Rural Australian Town Kills Dogs Fearing Spread Of Coronavirus

New South Wales, Australia: A rural Australian government shot dogs who were on their way to an animal shelter in another town, fearing that the shelter’s personnel might transmit the coronavirus by traveling to pick up the animals.

According to sources, the Bourke Shire Council, a local government in the remote northwestern part of New South Wales, has killed shelter-bound dogs to protect its employees and community, including vulnerable Aboriginal populations from coronavirus.

The office raised concerns about the “risk of covid-19 transmission” if staff from an animal rehoming group in Cobar, some 125 miles south of Bourke Shire, had to go to pick up the dogs.

The office stated that it is “investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident,” including if the kills violated “animal and cruelty prevention laws.”

“Camp dogs” are frequently rehomed from isolated Indigenous communities in Australia to more populous ones. However, with the comeback of the coronavirus in Australia, contacts between rural and urban groups are fraught with concern about the virus’s potential spread.

These concerns are amplified in Indigenous communities, where the population has a higher prevalence of chronic health disorders, and medical resources are scarcer than in urban areas.

The state administration reminded councils last month that, according to a 1998 law governing pets, “before destroying a seized or surrendered animal, they must evaluate whether there is an alternative action.”

The state of New South Wales is in lockdown until the end of August, but personnel in “animal welfare, care, and accommodation services” are allowed to continue working.

It has also come to light that one of the dogs killed by the officials had recently given birth to a litter. The volunteers from the shelter were disgusted and horrified by the killings.

According to official data, over 4,800 coronavirus infections have been registered in New South Wales in the last week. At the same time, areas of Australia face limitations due to an outbreak fueled by the delta variety.

Nonetheless, according to government records, Bourke, where the dogs were murdered, has registered a total of seven coronavirus cases. In contrast, Cobar, where the shelter employees were stationed, has reported only one incidence.

Source: The New York Times