Qld pet owners asking vets to kill their animals to they can go on holiday and avoid kennel costs

Vets have confirmed they are being put in a “truly awful position” by Queenslanders who are asking them to kill their “perfectly healthy” pets for an unbelievably “selfish and heartless” reason.

• Opinion: Self-centred act makes my blood boil

“Perfectly healthy” pets are being killed so their owners can go on holidays without having to pay for kennels or sitters.

Vets and animal welfare insiders have confirmed the shocking trend, with people jetting overseas on five-star skiing vacations among the worst offenders.

Summer holidays are peak season for the “selfish and heartless” behaviour, with vets saying they dread this time of year and are professionally bound to carry out owners’ wishes.

Animal Welfare League of Queensland spokesperson Craig Montgomery said it was hard to confirm the scope of the distressing issue, which primarily affected dogs and cats.

RSPCA Queensland adoption and foster manager Nellie Worringham with five-month-old male Standard Poodle/Golden Retriever cross 'Ziggy' who was surrendered at Wacol. Picture: Richard Walker

“It puts vets in such an awful position to euthanise a perfectly healthy animal which should be in a loving home,” Mr Montgomery said.

The Veterinary Surgeons Board of Queensland code of conduct states vets are to “recognise it is the owner’s right to request management options for their animal, including euthanasia”.

One Brisbane vet told The Courier-Mail: “If an owner decides, you can’t say no.”

Another said owners were more likely to put older pets down before going on holidays but “it’s an issue across the board and we dread this time of year”.

People who paid thousands of dollars for designer dogs during Covid lockdowns were among the quickest to discard them, an insider said.

“They used the dogs for comfort during the pandemic but now these same people are flitting off to Whistler or the French Alps and demanding vets put the animals down; it’s selfish and heartless,” he said.

The Courier-Mail contacted vets in several inner-Brisbane suburbs and all were aware of the issue.

Mr Montgomery said pet accommodation was at the crux of the holiday problem but AWLQ vets were in a position to refuse euthanasia because the organisation had a rehoming program.

RSPCA Queensland said 3285 animals were seeking refuge due to owner surrender every year.

“While we do see pets being surrendered for preventable reasons, many are coming from caring homes with owners who have genuinely fallen on difficult times,” a spokesperson said.