Animal rescuer warns of rooster influx, says school hatching programs making issue worse

Animal rescuer warns of rooster influx, says school hatching programs making issue worse In short: An Adelaide animal rescuer says she has been inundated with calls about abandoned roosters. She believes school egg hatching programs are contributing to rooster dumping. What’s next? The SA Education Department says it does not know how many hatching programs are being run at schools, but takes the wellbeing of any animal at schools seriously. An Adelaide-based animal rescuer shelter says it cannot take anymore roosters after a "heartbreaking" influx of reports. Fairview Lodge Animal Shelter president Kerri Bryant said she had been receiving messages of people finding abandoned roosters that had been dumped in bushland. "After the initial anger, it's heartbreaking,"she said. She said her farmstead, which looks after a range of animals including horses, pigs, ducks and cockatoos, was at capacity and could not take any more roosters, especially with the spread of bird flu putting animal owners on high alert. Ms Bryant said she had been speaking with other animal rescue organisations who believed school egg hatching programs, which are designed to teach students about the cycle of life, biology and responsibility, were contributing to the problem. "Nobody is taking responsibility for breeding these birds, they breed them and then just turf them out," she said. Ms Bryant said she had recently received a text from a parent that read: "Please let us know if you can take our rooster, we've got him from the school hatching program, he's very much loved by the kids but we've had council complaints and we just don't want him to become someone's dinner". "You wouldn't breed kittens to teach children about the circle of life, and then hand kittens out to kids, don't do it with chickens, it's no different,"Ms Bryant said. Rules for keeping roosters in residential areas vary from council to council, but councils including Salisbury and Onkaparinga "do not recommend" keeping roosters due to the noise. RSPCA against hatching programs The RSPCA told the ABC it was opposed to poultry egg hatching programs in schools. "[The RSPCA] does not support the keeping, breeding or use of living animals in all schools other than schools teaching animal agriculture because they do not have appropriate facilities and trained staff to adequately protect the welfare of animals in this setting," a spokesperson said. "This includes such aspects as housing, handling, veterinary care, ethical sourcing and ensuring suitable animals are appropriately rehomed after their use." A South Australian Education Department spokesperson said it took the wellbeing of any animal at schools seriously, but said it was up to individual school to implement their own programs and not covered by the department's animal care and welfare program. "When contacted for advice or support, the department works with sites to ensure all animals/birds and aquaculture programs are run in accordance with ethics and acceptable standards of animal husbandry," the spokesperson said. The department did not comment on how many schools were operating hatching programs in South Australia. It follows other concerns raised by animal rescue organisation in South Australia that they will not be able to deal with an expected influx of birds impacted by H5N1 bird flu. Vet organisations in South Australia have also warned of the toll on those in the animal welfare sector, and that it may be forced to kill hordes of wild birds they could be saving due to a lack of funding and appropriate facilities amid the H5 bird flu crisis. Last year, an animal rescue service sounded the alarm on rooster dumping, but blamed the rise of people buying chicks for egg laying for the rise.