Op Shop which is staffed by our faithful volunteers, and we cannot thank them enough.

We would like to acknowledge financial donations during the last 12 months from Cessnock, Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens Councils, from the Winsome Constance Kindness Trust and from a number of our supporters. We are so grateful to you all.

Hunter animal watch shop

Our shop is at 139A Beaumont Street, Hamilton, and is open Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 4pm and on Saturdays from 9.30am to 12.30pm. There is a range of good quality clothing and plenty of interesting bric-a-brac and gift items. At this time of year we have excellent pet coats and blankets We stock genuine free-range eggs. Our shop also engraves pet ID disks, at a cost of $2 each. This can be the speediest way to re-unite pet and owner should an animal stray or become lost. A particularly delightful feature of our shop are the many dogs who, when strolling along Beaumont Street with their owners, call in for a liver treat or biscuit. They will not pass our doorway and have no hesitation in putting their front paws on the counter and saying “Where is it?”

Saleable items are always welcome at our shop. And we also need volunteers to work in the shop. It is a friendly and interesting place to spend time, and an easy and valuable way to help animals. If you have a bit of time, perhaps a day a month, and would like to discuss further, call any of the numbers at the top of this Newsletter.

Campaigns we support

Campaigning and lobbying are important features of our work, and among the issues we work for are:

To ban live exports of sheep and cattle to the Middle East. This is an issue about which Australians feel strongly, and hundreds of people have signed an Animals Australia petition on our shop counter stating their opposition to the trade. These signatures are sent to Animals Australia and form part of the over 217,000 signatures collected nationally. To learn more, visit www.animalsaustralia.org

How much more evidence does the Federal Government need that the community will not tolerate the cruelty involved in live export? During a radio interview in February 2007, Mr. Kevin Rudd, then Opposition Leader, was asked to comment on footage of cruelty to exported animals filmed by Animals Australia in the Middle East. He said:

“I cannot abide animal cruelty and if there was anything which lies within the Commonwealth’s powers to make sure that sort of abuse does not occur within the industry, let me assure you, it will happen.

· A ban on rodeo/bull-riding events. Many animals are traumatised and/or severely injured in this mindless form of “entertainment”, which is already banned in several western countries.

· We support the World Society for the Protection of Animals and Animals Asia campaigns to free the bears in Asia kept in tiny cages for their entire lives so that bile can be extracted for traditional medicines. It is of huge concern that many bear farms are in the Chinese earthquake region, and are part of the terrible suffering of that country at the present time. To learn more visit www.animalsasia.org

This year the service will be on 12^th October, 2008, at 6pm. Do please come along, and bring your animals with you.

Hunter Animal Watch website

Donations

Thank You

Once again, it is our great pleasure to acknowledge the contribution of everyone who helps Hunter Animal Watch – our volunteers, those who give us sale items for the shop, those who make handicraft for us to sell, and, of course, our customers. And to the vets and their staff, a very special thank you for your willingness to be part of our effort.