Inner West mayor fires warning as dog owners are told to avoid parks
The Inner West mayor has fired a warning at dog baiters as owners are being told to avoid parks. It follows a string of malicious dog poisoning incidents in recent weeks.
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The Inner West mayor has said authorities should “throw the book” at whoever is responsible for the recent spate of dog baiting incidents.
It comes as pet owners are being told to avoid visiting dog parks in the inner west until whoever responsible has been caught.
There have been reports of dog baiting in Enmore Park, Enmore TAFE Park, Sydney Park in St Peters and Peace Park in Leichhardt in recent weeks.
“Poisoning dogs is despicable and if the perpetrators are caught then we should throw the book at them,” Mayor Darcy Byrne said.
Police are continuing investigations and pet store, Petbarn, has warned customers not to visit dog parks in the area.
“We recommend avoiding parks in the local area until further information is gathered,” store bosses said in an email to customers.
“An animal who has consumed a bait is at risk of serious illness and sometimes death.”
The council said pet owners should be mindful and report anything suspicious to the police.
A council spokesman said there were no plans to expand CCTV use in parks.
There are also reports of people poisoning birds, with the Environmental Protection Authority investigating the deaths of several birds in Harcourt Pde, Rosebery.
The EPA probe has found they died from ingesting meat containing insecticide.
On Friday reports also emerged of a large number of magpies and other birds found dead around Kingston, Dudley and Learmonth Streets in Haberfield.
Council has not yet confirmed whether these incidents were due to baiting.
University of Sydney vet Dr Brianna Talbot said there was no doubt baiters are out to kill animals.
“This spate seems to be maliciously intended,” she said.
“Ultimately it is meant to kill them.
“People who aren’t a fan of dogs, see increases in dogs (in the summer months) and start to carry out this behaviour.
“Companies make rat bait blue or green so that you can see it, see where you’ve placed it.
“If they’ve wrapped it into meat, it’s something yummy a dog is going to eat. On purpose they hide it in sausages and chicken – things dogs love to eat. Dogs don’t chew that well, they just inhale it.
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“People get frustrated with some dogs, dogs who aren’t well behaved, or not on leads, people might not understand the repercussions, or they are so frustrated they might not care anymore.”
Alissa McInnes’s shih tzu-poodle Charlie was one of three dogs who reportedly ingested raw baited chicken at Enmore Park on Monday.
Ms McInnes said the chicken had been “placed in a circle” and “marinated to be more enticing to dogs”.
Charlie was rushed to Sydney Animal Hospital in Stanmore where a vet induced vomiting to save his life.
Anyone with information should contact police.