Bag of kittens 'left for dead' on Aussie beach
Rehoming centres say they will take any cat someone needs to give up but still frequently deal with the dumping of unwanted animals.
Five kittens were dumped on a beach and left in blistering 32-degree heat for hours on Saturday, with the litter only rescued by chance after a man stumbled upon the pet carrier with a 'free kittens' sign taped to it during his walk.
The seven-week old kittens were huddled together without food or water after being left by an unknown person at a beach in Perth – with the man unsure which beach it was where he found them. He contacted the local rehoming center Cat Haven and asked for assistance on what to do.
"He was like, 'I just found these kittens on the beach, they're a bit scared'," Marketing Officer Amber Ashford told Yahoo News. "It was a horrible situation for them to be in. No shade either in the full sun with just a jumper in the little carrier with them... they were left for dead."
Vets checked the kittens once they arrived at the centre and said they are "skinnier" than they would like but otherwise in good health.
Pet dumping a common issue faced by rehoming centres
There are several reasons why owners may choose to dump their pets rather than go through the correct surrender process, with shame and costs being the leading factors.
Most rehoming centres charge a surrender fee that goes toward the care of the animal being given up, with Cat Heaven charging $65 for each cat, but embarrassment and shame can hold people back from contacting a rehoming centre.
"We put out notices to say that we will take any cat... you're better leaving it at our doorstep than you are anywhere else," Ashford said, saying they hold "no judgement" towards those who can no longer look after their pets.
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The incident follows another dumping case where kittens were dumped inside a cardboard box last year, and a 17-year-old cat was found inside a bin near a supermarket, with the centre dealing with a handful of incidents like these every year.
It is not only cats which are dumped but dogs are frequently taken into rehoming centres after being found by members of the public as well as other animals, with a chicken found in January tied up in a yellow bag.
It is illegal to intentionally abandon an animal, with offenders facing up to $50,000 or imprisonment for five years if found guilty in Western Australia.
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