Cairns rental crisis: Animal shelters reporting calls from desperate pet owners

Cairns’ rental crisis is being felt across the region’s animal shelters as desperate pet owners without homes themselves plead with welfare workers to take their beloved furry family members. But there are steps pet owners can try during the house hunt.

CAIRNS’ rental crisis is being felt across the region’s animal shelters as desperate pet owners without homes themselves plead with welfare workers to take their beloved furry friends.

Born Free Animal Rescue FNQ has been inundated with heartbreaking messages from pet owners who have fallen victim to the city’s housing woes, hoping to surrender their animals.

“I’ve fallen a victim to the current housing shortage, and am on the verge of becoming homeless … I am absolutely desperate to find anywhere at this point for my son and I to live and nowhere will allow us to take our little dog … I’ve never been in such a dire situation before,” one desperate pet owner said in a message to Born Free Animal Rescue.

“Due to having to move out of my house and not being able to find anywhere I can take my dogs,” another said.

homeless man with his dog

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Port Douglas’ Paws and Claws is still constructing its refuge facility, set for a September opening, but was already receiving calls from desperate pet owners.

“The fact they’re calling us when we’re not open yet tells you how serious this housing crisis is,” president Michael Kerr said.

“I know we’ve got long-term locals forced to leave the region because their leases are up and the owners might be selling.

“People are really struggling and if you have to give up your pets to put a roof over your kids’ head … it’s sad.

“The best we can do at the moment is refer them on.”

Michael Kerr with Max' outside the soon-to-be-developed indoor animal shelter at Craiglie, near Port Douglas.

Mareeba Animal Refuge manager Jennifer Walsh said her facility often received desperate calls from all over the region including Cairns and as far as Townsville.

“The biggest reason we get is someone is moving and they can’t take their pets with them.

“It’s very stressful. I think landlords need to be a bit more generous here.

RE/MAX head of property management Sharyon Murphy said she wasn’t surprised to hear pet owners were struggling to find suitable accommodation while the city’s rental vacancy sat below 1 per cent for almost 12 months.

Aerial photos of houses and real estate at Kewarra Beach. Cairns has had a rental vacancy of about 1 per cent for almost 12 months. Picture: Brendan Radke

She said tenants shouldn’t turn down a property even if it was advertised as “no pets”.

“People need to start thinking of their fur babies as an individual and almost have a separate application form for them,” Ms Murphy said.

“Take photos of them – how they live and behave, how they go in a garden. Show the owner the place won’t get wrecked with your pets.

“If you have three people, think of the pet as the fourth person, with references even from past neighbours saying ‘they’re not noisy and they’re well looked after’.

“If we can paint the full picture, we can encourage property owners.”

Young Animal Protection Society president Margaret Cochrane the Smithfield shelter hadn’t experienced any surrenders as a result of the rental crisis, but it always had a long surrender list.

“We just need more kennels. We have about 20 dogs in refuge at the moment,” Ms Cochrane said.

“But we always seem to have a long list of people waiting, we can never get it down. It’s usually in the 20s.”

Have you been affected by Cairns’ rental crisis? Let us know in the comments below.

Originally published as Cairns rental crisis: Animal shelters reporting calls from desperate pet owners