Sad scene in bushland highlights 'disgraceful' Aussie epidemic

There's an emerging crisis in Australia, and it's not the housing or cost-of-living challenges we're all struggling with. Sarah Rose, an animal welfare advocate, says illegal and unethical dog dumping is the worst it's ever been — and it's rapidly spreading across the country.

Rose, who lives in Sydney's eastern suburbs, believes there's an "epidemic occurring with our companion dogs". More and more she is discovering mass dumpings of puppies and adult dogs on the verge of dying.

The issue has been particularly prominent in Sydney's west in recent months with multiple reports of animals being left for dead in "vast bushland" near Penrith. Rose was alerted to the "mass dumping" by a local on Facebook. When she ventured out to take a look she was shocked by what she saw.

"There were multiple dogs running around through dense bushland," she told Yahoo News Australia. "Three out of eight dogs we found last weekend were actually pregnant. It was clear there had been a dumping, intentional and illegal dumping."

"The location is very vast bushland, some of which is Aboriginal land, so it’s not monitored by council," she added. "A big part of the problem is they’re not microchipped and that’s done on purpose, just out of pure carelessness. Because when the dogs are no longer needed [for breeding purposes] to make money, they can relinquish them, without any trace or accountability".

Reasons contributing to rise in animal dumpings

Rose believes both backyard breeding and irresponsible pet ownership is what's driving the issue.

"People need to understand before they purchase a dog in particular, there are long-term responsibilities that come with pet ownership, even if their circumstances change," she said

The issue was particularly widespread during and after the Covid pandemic when pet ownership soared, likely due to more time spent at home. What followed was an influx of surrenders or re-homing which caused overcrowding at shelters, ultimately resulting in mass euthanasia and the current issue of dumping — but it goes beyond Covid, Rose said.

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"This whole issue is not just isolated to breeders. It's also people just dumping their own pets for whatever reason. Whether it means that they don't have accommodation anymore, or it also could mean that they can't afford the dog," she said.

"There is an animal welfare crisis and epidemic occurring with our companion dogs. It’s an absolute disgrace. Backyard breeding must be outlawed, it is contributing to countless dogs being dumped in remote bushland and being left for dead.

"It's just a really sad reality that there's so many people that treat their dogs as their children, like part of the family. But there's a high majority that do not. I believe for more than 50 per cent, there’s just absolute disregard."

In the last year, RSPCA NSW received an average of 20 calls a day relating to surrenders. "Pet rental challenges and economic hardship appear to have led to an increased demand for our shelter services," an RSPCA spokesperson told Yahoo. There's also been a 30 per cent decline in pet adoptions.

The dog dumping problem 'is everywhere'

For the ongoing issue playing out in Sydney's west, Rose believes "there's still dogs out there" they haven't been able to find. Now, she's asking for the public to intervene and help rescue the animals. For the time being, food and water stations have been set up to help keep them alive.

To make matters worse, she also witnessed a bunch of building materials, including household items, piles of tyres that had been set on fire, as well as suspected asbestos, which she said is a biohazard putting both the dogs and and general public "at risk".

But "the problem is everywhere", she stressed to Yahoo during a phone call on Wednesday.

"This happens a lot everywhere across Australia, and across the world where you get these mass dumpings. People that no longer want to breed, or they don't have the resources to breed or for whatever reason, they don't want their pets anymore, they just dump them," she said.

"Dogs, in particular, are getting into the hands of the wrong people, and they're getting into their hands way too easily. Backyard breeding, they don't have to be registered breeders. It's all tax-free dollars. There's a lot of a lot unethical breeding as well, such as cross-breeding the wrong dogs together."

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