Hushed up pups in sights
THE Cairns council pooch squad have scoured the southside for hush-hush puppies and found over 1000 suspected unregistered animals.
The audit inspectors are on the way to your neighbourhood – eventually.
Over the course of the audit, inspectors will cover suburbs from Mirriwinni to Ellis Beach.
Homes at Edmonton, Bentley Park, White Rock, Woree, Mt Sheridan, Earlville, Bayview Heights and Moorabool have been visited during the first three weeks of the audit.
“We have started with the suburbs that receive the highest number of dog-related complaints,” a Cairns Regional Council spokeswoman said.
“When a dog is believed to be unregistered, a notice is left for the resident advising that they have 14 days to register their dog. To date, 1439 notices have been issued.”
Due to the 14-day notice period in which recipients can register their pets, no fines have been issued.
The council has received only one complaint during the audit about an unregistered dog.
“The audit is expected to take several months to complete,” the spokeswoman said.
Thus far no inspectors have been used as chew toys by precocious pups and no neglect cases have been recorded.
“As a general rule, officers are not coming in direct contact with dogs,” the spokeswoman said. “We have no intention of confiscating any animals as part of the audit.”
Inspectors have been authorised to enter properties during the audit. About 21,500 dogs are currently registered with the council. The last audit in 2014 identified 5808 unregistered dogs.