Cruel find in bags dumped on side of Aussie road: 'They're alive'
A woman who found two bags dumped on her driveway was startled to discover what was inside.
A woman is appalled after two roosters were "disgracefully" dumped in enclosed bags on her driveway — highlighting a sad trend animal shelters are currently facing.
Lorene Cross, the founder of Smart Animal Sanctuary in NSW, had initially thought the two bags out the front of the shelter "came off the back of a rubbish trailer", only to discover two roosters inside, one in each bag.
"I think it's disgusting and disgraceful," the Snowy Mountains local told Yahoo News Australia. "To put them in a bag and just dump them in the driveway with no food... I've got four of my own dogs freely roaming around here and I know two of them would have loved a bit of KFC on the run basically. That's just cruelty."
Animal dumping a huge issue
Ms Cross said roosters have previously been abandoned at the sanctuary — most recently the body of one in a bush that wasn't so lucky — calling it "a major problem".
"People don't seem to know what to do with roosters. They like to keep the girls [hens] happy and then they breed and they've got 10 roosters suddenly.
More generally she said that dumping of all animals "happens a lot" and is a huge issue. "Six puppies were dumped in the bush a few weeks ago," she said. "And nine kittens came in with their collars stuck into their necks that had to be surgically removed."
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What should people do if they want to re-home animals?
RSPCA NSW told Yahoo News Australia there is an "uncomfortable trend" involving increased surrenders coupled with a lower rate of adoptions, with the cost-of-living being cited as the main reason.
However donations to the charities that care for abandoned animals — and are often at capacity — are also drying up.
"All your sanctuaries are charities," Ms Cross said, with her sanctuary currently having 52 dogs, 32 cats and several farm animals as well. "They need all the help they can get. We get no government funding, no RSPCA funding, we do this all off our backs."
When asked what owners should do if they want to humanely re-home their animals, she recommended they call her sanctuary and also are in touch with their local council. "Don't just dump them, that's horrible," she said.
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