Bourke Shire Council's decision to kill a group of impounded dogs due to COVID-19 concerns grabbed global headlines.
Occurring a fortnight ago, the sixteen dogs appear to have been put down via the use of barbiturates, despite initial reports citing that they'd been shot.
According to the Office of Local Government (OLG), the council situated in remote north-western NSW had taken the decision to put the dogs to sleep as there were concerns that permitting staff from a Cobar animal shelter to pick them up would pose a COVID risk.
In response to the initial report, Bourke Shire Council issued a statement, claiming the local pound was at capacity, a number of the dogs were aggressive, the regular animal welfare group was unavailable, and it was also attempting to protect vulnerable people within its community.
