Rescue Dogs Shot Dead Due to COVID Restrictions

Volunteers were ready to pick up some dogs that had been impounded in New South Wales, Australia. Instead, the dogs were shot dead. A reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald learned from a local government watchdog group that an animal shelter in the middle of the state—the same state in which Sydney and Melbourne are located—had the animals killed with gunshots rather than have volunteers travel. The reasoning somehow was that this would help prevent the spread of COVID.

The Office of Local Government, the watchdog group, said it is investigating whether any animal cruelty laws had been broken. Volunteers at the shelter that planned to take the dogs told the Herald they had a COVID safety plan in place. The disease is spiking in the Australian state, with record infection rates in Sydney and tight lockdown restrictions prompting protests, the New York Times reports. However, the pound where the dogs were shot was in a rural area with no known cases. (More animal cruelty stories.)