OXFORD â In what was a bad year for all in at least some way, Granville County had some good news in the form of a low animal euthanasia rate in 2020.
The countyâs animal shelter took in 2,271 animals and in one form or another released 2,049. Of the remainder, 123 animals were euthanized, a figure that included 80 dogs, 31 cats and 15 wildlife.
âThatâs one of the lowest numbers weâve ever done and some of the changes weâve made was with the trapping of cats,â said Matt Katz, animal management director. âWeâve had a lot of success with trap, neuter and release, and weâve had outside groups helping us pay for that, which [has] been a big blessing.â
Third white rhino calf born at The Wilds on Christmas Eve
Contributed to the Times Recorder
The Wilds
CUMBERLAND – There’s a baby boom of sorts happening at The Wilds and the team is buzzing with excitement as they celebrate the birth of a third white rhinoceros. The male calf was born on Dec. 24, in the rhinos’ large, heated barn. This calf is the 25th white rhino to be born at The Wilds.
The male calf and his mother, 16-year-old Zenzele, also born at The Wilds, are doing well. The calf appears to be strong and is nursing alongside his mother.
More than 4400 unregistered cats and dogs in the Gladstone Local Government Area will be targeted by council staff after the animal inspection program was reinstated.
Since the program was cancelled on March 13 due to COVID, Gladstone Regional Council staff discovered a significant increase in the number of pet owners failing to renew registrations.
At the beginning of November, council papers revealed there were 4403 animal registration notices that were not renewed, from 15,305 issued.
The Queensland Government requires dogs aged 12 weeks and over to be registered and microchipped.
Under section 113 of the Animal Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2008, the council has the power to approve a program to monitor compliance with the Act.
In a follow-up on the tick-borne dog disease,
Ehrlichiosis, in Australia, vets in Top End in Australia’s Northern Territory say some 1000 dogs have died of the bacterial infection.
Rhipicephalus sanguineus
Image/US Government
ABC News in Australia report Bonny Cumming, a vet with Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities (AMRRIC) working across the Top End, said it was hard to gauge how many dogs had died from ehrlichiosis. However, she expected that by the end of the 2020-21 wet season, dog deaths would “be in the thousands.”
“What we are seeing is in some regions [ehrlichiosis] is really exploding,” Dr Cumming said. “It has a pretty high mortality rate, especially for younger or older dogs that are immune-compromised. It is really heavily impacting those dogs.