Rescue Dogs Shot to Death Due to COVID-19 Restrictions, Enraging Animal Activists in Australia

Due to a council's interpretation of Covid-19 guidelines, many rescue dogs slated to be rescued by an animal sanctuaries, were reportedly shot dead in rural Australia.

The animals were reportedly murdered by the Bourke Shire Council in New South Wales, to prevent volunteers from the Cobar-based shelter from traveling across the state and potentially spreading the infection.

COVID-19 infections have been on the rise in Australia, prompting the country's largest city, Sydney, to prolong its lockdown until September and impose stronger measures. A curfew was made and people are required to wear masks outside.

New South Wales Orders Shoot to Kill: Dog Raid

Police in Australia, a supposedly free nation, have battled with anti-lockdown protestors, drawing firearms on them, putting them in chokeholds, pepper spraying them, and slamming them with batons but there may be a new low that neither de Blasio nor Lightfoot could imagine.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a local government body in New South Wales ordered the killing of rescue dogs at a publicly owned kennel, in order to "defend" its residents.

The dogs were murdered by Bourke Shire Council in the state's north-west to prevent volunteers from a Cobar-based animal shelter from traveling to pick up the animals last week, according to the Herald.

The article stated that "several" dogs were killed but did not specify how many. They had also been shot to death, according to the report.

The Office of Local Government, or OLG, told the newspaper that it "has been notified that the council chose to take this course of action to safeguard its workers and community, especially vulnerable Aboriginal communities, from the danger of COVID-19 transmission," according to a spokesperson.

"There have been no recent locally acquired COVID-19 cases in Cobar," the Herald said, citing the state Health Department. However, pieces of the virus have been detected in the area's sewage system.

"Shelter volunteers are upset and had COVID-safe methods in place to manage the dogs, one of which was a new mother another source told the newspaper.

This isn't the first time this has happened. The head of the OLG, Minister Shelley Hancock, has already faced concerns in Parliament over the shooting of animals in municipal pounds. Lisa Ryan, a proponent of animal rights, has called for an immediate investigation.

Also read: Delta Cases Surge Across Australia and New Zealand, 600 Infected in Just 4 Days

Lockdown Extended in Sydney Australia: Delta Strain Affects All Districts

The lockdown in Australia's most populous city, which began in late June and was supposed to finish on August 28, has been extended until September 30

Authorities in Sydney have prolonged the city's lockdown for another month due to an increase in cases caused by the Delta strain in the New South Wales capital.

Tougher restrictions, such as a midnight curfew in 12 of Sydney's worst-affected districts and an outside mask requirement, will be implemented.

The curfew, which will be in effect from Monday at 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., will affect two million of Sydney's five million residents. Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of New South Wales, said the policy was intended at "reducing the movement of young people." Residents in certain regions will be limited to only one hour of exercise each day.

The country of 25 million people has had a significantly lower death toll than many other countries, with 971 fatalities from Covid since the epidemic, as Australia's pandemic response focuses on lengthy lockdowns and stringent border regulations.

Even though the vaccination deployment has picked up in recent weeks, there has been some dissatisfaction with the sluggish pace. In Australia, half of over-16s (50.2%) had received their first vaccination dosage, whereas just 28.2% are completely immunized.

Also read: A Deadly 'Brain-Eating' Disease is Spreading Among Animal Population in Texas