Brewarrina survey reveals town of dog lovers

Out and about to help the dogs and cats of Brewarrina last week were Alexandra Kirby Byrnes, Dr Gemma Ma, Tenille Simpson, Skye Phelps and Lydia Chen. Photo TWH

Brewarrina residents opened their doors last week to help the RSPCA gain a clearer picture of dog and cat numbers in the community.

RSPCA NSW, together with the University of Sydney and Brewarrina Shire Council, has been conducting household visits to collect data as part of a grant-funded project supported by the NSW Government’s Environmental Trust.

Dr Gemma Ma from the RSPCA said the project was designed in collaboration with the community to improve pet management and protect native wildlife.

“We got a grant from the New South Wales Government through its Environmental Trusts to do a co-design project with the community in Brewarrina to better manage dog and cat populations, to protect wildlife,” Dr Ma said.

“We’ve been working with the council on this project for this year. The survey we’ve been doing is trying to get an estimate of the size of the dog and cat population in Brewarrina and understand where they come from, where they go, how many there are, so that we can plan for services.”

Brewarrina was chosen because of the strong relationship already built between the RSPCA and the community.

“We’ve been coming out every year, doing Healthy Pet Days and desexing for a long time,” Dr Ma said. […]

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