WANDERING DOGS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29998, 6 December 1962, Page 13

WANDERING DOGS

By-law “Too Drastic”

Some borough councils in New Zealand had passed a by-law to permit dogs found on the street without a collar to be impounded, and immediately destroyed, said Miss M. B. Howard, M.P., president of' the Canterbury Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ammals. at its annual meeting. This drastic by-law, which had started in Hawke’s Bay (“I won’t name the council,” said Miss Howard), would be overruled by a clause in a Statutes Revision Bill, soon to come before Parliament. This clause would require wandering dogs to be kept for 28 days, and their finding advertised, before they could be destroyed. Miss Howard said she had received many letters from all parts of New Zealand about the drastic by-law. “Many dogs slip their collars—some of the most lovely and valuable dogs are likely to do this—and under these borough by-laws they could have been destroyed immediately,” she said. The by-law had been picked up by several councils. and had been likely to go much wider—hence the clause in the Statutes Revision Bill, Miss Howard said. Stray Cats Miss L Beaumont brought up “the sad and important problem” of people killing stray cats. There was no act of Parliament to stop this, she said. She quoted a specific case, which was enlarged on by the society’s inspector, Mr S. G. Holder. This had happened in October, 1961, said Mr Holder. The cat had strayed on to a man’s property, and he had taken an iron bar, hit it across the head, and killed it outright. “The man said he was within has rights,” said Mr Holder. “He was a former honorary S.P.CA. inspector —but not of our society.” Miss Beaumont: He ought to be ashamed of himself. On destroying unwanted kittens. Miss Beaumont said it was kinder to have them chloroformed before their eyes opened, rather than “giving them the needle.” A woman’s voice: It’s kinder to have the female cate speyed. Miss Howard agreed with this view. But it was impossible, she said, to bring in an act of Parliament saying that everybody who owned a female cat must have it speyed.