Ms Becky Bristow:

I thank the Senator for his questions. Dogs Trust is a little unusual in that all its funding comes from public donations. We do not apply for Government funding for animal welfare work at this point in time. We have a relationship with all local authorities, because we take dogs directly from local authority pounds. The relationships vary. On the whole, they are positive. It comes down to resources in local authorities, where they are applying those resources and what their priority is at this point in time in relation to dogs or dog welfare. There can be tension between dealing with strays and issues in the community with dogs, versus dogs they have in their care, what they need to do with them, and being proactive to prevent the problems in the future. I am not sure if this answers the Senator's question.

On the funding side we are a little unusual. Virtually every other dog rescue and animal welfare place probably accesses considerable State funding, but I do not know of any that are fully State funded. They all rely on fundraising to do many of their activities.