RSPCA centre ‘imperative’ to the region, says West Tamar mayor

Her comments come after the Launceston Animal Care Centre announced it was running at a loss of about $25,000 a month. 

If a sustainable funding model is not found, the Mowbray site could close by August. 

RSPCA Tasmania chief executive Dr Andrew Byrne said the general managers of both West Tamar and Meander Valley councils were included in initial meetings with City of Launceston about two months ago. 

"We wanted them to be aware of what was going on and to understand that from our perspective, this is a regional issue,” he said. 

Cr Holmdahl said calls asking other councils to assist with funding was a “fair comment”.

“I think the region as a whole desperately needs the services of the RSPCA,” she said. 

“Councils can only do so much when it comes to animal management. We can’t provide the sort of services that the RSPCA do, so I think it’s imperative the service continues.” 

However, Cr Holmdahl’s comments were met with trepidation from other mayors around the state’s North. 

Dorset mayor Greg Howard said he was unsure if the RSPCA did enough work in the region to justify council funds. 

"We have our own animal control officer. We have our own pound for cats, dogs and other animals. So I’m unsure what they actually do outside of Launceston,” he said. 

“If they prove they did a substantial amount of work in Dorset and if it was costing them a certain amount of money, then we’d probably look at it.” 

He said the region did not have “too many incidences” with animals. 

“I’d imagine you’d be more than likely to have people treating animals poorly in a city area than in a rural zone. It’s simply because people get pets and don’t have the space to adequately look after them,” he said.

Meander Valley mayor Craig Perkins said he was not sure if the council would be in the position to give financial assistance.

The council’s general manager Martin Gill met with the RSPCA about six weeks ago, but Cr Perkins said a request for financial assistance was not made. 

He said losing the Mowbray facility “would not affect” the Meander Valley region. 

Northern Midlands mayor David Downie said he was not aware of the RSPCA’s issues, but the council had not been approached to assist. 

Dr Byrne said he would be happy to sit down with anyone interested in helping the centre remain operational. 

“Now the cat’s out of the bag, I am hoping some good can come from this,” he said.