ROYAL NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

For immediate release: 17th July 2008

SPCA Outraged At Dog Poisoining

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The Royal New Zealand SPCA has expressed outrage at the suspected poisoning with 1080 of a dog belonging to a Greymouth pest control contractor.

SPCA National Chief Executive, Robyn Kippenberger has labelled the killing a "despicable act of terrorism".

The dog was euthanased after it started convulsing and vomiting green fluid. The 10-year-old huntaway had earlier been left in the contractor's enclosed ute in a car park. Traces of 1080 were found in the vehicle, suggesting that the canopy had been opened and pellets of the poison dropped in.

The incident follows a series of protests connected with scheduled 1080 drops on parts of the South Island's West Coast, aimed at reducing the deer population. . It also follows a threat to poison domestic dogs in Christchurch's Hagley Park, apparently also in protest against the drops.

"The SPCA does not approve of 1080 and we are working with Government to control and reduce its use. In particular, we are lobbying hard to end the use of this poison on deer, which suffer long and very painful deaths from the substance.

"But we regard it as totally inexcusable to punish other innocent creatures as a form of protest against 1080. We are horrified and outraged by the deliberate poisoning of an animal that was a family pet as well as a working dog," says Robyn Kippenberger.

"This despicable act of terrorism will contribute nothing towards preventing the suffering of animals from 1080. All that's been achieved is that another animal has endured a terrible death," she adds.

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