AIAM Annual Conference on urban animal management
Mercure Hotel
Geelong Victoria
13-16 October 2009
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THURSDAY 15 OCTOBER
WHO SHOULD BE PAYING FOR ANIMAL MANAGEMENT?
Dr Richard Murray 1
1 President AIAM, 2 Principal veterinarian WSVC, 3 Member and fellow AVA
With the provision of most kinds of customer service, there is a direct relationship between what the customer pays and what the customer gets. In most cases the products themselves are discreet, they are well defined and they are relatively easily valued. It is a system in which consumers decide for themselves, which products they want and how much they are prepared to pay. It is a conventional matter of supply and demand and “user pays”.
Virtually none of these principles has application for urban animal management. This service is not well defined and nor is it well understood by the public. It is not a single product but a complex combination of many separate “user group” components. It is not an “optional access” service and there is no choice of provider available to the consumer.
It can be argued that current processes for funding urban animal management are (by and large) arbitrary, inequitable, non-transparent and inadequate. This paper looks anew at the idea of “user pays” for animal management. It is intended to serve as a stimulus for review.
DOG ATTACKS - TO LEASH OR NOT TO LEASH
Dr Tony Pearson 1, Mr John Darzanos
1 City Of Onkaparinga, 2 City of Salisbury
The City of Salibury and the City of Onkaparinga are both large Metropolitan Council located on the urban fringe of Adelaide. Salisbury is located in the north, Onkaparinga in the south.
Since 2002 all of the reserves within the city of Salisbury have been designated on leash (except for declared dog parks).
All of the reserves within the city of Onkaparinga are on leash.
Salisbury and Onkaparinga have recently commenced a benchmarking exercise to compare dog attack statistics for the past 5 years.
This exercise will not only compare raw dog attack statistics but will also provide comparison of the location of the attack, breed of dog, severity of the attack, description of the victim etc.
This presentation will deliver some valuable comparison of number and type of dog attacks in council with very different leash laws.
DEFINING THE TERM AMICABILITY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VALID AND RELIABLE TEST OF AMICABILITY IN DOGS
Tammie King, Linda Marston, Pauleen Bennett
Anthrozoology Research Group, Animal Welfare Science Centre, Monash University
Identifying personality factors and situational variables associated with biting behaviour will help predict which dogs are most likely to bite in specific situations. However, what is urgently needed is an easy-to-administer test that enables measurement of the overall behavioural tendencies of each individual dog in a way that is transparent and defendable. Recently we conducted a survey of the Australian public to identify the characteristics of their ‘ideal dog’. It was found that most people consider a dog that exhibits amicable personality characteristics to be most desirable. As a personality dimension, amicability consists of five attributes; easy going, friendly, non aggressive, relaxed and sociable. In consultation with a panel of experts we devised a standardised protocol to assess amicability. This test involves exposing a dog to an unfamiliar environment and an unfamiliar person in the presence and then absence of the dog’s owner. The dog’s behaviour is video recorded and later analysed for specific behavioural sequences. We are currently testing a large number of dogs, drawn from the Victorian community, using this protocol, to see if specific behavioural sequences are associated with owner and expert reports of the behavioural predispositions of the dog. If successful, this project will provide a scientifically validated test of amicability, able to be used by trained assessors to evaluate dogs in a rigorous, transparent and defendable manner. In this presentation we will discuss our preliminary results and identify areas where further development is required.
DOG ASSESSMENT NOW AND IN THE FUTURE
Pauleen Bennett
Director, Anthrozoology Research Group, Animal Welfare Science Centre, Monash University
There are two behaviour assessment circumstances relevant to animal management. Firstly, there is pre-retail / rehoming assessment for dogs with no particular previous history of dangerousness. Secondly, when appropriate, there is post-incident assessment of dogs that have officially been deemed to have behaved dangerously. It is of considerable concern that existing tests of canine behaviour are unable to, with any degree of certainty, predict the future behaviour of individual dogs. While suitable tests of personality and behaviour are currently being developed, the development and validation process for these tests is extensive, expensive, and likely to take several years.
This leaves Animal Management Officers in the unacceptable position of having to make decisions concerning potentially dangerous dogs on the basis of intuition, seriously flawed tests and unreliable owner and observer reports. Adequately defending such decisions is impossible and the consequences could be grave; dogs who fail existing assessment protocols may be wrongly subjected to constraints on their movements or even euthanasia, those who pass may be unsafe, potentially causing serious injury or even human fatality.
Psychologists confront similar issues when working with people who have disorders of mental health that may lead them to act inappropriately or even dangerously. In this presentation methods for dealing with these issues, primarily through appropriate documentation and peer-review processes, will be discussed. It will also be suggested that stronger collaborations be developed between people working in the field who have hands-on knowledge and experience, behavioural scientists who understand the rules of assessment, and policy makers who determine how the outcomes are utilised.
DANGEROUS DOG DATABASE - WHAT CAN IT DOW, HOW COULD WE USE IT BETTER?
Tracey Helman
Manager, Policy & Education, Bureau of Animal Welfare Victoria
The Dangerous Dogs Database in Victoria was established by the Bureau of Animal Welfare as a reporting system to address section 44AB of the Domestic (Feral and Nuisance) Animals Act 1994- which states that "The Secretary must keep a register of dangerous and menacing dogs and dogs that have been declared to be restricted breed under this Act", that was added to the Act in 2004. The database is a tool that Authorised Officers of Councils use to provide the required regulated, information to the Secretary. The database provides a 'real-time' snapshot to the Secretary on the location and status of dangerous, menacing and restricted breed dogs in the State of Victoria. The database has recently been updated and functions are still under utilised with this powerful tool. We will discuss the use of the database, the information available and how it could be most effectively used by councils and government.
IMPORTANCE OF PROCEDURES RELATING TO DOG ATTACKS INVOLVING DEATH OF PEOPLE
Mr Steve Larsen
Pittwater Council, NSW
New South Wales experiences with dog attacks involving death of people.
In New South Wales in recent times there have been a number of incidents where dogs have attacked and killed humans.
An elderly lady at Bathurst was attacked and killed allegedly by her daughters dogs where she was scalped by 3 dogs used for hunting. Later it was found in a the coroners enquiry that the dogs that allegedly attacked and killed the lady were not the offenders.
A young girl was bitten on the neck and died when attacked by her grandfathers cross dingo.
A young girl entered a neighbour’s property and was attacked and killed by dogs used for hunting
A young child was attacked and killed by 3 dogs and during the same attack another child suffered horrific injuries and the owner suffered injuries during the attack.
Most Councils do not have a procedure for dealing with these matters as there is no expectation that this will happen in their Council area. Councils have been criticised in the Coroners Court.
During the Bathurst Coroners enquiry it became evident that the record keeping including all complaint regarding dogs straying and dogs showing aggression are recorded in the Councils complaint system and the importance of comments regarding the follow-up of all complaints regarding dogs.
The Council Ranger in question was questioned over 3 days that involved the production of all complaints, diaries and notebooks back to 1991. The officer was questioned regarding the competency of the officer and the allegations that Council does not follow up dog complaints.
The Police who were the primary investigation authority in the death were asked if the dogs bodies were by Council or the dog organs from the autopsy were kept. The dogs bodies nor their organs from the autopsy were kept although the Council asked the police if they should keep the bodies and organs. The non-keeping of the bodies or organs was decided to be an error at the coroner’s inquest.
Councils should have a procedure for the relationship between the Police and Council should a person be killed by dog/s.
REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENTS OF CAT MANAGEMENT AND MICROCHIPPING OF COMPANION ANIMALS - THE OPTIONS, TEH COSTS AND THE PROCESS
Dr Deb Kelly
Dog And Cat Management Board
Cats … They have been with humans since the early civilisations yet they have been the curse of the environment in every situation in which humans introduced them. Why did they introduce them wherever they colonised? Because cats are brilliant pets, and brilliant predators and an incredible nuisance. They are incredible animals.
They have been revered as gods, they have been cursed as the companions of witches. They have been immortalised and vilified. They are kept to reduce neighbourhood pests but are neighbourhood pests themselves. They are wild, beautiful, dependent and ugly. They are cats.
How does a government regulate a creature that is this complex and evokes more human emotion than almost any other social or environmental issue? The simple answer is that it is not simple.
That is the challenge faced by all Australian governments and that the Dog and Cat Management Board is trying to resolve in South Australia. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process undertaken by the Board and the regulatory impact assessments we commissioned. It will describe the things we have done, what we have learnt doing them and how we are trying to try to get it right. Maybe in a few years we will be able to tell you whether or not we succeeded
IS THE VIRTUAL CAMPUS FOR ANIMAL MANAGEMENT OFFICER TRAINING A REALITY?
Dr David Jones
TAFESA Veterinary And Applied Science Centre
Following the challenge raised at the last conference in Darwin by Peter Chandler, this paper explores further the concept of a Virtual Academy for Animal Management Officers. A brief précis will be given on how AMO training is delivered overseas. From a plethora of existing information it will draw together a precise statement about the following issues. The value of training to the AMO and their employer will be researched and presented in order to initiate a training culture in our Local Government Organisations. The qualifications available will be explored and related to the roles and career paths of the AMO to assist in their choices. To complete the picture an overview will be given of the Registered Training Organisations which current have scope to offer these qualifications together with an explanation of terms such as recognition of prior learning and traineeships. From this a conclusion will be drawn as to how the current delivery of these qualifications relates to the virtual academy concept.
THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY: ANIMALS, AMALGAMATIONS AND ALIGNMENTS
Dr Ann-Marie Boyd
Coordinator Compliance & Animal Management, Moreton Bay Regional Council Qld
In March 2008 the Caboolture, Pine Rivers and Redcliffe local governments were amalgamated to form Moreton Bay Regional Council. The new council area covers 2011 sq km, and has a population of 343,553. It is represented by a Mayor and 12 divisional Councillors. The region's growth rate of 4% means the area will be home to almost 490,000 people in 2026. There are some 65,000 dogs registered in MBRC and mandatory cat registration was added in July this year. Amalgamation has required the alignment of three sets of procedures, different systems and 97 local laws. This paper discusses some of the highs and lows of the ongoing alignment from an Animal Management perspective.
MORE THAN A FURRY COMPANION: CAN PETS STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS?
Tamara Shardlow
Petcare Information and Advisory Service
As part of a three year study, Dr Lisa Wood of the University of Western Australia researched the connection between pets and healthy neighbourhoods. Her findings were groundbreaking in that they measured the important role that pets play in building happy, safe communities; the kind of places that people want to live, work, visit and contribute to.
Her research also shows why municipalities that engage in Australia’s love of pets benefit from improved management of pets in parks, reduced incidents of animal euthanasia, higher compliance rates and fewer community complaints.
Case studies that demonstrate how pets have built community connections around Australia will be presented, including the “Just Walk Me” program run by the Gold Coast City Council, the Town of Kwinana’s “Dog Agility Park” initiative and the animal friendly policies and programs run by the City of Sydney.