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BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 12: Puppies look out of a van as they are evacuated from the RSPCA shelter at Fairfield on January 12, 2011 in Brisbane, Australia. Ten people so far have been confirmed dead in towns in the Lockyer Valley and many more are reported missing after devastating floods inundated the region. Evacuations are underway in several towns and suburbs in and around Brisbane with residents and emergency services fearing the worst floods in over 35 years.
A local Australian government is under fire and widespread criticism after it fatally shot 15 rescue dogs due to a council's interpretation of the region's COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
In the northwestern parts of New South Wales, the Bourke Shire Council shot and killed impounded pups. The decision was made to prevent volunteers at an animal shelter from traveling to adopt the animals last week. Officials opted for the brutal incident amid worries of allowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Fatal Shooting of Rescue Dogs
A spokesman for the Office of Local Government (OLG) said that the agency was informed that the council opted to take the drastic course of action to protect its employees and the community. They said that they wanted to keep aboriginal populations from being infected with the coronavirus.
The official also revealed that they were investigating to determine whether or not any animal cruelty laws were broken during the incident. However, sources said that shelter volunteers implemented COVID-safe measures to handle the killed dogs, one of which just gave birth, which made the killings unnecessary, the New York Post reported.
Emma Hurst, a state lawmaker from the Animal Justice Party, called the shootings "absolutely heartbreaking" as the animals were not even given the chance to find a home. The council also defended its decision by saying the pound was at capacity and that two of the dogs were aggressive toward each other and staff. Officials said they were unable to contact the person responsible for finding homes for the dogs before the decision was made.
Citing the level of vulnerability in the community, the council said the decision was made to prevent a possible COVID-19 outbreak by keeping people from other communities from entering Bourke. Currently, all regions in New South Wales are in lockdown as the region has observed a surge of coronavirus infections. On Saturday, officials recorded a high of 843 new cases while Bourke reported seven confirmed infections on Sunday night, USA Today reported.
Australia's Battle Against COVID-19
The incident comes as Australia struggles to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the region. While the nation implemented extremely strict border measures to drive the virus out, which made the country largely COVID-free since mid-2020, new case numbers have since skyrocketed.
The outbreak was attributed to a single case of the Delta variant, a highly transmissible strain of the original COVID-19. More than half of the country's nearly 25 million population have been placed on lockdown. Officials are conducting a slow vaccination program that has caused many residents to demand to know what went wrong.
Michael Toole, a professor at the Burnet Institute medical research center, said that for a time, the country was in a bit of a "COVID-free paradise." He argued that the situation caused people to become relaxed and complacent despite the ongoing threat of the pandemic. He said this was what caused the mess that the country is currently suffering from, NBC News reported.
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