An animal welfare lawyer has criticised Queanbeyan-Palerang Council for putting down 21 dogs at its animal pound due to an outbreak of highly infectious parvovirus.
Anne Greenaway of Lawyers for Companion Animals said she urged councillors to set up an advisory committee seven years ago but the advice had been ignored. She felt it would have advised the council on how to quarantine stray dogs, and that could have prevented the canine infection spreading.
"It was handed to them on a platter," she said about her recommendation. "I had done all the hard work but basically they weren't interested. It's beyond belief that they didn't have areas of isolation - quarantine areas."
The pound for stray dogs has now been closed indefinitely after an infected dog was allowed to have contact with the other dogs there.
"This incident has highlighted that the facility is old, outdated and did not have the appropriate infection control procedures or isolation pens in place," a council spokesperson said.
"We are closing for an extended period, to conduct a review of the incident, implement changes to processes and redesign the layout of the facility to provide isolation pens."
Queanbeyan City Council, which preceded the current council, did have a Companion Animals Advisory Committee but it was dissolved in 2008.
Canine parvovirus can spread to dogs through contact with an infected dog's faeces or vomit, or indirectly through contact with infected items such as water bowls and collars. Symptoms include extreme vomiting and diarrhoea.
It's not clear whether the outbreak has spread far in Queanbeyan. On Monday, one of the prominent vets' practices, West Queanbeyan Veterinary Hospital, declined to comment on the impact in the wider area.
In the ACT, dog owners were urged to ensure their vaccinations were up to date. Puppies are normally vaccinated after six to eight weeks, with boosters one and two months later.
But the vaccination does need to be renewed through a dog's life, Candice Evans, a vet at the Animal Referral Hospital, said.
Dr Evans said puppy owners should make sure their unvaccinated pets didn't interact with unvaccinated dogs.
"Puppies, unvaccinated dogs, and incompletely vaccinated dogs should be restricted from public outdoor areas and interacting with dogs of unknown vaccination status until they are fully vaccinated," Sarah Zito, senior scientific officer at RSPCA Australia, said.
