Do you know where your dog or cat is tonight?

A reminder to pet owners on the NSW North Coast from The Daily Examiner on 24 January 2011:

THE Northern Rivers is one of the worst areas in the state for cat and dog attacks on native wildlife.

According to statistics collected by the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) over the past 12 months, 267 native animals were attacked in the Northern Rivers region, 191 in the Clarence Valley alone.

Grafton has been listed as the worst area with 62 attacks recorded.

Paul Johnston from the WIRES Clarence Valley branch said the figures represented only the attacks which had been reported to WIRES and “do not include the thousands of animals which die from unreported attacks or those who fall victim to feral cats and dogs who are more likely to eat their prey compared to domestic ones”.

Following Grafton was Yamba with 19 wildlife attacks, with cats responsible for killing a larger percentage of native animals compared to dogs.

In the Northern Rivers, cats were responsible for 14 out of 25 attacks in Ballina and eight of 16 in Alstonville.

Teresa Woodley has been a WIRES carer for the past 10 years and said despite treating the many animals brought to her as a result of an animal attack, the real culprits were the two-legged kind.

“Owners simply need to be more responsible for their pets, especially in rural areas like the Clarence Valley where wildlife is plentiful,” she said.