Safe Kennels

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (15:53): I want to start today by thanking the member for Stuart for his very kind words and I also indicate that it is a deep privilege to work with him on our parliamentarians united against domestic violence group. I rise also today to speak about the important work the RSPCA does with and for our community in many different ways, our state government's Safe Kennels funding and how it will assist members of our southern community at their most vulnerable moments.

Last month, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting the RSPCA Lonsdale animal shelter and office, where I met with CEO Tim Vasudeva and staff member Di Evans. Whilst getting to meet Bruno the staffy—who, incidentally, is currently looking for a foster home—was certainly a highlight of the visit, I was also able to talk with Tim and Di about how our state government funding for Safe Kennels in our southern community will work to protect vulnerable members of our community and their pets.

The Safe Kennels program was a recipient of funding through Fund My Idea, an initiative through which communities identified, developed and voted upon which ideas they wanted government funding to support. The RSPCA received $20,000 to implement in the south their community-driven project, which is already delivering better outcomes for people in difficult situations and their pets.

The Safe Kennels program recognises that when people live with a mental illness they can have long stretches of time in which they require treatment or hospitalisation and are unable to care for their precious furry friends. At these difficult moments the program provides a safe kennel through the RSPCA for the pets of this group of people so that they can access the treatment and care they need without worrying about how their pets will be cared for, a factor which has been shown to cause significant stress and prevent some people from accessing treatment. The program ensures that whilst they are unwell and/or seeking treatment they can do so safe in the knowledge that their pet is being cared for without any additional stress or worry and ensures that they can simply resume caring for them when they well enough to return home or their treatment finishes.

Importantly, Safe Kennels also assists women and their families experiencing domestic violence. Research has shown that a risk to pets is one of the reasons that women do not seek help or leave violent situations. Pets can be used as a way of controlling a person by threatening harm to the animal. Additionally, crisis accommodation services often do not have the capacity to take pets when those fleeing domestic violence initially present to them. A guaranteed safe place for beloved pets ensures those experiencing domestic violence are much more likely to seek assistance and accommodation from support agencies.

This program has been in operation for some time already. Last year, the RSPCA offered 94 safe kennels; however, unfortunately, they also had to turn away that many again due to a lack of capacity. The funding given to the Lonsdale shelter will allocate a safe kennel to an additional seven animals needing emergency accommodation per day. This means that an additional 2,400 kennel days will be allocated for the pets of people affected by mental health issues and women and families affected by domestic violence. This funding also has further net benefits in that it frees up spaces in the RSPCA's ongoing boarding facilities which generate profit used to assist more animals and families in need.

As much as I wanted to leave the RSPCA with a car full of the beautiful animals I saw there, particularly Bruno the staffy, I was not able to do that on that day, but I left deeply heartened by the incredible number of staff and volunteers who are at our Lonsdale shelter in the heart of Reynell caring for the animals and interacting with community members at difficult moments in their lives. Thank you to Tim, Di and all other staff and generous volunteers who choose to make a difference in our community through caring for people, their pets and those animals without homes. Congratulations also to our southern community, who are always willing to engage with one another around the issues important to our community and who are always willing to support more vulnerable community members and did so through this Fund My Idea process.

This Friday, I very much look forward to presenting a cheque for the Fund My Idea Safe Kennels Project to the RSPCA's CEO Tim Vaseduva and to thanking him and his staff and volunteers for working with our community to submit such an innovative and compassionate idea to this program. Our southern community will be better for this contribution.