RSPCA full after weekend of mayhem

Canberra householders, pet owners and emergency services workers were left counting the cost as the smoke cleared from the city's annual weekend of fireworks.

The Queen's Birthday long weekend is the only time of the year Canberrans can legally buy and let off fireworks and they can only be used on private property from 5pm-9pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Domestic Animal Services reported that its inspectors, working 14-hour shifts, had picked up 70 dogs wandering the streets, while the RSPCA's shelter in Weston was unable to house the 42 lost pets reported to the society and was asking people in the community to care for pets until they were claimed by owners.

RSPCA chief executive Michael Linke said frantic pet owners had inundated the society's animal shelter to check on the welfare of their animals that had gone missing at the weekend.

'It's been flat chat all day with a constant stream of people coming through looking for their dogs,' Mr Linke said.

'The positive thing is that we've been doing very well in identifying and returning these pets because the message about identification and microchips seems to be getting through.'

Minister for Police and Emergency Services Simon Corbell, who pledged on Friday that police would crack down on fireworks' displays outside curfew times, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

The minister said before the weekend that the Government's policy on fireworks would be reviewed again this year.

Reference: The Canberra Times

Return to the index...

This article has been viewed 529 times.