Moruya: $2m animal shelter pinned to replace 33-year-old ‘ageing’ facility

Animal welfare big leagues have endorsed and jumped for pawesome plans to replace a 33-year-old ageing shelter on the NSW South Coast, with a brand new, $2m modern complex.

A decades-old animal shelter on the NSW South Coast could soon be replaced with a modern, multimillion-dollar facility endorsed by the animal welfare big leagues.

Eurobodalla Council has proposed a new $2m, council-operated shelter at 6 Pollwombra Rd, Moruya, to replace the existing ageing facility, which has been operating since 1989.

Council documents reveal the current shelter – mainly housing dogs and cats – is showing its age, requiring constant maintenance and repairs.

“The shelter holds companion animals overnight pending owner notification and subsequent pick-up, and, in some instances, the animals are kept longer than the 18-day impoundment period,” proposal documents state.

The new shelter would serve the same purpose, but instead be housed in a fully updated complex, including shelter buildings, administration block, cattery, kennels, exercise yard, and car park.

The estimated cost for the shelter comes in at $2m. Picture: Eurobodalla Council

Eurobodalla Council stated RSPCA has endorsed and “applauded” the proposal, calling it a “positive step toward ensuring the welfare of dogs and cats in animal shelters are improved and maintained”.

“Due to the ongoing maintenance, age and the standards required by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) NSW as well as the RSPCA, construction of a new animal shelter facility is a viable proposition,” planning documents state.

The animal shelter is proposed for Moruya. Picture: Eurobodalla Council

However, the new facility will not be built on the current shelter’s footprint, instead at an existing Moruya livestock yard, requiring some pens to be dismantled and rebuilt nearby.

“While Council’s present-day shelter is functional, there remains an ongoing cost to maintain the 33-year-old shelter to the minimum standards as identified by the RSPCA and DPI, as such, the shelter has attained its end-of-life purpose,” documents state.

Plans will go on public exhibition at a later date.

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Originally published as Moruya: $2m animal shelter pinned to replace 33-year-old ‘ageing’ facility