USING SUPPORT NETWORKS

Recent developments

Five years ago when we wrote the first edition of this book, we knew of no formal support groups formed specifically for PMOs or other MPM practitioners. Informal groups existed in some states.

For example, in Queensland, some PMOs had attended a MPM seminar convened in Brisbane in November 1983 by the state division of the Australia Veterinary Association. These people had continued to communicate with each other after the seminar. Another group coalesced around Ithaca (Qld) College of TAFEís Animal Control Officer Training Course which started in 1985. Meanwhile, a select group of Queensland veterinarians often sought each other out at AVA conferences to mull over MPM issues.

Groups such as these in Queensland and in the other states and New Zealand were the forerunners of many of the formal communication and support structures in evidence today. We look briefly at some of these below:

• National Urban Animal Management Conferences

• ACO of the Year Award

• Urban Animal Management Group and People and Pets newsletter

• SA Dog and Cat Management Board website

• Conference on Dog Health in Indigenous Communities

National Urban Animal Management Conferences

In 1991 there was little accessible information on MPM in Australia. Many workers around the country were solving problems (cartoon) on a daily basis in isolation from one another. Several groups and individuals perceived the need for making MPM information more widely available. They included:

ï governments (national, state, local)

ï animal welfare groups

ï animal breeders

ï veterinarians

ï animal owners

ï commercial interests (eg. pet food operators)

In August 1992 a number of people met informally and discussed what could be done to fill the perceived vacuum. The mechanism chosen to get the ball rolling was the first National Urban Animal Conference which Jo Toia of Ithaca TAFE convened in Brisbane in 1992.

Now, five years and four conferences later, it is possible to say the National Urban Animal Conferences have been very successful in bringing together ideas and people. They have produced a wonderful collection of quality literature from experienced practitioners around the country. Best of all they have helped establish a network of people working together to give Australia the best MPM systems possible.

For further information, click to see:

ï More about National UAM Conferences

ï Comments from UAM Conference proceedings editors

ACO of the Year Award

Each year delegates to the UAM conference meet at the conference dinner.

Good times are had by all. Old friends chew the rag and relish the experience of being with other people who know about MPM. Since 1995, a highlight of the dinner has been the presentation of the ACO of the Year Award.

Terry-Ann Pert, Animal Advisory Officer, Warringah Council (NSW) won the inaugural Animal Control Officer of the Year Award for her proactive approach to MPM. Below are just some of her initiatives:¹ 

ï use of corporate sponsorship in implementing MPM initiatives

ï dog litter bins in unleashed dog exercise areas

ï pooch patches in parks where children play sport

ï Dung Beetle Program

ï Anti-barking Collars Program

ï Reward for Responsible Owner Program

ï Animal Awareness Days for owners of particular breeds eg. Rottweiller Day, German Shepherd Day

The 1996 winner, Steve Harbottle, Team Leader of the Inspection Unit, Tea Tree Gully Council (SA), won with his initiatives: 

ï dog obedience classes

ï First Offenders Program

ï School Education Program

ï tails trails

ï a canine expo

ï pooper bag giveaways

Urban Animal Management Group and People and Pets newsletter

Between UAM conferences, delegates and other interested people keep in touch through the People and Pets newsletter.

The People and Pets newsletter is produced by the Australian Veterinary Association Conference Organising Services (AVACOS) for the Urban Animal Management Group. Production of the newsletter is assisted by the Australian Veterinary Associationís Communication Fund. It is distributed several times each year to MPM practitioners around Australia who belong to the Urban Animal Management Group. Members of this group also contribute news and ideas to the newsletter. Readers who wish to receive People and Pets may contact AVACOS on ph~(06) 285 3600 or fax (06) 285 3913.

For further information, click to see:

ï More about People and Pets newsletter

SA Dog and Cat Management Board website

Selectapet on the Petcare website is aimed at potential owners. The Internet also has great potential as an information source for MPM practitioners.

The South Australian Dog and Cat Management Board website ((Internet address: http://www.lga.sa.gov.au) gives South Australian MPM practitioners direct access to a range of MPM resources applicable in their state:

ï legislation

Þ Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 (SA)

ï publications of the Board

Þ The Law and Your Dog

Þ You and Your Dog

Þ Barking Dogs in the Community: the facts

ï posters

Þ Dangerous Dog

Þ Bite Back

ï videos on responsible pet ownership

Other sites of interest to MPM practitioners are appearing on the Net. We touch on them briefly in the next chapter.

Conference on dog health in indigenous communities

The national conferences and newsletters in Australia and New Zealand have been very successful in disseminating information and ideas of general interest. Specialist areas cannot always be handled in depth in these forums and need other venues for information exchange. One such specialist area is dog management in indigenous communities.

In 1992, Jack Shield from the Cairns Office of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries spoke about dog health and control in Aboriginal and Islander communities at the first Australian National Conference on Urban Animal Management.² The paper identified some of the complex issues that he was facing. But many questions remained unanswered:³ and a special conference seemed to be needed. So when Shield had the opportunity to convene a special section at the Western Pacific Veterinary Conference in Darwin in August 1993, he took it. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the Australian Veterinary Association agreed to be sponsors.

The Dog Health in Indigenous Communities conference was very successful in bringing together experts from around the country. With the publication of the proceedings, new workers in the field now have an excellent reference on which to base further work.² 

Since this Conference, other initiatives in Aboriginal dog health have also been reported. eg.⁴

For further information, click to see:

ï More about dog health in indigenous communities

1. Pert T-A. 1996. Initiatives for the environment. In: Hassett S, editor. Urban Animal Management: proceedings of the Fifth National Conference on Urban Animal Management in Australia (Sydney, 1996). Sydney: AVA: 47-50.

2. Shield J. 1992. Some problems of dog health and control in Aboriginal and Islander communities in north Queensland. In: Murray RW, editor. Urban Animal Management: proceedings of the First National Conference on Urban Animal Management in Australia (Brisbane, 1992). Mackay QLD: Chiron Media: 164-171.

3. Shield J. 1996. Introduction. In: Shield J, editor. Dog Health in Indigenous Communities: proceedings of a conference (Darwin, 1993). Cairns: Qld Dept of Primary Industries: 4.

4. Villiger R. 1997. Alice Springs 'Camp Dog' Program. People and Pets 4(1): 3.