Backyard breeding inundating Port Macquarie Animal Shelter with abandoned animals
A New South Wales shelter has hit its capacity and no longer has the room to take in stray animals.
Eleven great danes are the latest dogs to be surrendered at the already overrun Port Macquarie Animal Shelter.
Acting team leader Karissa Wood said it is the fourth litter the shelter has received from the same property in 10 months.
“We know there have been seven litters in the past three years,” she said.
Woods said a lack of responsibility from backyard breeders is part of the problem.
“From the age of three months to six months, please de-sex them to stop any unwanted breeding,” she said.
“We understand people are trying to breed and make money from it. It’s not working.”
There are more than 50 animals currently on the shelter’s waitlist and two more puppy litters.
The shelter is beyond its maximum capacity.
“At the moment we have 16 kennels, however we have 21 animals in the facility so we’re still pushed,” Woods said.
“We still need to have space for stray animals that need to come in and we don’t have that space anymore.”
But it’s not only the playful pups in strife.
The shelter receives 10 phone calls a day from owners surrendering cats too.
This includes a seven-week-old kitten named Lady Luck, who was dumped in a bush outside the facility three days ago.
While in the right hands, the shelter is warning those who dump animals face serious legal repercussions.
“Please do the humane thing – do not dump them,” Woods said.
“Do the right thing by these animals. You are breeding animals faster than we can save them.”
