Email Reminders Increase the Frequency That Pet Owners Update Their Microchip Information

Stray and Owner-Relinquished Cats in Australia-Estimation of Numbers Entering Municipal Pounds, Shelters and Rescue Groups and Their Outcomes

Access to comprehensive municipal pound, animal welfare shelters, and rescue group data for admissions and outcomes for stray and owner-relinquished cats in Australia is currently lacking. This hinders effective assessment of existing management strategies for domestic cats by animal management agencies. Our study aimed to estimate the numbers of cat admissions and intakes to Australian municipal council pounds, animal welfare organizations (excluding smaller animal welfare organizations thought to have annual cat intakes of less than 500), and animal rescue groups and their respective outcomes for 2018-2019 (pre-COVID). Unavailable municipal council data were imputed based on known data and council human populations. Only Victoria and New South Wales had publicly available municipal data, and only RSPCA had publicly available data in all states. We estimated a total of 179,615 (7.2/1000 human residents) admissions to pounds, shelters, and rescue groups in 2018-2019, with an estimated 5% reclaimed, 65% rehomed, and 28% euthanized. Reclaim rates were low across all the agencies. Councils operating their own pound had nearly double the euthanasia rate (estimated at 46%) compared to animal welfare organizations (25%). Rescue groups rehomed an estimated 35% of the total number of cats rehomed by all agencies. The upper quartiles of councils with intakes of >50 cats in Victoria and New South Wales had estimated euthanasia rates from 73% to 98%, and 67% to 100%, respectively. We recommend that comprehensive municipal pound, shelter, and rescue statistics be routinely calculated using standardized methods and made available publicly in a timely fashion. This would inform management strategies to optimize live outcomes and therefore reduce the negative mental health impacts on staff tasked with euthanizing healthy and treatable cats and kittens.

The Implications of Policies on the Welfare of Free-Roaming Cats in New Zealand

A lack of national legislation for cat management in New Zealand poses challenges for ensuring that practices are consistently humane and effective. In this paper, we review the current cat management policies in New Zealand and the implications they have on the welfare of free-roaming cats (from here on, referred to as 'cats'). Our review demonstrates that there are multiple policy mechanisms used to manage cats in New Zealand for a variety of reasons, including animal welfare, pest management, and nuisance, and that these different policies have both positive and negative implications for cat welfare. We provide context pertaining to New Zealanders' acceptance of current or future laws and regulations and compare the New Zealand policy landscape with other countries, with a particular emphasis on Australia, to identify potential directions and outcomes of increased regulation. We discuss the future of the regulatory environment in New Zealand, including the need to better understand the impact of policies on cats, people, and other animals in urban, rural, and wild spaces. We further discuss the need to better understand the cat-human relationship for future policy decisions and offer a solution based on national cat legislation.

Man's best friend in life and death: scientific perspectives and challenges of dog brain banking

Biobanking refers to the systematic collection, storage, and distribution of pre- or post-mortem biological samples derived from volunteer donors. The demand for high-quality human specimens is clearly demonstrated by the number of newly emerging biobanking facilities and large international collaborative networks. Several animal species are relevant today in medical research; therefore, similar initiatives in comparative physiology could be fruitful. Dogs, in particular, are gaining increasing attention in translational research on complex phenomena, like aging, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, biobanks gathering and storing dog biological materials together with related data could play a vital role in translational and veterinary research projects. To achieve these aims, a canine biobank should meet the same standards in sample quality and data management as human biobanks and should rely on well-designed collaborative networks between different professionals and dog owners. While efforts to create dog biobanks could face similar financial and technical challenges as their human counterparts, they can widen the spectrum of successful collaborative initiatives towards a better picture of dogs’ physiology, disease, evolution, and translational potential. In this review, we provide an overview about the current state of dog biobanking and introduce the “Canine Brain and Tissue Bank” (CBTB)—a new, large-scale collaborative endeavor in the field.

Strategies to Reduce the Euthanasia of Impounded Dogs and Cats Used by Councils in Victoria, Australia

Using euthanasia to manage dog and cat overpopulation causes health issues and emotional stress in employees involved, increases staff turnover, and has financial, moral and ethical ramifications for communities. Welfare agencies and local government agencies (councils) share responsibility for managing companion animal populations. This study investigated Australian councils in the state of Victoria, to identify strategies used to reduce euthanasia. Statistics regarding animal populations, registration, intake, reclaim, rehome and euthanasia were obtained from the Domestic Animal Management Plan of each council. Of the 79 Victorian councils, 74% achieved ≤10% euthanasia of impounded dogs, which is widely quoted as zero euthanasia of adoptable and treatable animals. The mean euthanasia rates for cats by the councils was 48%, with only one council achieving a euthanasia rate of ≤10% for cats. Mean reclaim rates for dogs were higher (73%) than for cats (13%), as was the mean proportion of unclaimed dogs rehomed (71%), compared to cats (45%). Telephone questionnaires were conducted with animal management officers from 35 councils (44%). Those with low euthanasia rates had high reclaim rates and/or rehome rates. Reclaim, rehome and euthanasia rates for dogs and cats were not significantly different between councils that operated their own pound facilities and those that utilized the services of welfare organizations to operate pounds on behalf of the council. More council managers believed they would never achieve ≤10% euthanasia for cats (49%) than for dogs (11%). A variety of strategies were used by councils to achieve high reclaim and rehoming rates.