In conjunction with the Walgett Veterinary Clinic and the Walgett Shire Council, the RSPCA has been running the Community Animal Welfare Scheme (CAWS) in Lightning Ridge for the fifth year in a row this week.
Dr Ann-Margret Withers from the RSCPA said the scheme provided pensioners and low-income earners with assistance to get their animals vaccinated and desexed in an effort to control overpopulation in regional areas, where impounding numbers are essentially the same as the number of animals euthanased.
The scheme also involves an educational program, which will be run at the Lightning Ridge Central School in October, to foster long-term attitudinal changes to responsible pet ownership in the community.
Dr Withers and local ranger Andy Bostock both agreed there had been a dramatic decline in the number of animals being impounded since the scheme had begun.
Local veterinarian Dr Enid Coupé said she had also seen a decline in the number of incidences of Parvovirus as a result of the scheme; however, she admitted there was still a long way to go.
“I spend a lot of my time fixing animals that have been attacked by wandering dogs. It’s a serious problem in the shire which, up until recently, hadn’t been addressed properly,” she said.
Dr Withers estimated they would’ve operated on about 55 animals by the time they finished at the Ridge on Thursday afternoon.
Email a friend