Sarah Pearce and Teresa Rowe discuss animal welfare and community responsibility.
In the podcast series for The Hero Files, episode one delves into the topic of animal welfare and the surrounding responsibilities of Government and society.
Video and image credit unless otherwise stated: Sarah Pearce
Sarah Pearce and Teresa Rowe talk about the strengths and weaknesses of both Government set animal welfare laws and our very own society and individuals.
Determining the shortfalls of Australian Federal animal welfare laws in tangent with gaps in society as to the mentality of animal protection thus leaves a round-in-circles style conundrum with the animals stuck seemingly in the middle of a system that determines their fate, short of the strongest of people who fight for change.
What are the shortfalls between law and society?
The podcast discussion between Sarah and Teresa determines that animals cannot be kept away from harmful situations, yet it remains the law to take stricter measures to ensure that people who harm animals must be stopped from ever owning an animal again. But how can this be done without a vigilant society who are not afraid to say something when they see something happening?
Speaking up and making a change in another’s life.
It remains an important fact that without a concerned society, without a society of individuals who fight for change by speaking up, change could never occur. Change is made by speaking up, making reports and ensuring reports are actioned.
It takes just a short look around the internet to find dozens of stories about people who comment that they have tried to help an animal yet are left waiting on animal welfare bodies to take action. It is these moments where society needs to make their voices heard.
So, where does the middleman lie when the Government and society fail?
Sarah and Teresa discuss the importance of animal welfare as a classroom program. After all, animal welfare solidly relates to kindness, compassion, patience and understanding of another’s needs. To learn respect and responsibility outside of a youngster’s home environment would certainly create a worldly approach to unconditional care. Is this the link that could be missing when both law and society are not enough?
PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT 1986 – SECT 9 Cruelty
PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT 1986 – table of provisions
Text transcript of podcast below
| The Hero Files podcast episode 1. Animal Welfare with Teresa Rowe (1080p) Sunday 03 November 2024, 14:34 Sarah (0:00) Hello and welcome to The Hero Files, a new podcast online that relates to heroes, hero people, hero animals. (0:10) This is the first podcast for the website. (0:13) Today we will be doing a case study on my first rescue dog. (0:18) His name was Tyson. (0:19) He passed away in 2012. (0:21) With that in mind, today we are talking with Teresa Rowe, who is a hero in many different ways. (0:30) So here is Teresa. Teresa (0:31) Hello. (0:32) I left school at 14 and couldn’t read or write. (0:34) I later discovered I had a thing called short-term vision memory. (0:37) Went back to school and did an advanced certificate in intellectual disabilities plus my associate diploma in intellectual disabilities and a certificate in welfare. (0:46) I did anger management for the Salvation Army, course, and I also was a dog obedience trainer at Warracknabeal. (0:52) So I did a course for that as well. (0:54) So yes, I’ve done a few courses and I’ve done counselling with Aboriginal Co-op in New South Wales as a caseworker for Aboriginal foster care and I also taught certificate three in disabilities. (1:05) Not bad for a kid who left school at 14 and could only spell their name and address. Sarah (1:08) That study has given you a really good outlook on human nature. Teresa (1:12) I’ve seen a lot. (1:13) It wasn’t until I went back to school. Sarah (1:15) You made it happen. Teresa (1:15) I made it happen and felt really pleased with myself. (1:18) Well, most animals we get from the pound and I’ve got most of my animals from rescue. (1:22) They’ve all been abused. (1:24) It takes a lot for them to trust you and once they learn to trust you, they’re the best dogs you can get. Sarah (1:29) So how many dogs have you rescued? Teresa (1:32) Five, six. Sarah (1:33) And they’ve all been? Teresa (1:34) Rescue dogs. Sarah (1:35) From shelters? Teresa (1:37) From shelters. Sarah (1:37) So you are a hero! Teresa (1:38) My first dog was, I got, was a week after my husband was buried. (1:42) Cuddled up to him. (1:43) That was Woofer.(1:44) He was called Woofer because my husband always wanted a dog called Woofer. (1:47) So I called him Woofer he was a poodle cross terrier. Sarah (1:50) Animal welfare is a major international issue, not just in Australia, but looking at Australia, our current law that caters to animal welfare and in section nine, it does discuss the responsibilities of people in caring for animals, but yet there’s still so much abuse and neglect happening. Teresa (2:10) Got quite a few who actually care for the animals, but you’ve got other people who they look at Missy. Sarah (2:16) Who is lying here with us right now and she’s also an extreme abuse rescue. (2:21) Looking at the federal laws in Australia that openly state our ethical and moral responsibilities towards animals and all of the stories you still hear to this day of animals being starved, being beaten. (2:38) Personally, where do you think the responsibility lies?(2:42) Is it for the government to get tougher with their laws or is it, do you think it’s education of the communities? Teresa (2:50) Whilst education in the community, as well as getting tougher, we need a lot more education. (2:55) People don’t know what they have to do. (2:57) Before they get an animal, they should have to know their responsibilities and also know that when you take an animal, a cat or a dog, they’re a life thing.(3:04) Looking at 10, 15 years, one of my dogs at home, I mean she’s 15 in January, she was rescued from the pound. Sarah (3:11) And that’s Kimba? Teresa (3:12) Kimba, yeah.(3:14) She wasn’t rescued from the pound, I rescued her from somebody’s house. (3:17) She’d lived and ate and slept in half a bathroom in a house commission house. Sarah (3:22) So she was being hidden? Teresa (3:23) She was being hidden. (3:24) People weren’t allowed to have a dog. (3:26) She was 12 months old when I got her.(3:28) In our culture, we’re taught to look after animals or try to. (3:32) Majority of people do. Sarah (3:34) It doesn’t matter where a person is from or what category they belong to, anyone with some logic is going to understand that animals have a nervous system which transmits pain to their brain. Teresa (3:47) It does. (3:48) And I mean, you get a rescue dog and they get to know you. (3:51) They give you so much joy and love. Sarah (3:54) So they’re also heroes. (3:55) We can be their heroes, but they’re our heroes. Teresa (3:58) I go home and the animals are there to welcome me. Sarah (4:00) So looking at the current Federal Animal Welfare Act that’s in place. Teresa (4:06) It’s not strong enough.(4:07) Well, they haven’t got enough staff for it. Sarah (4:08) Do you believe that animal care should be something that’s in the school system as a class? Teresa (4:15) I think so, yes. (4:16) Kids need to learn early. (4:18) The right thing to do when they’re at school wouldn’t do that. Sarah (4:21) To learn outside of their home environment. (4:24) Teresa Yeah, responsibilities and love of the animal. Sarah (4:26) Where do we learn responsibility? (4:29) Not everyone has got the same upbringing in their homes. (4:32) I think it’s really important that animal care could be an educational tool. Teresa (4:36) I think it should be taught at school. (4:38) It should be taught in a junior school as well, where it should start when they’re early. Sarah (4:42) It would be great to see the local rangers or vets go in and speak to the children. Teresa (4:47) Yep, they should have a program. Sarah (4:48) Because I’m really looking at our current law going back to it. (4:51) In the law, section 9, it does state there’s to be no prolonged suffering, which includes an animal’s access to food and water and all. (5:00) Sadly, some dogs and cats, horses, sheep.(5:04) I mean, it’s endless how many confined, how many are denied their own ability to stay healthy and to stay alive. (5:13) And it’s the hands of the humans. (5:14) What can communities do as communities, as social bodies and individuals?(5:20) What can we do to ensure the animals are safe? Teresa (5:23) Should notify appropriate authorities. (5:26) If you see something happening, you should. (5:28) People don’t want to get involved.(5:29) So they shut up. (5:30) They don’t want to get involved. (5:31) I mean, so they get involved.(5:32) The dog barks all the time because it annoys them. (5:35) The animal is neglected. (5:36) They don’t want to know. Sarah (5:38) What does it say about us as a human species? Teresa (5:42) People who mistreat animals, it’s a power thing for them. (5:45) And they haven’t been brought up to respect other animals or other people.(5:49) And if they can strangle a dog or kick a dog, that’s a power thing. (5:52) And they have no respect for the animal. (5:54) It’s their animal. (5:55) They can do what they like. (5:56) They don’t respect any animals. (5:58) And this all begins from going to make the odd person who was naturally cruel.(6:03) But that’s to do with being human. (6:05) But majority of people who are not naturally cruel will love their animals if they’re taught how to do it. Sarah (6:11) So there’s some people that just have no moral compass. Teresa (6:14) That’s right. (6:15) Some people who… Sarah(6:16) The one thing that’s just going to go round and round in circles is how do we, or how does the government under their laws, keep animals away from these people? Teresa (6:25) You can’t keep them away from because the person has a right to an animal. (6:29) But if they betray that right, then they should be fined or go to jail and the animal taken off and they never get another animal. Sarah (6:36) Well, here’s a good one. (6:38) And I know what your answer will be. (6:40) Looking at animals, obviously they’ve got their own mind.(6:43) They feel pain. (6:44) Animals can make their own decisions. Teresa (6:47) They know when to get out of the way when they have to. Sarah (6:49) A good example of, say, a dog making a choice is they’ve got a bone in the backyard, but you also want to take them for a ride in the car. (6:57) They will analyse what’s most important… (7:00) To them, yeah.(7:00) To them. (7:01) And maybe it’ll be the ride in the car and you’ll know that the dog’s made the choice to hop in the car or get the bone. (7:07) Or if you’ve got a really smart dog, you’ll get the bone and have the bone in the car.(7:11) Things like that is proof that they can make decisions. (7:15) It’s for the human to let an animal… Teresa (7:17) Make. (7:18) Learn. Sarah (7:19) Thought process. Teresa (7:19) Yep. Sarah (7:20) Thank you so much for your time, Teresa. (7:22) Hopefully it’s given the listeners a lot of food for thought on how we treat each other, human or animal. Teresa (7:28) My pleasure.(7:29) Anytime. Sarah (7:29) Thank you, Teresa. |
