Dead pets on Marlborough roads kept on ice for two weeks

Thursday, 3 November 2016

A possum that ended up as roadkill. Pets found dead on the road are given higher priority, held at a freezer in the pound for two weeks to try to find the owner.

Heaven forbid your dog or cat ever get hit by a car.

But, should the ill-fated happen, and your child drops that zinger on you, 'where do dogs go when they die?', now you know what to say.

A dead cat is collected from the side of the road.

'They get put in a freezer for two weeks before going to landfill honey.'

Well, that's what parents in Marlborough can say.

* Marlborough District Council reviews dog control policy following attacks

* Dog rego time nears in Marlborough**

Marlborough District Council compliance manager Gina Ferguson said dogs found dead on the street were picked up by Animal Control.

The service was covered by owners' registration fees.

Dogs were held at a freezer in the pound for two weeks and every effort was made to connect owner and animal, Ferguson said.

'For the owner if their animal goes missing sometimes they'll never know,' she said.

'If people don't microchip or have any sort of identifying features it can be really hard.

'If there is no claim on the animal, then the animal is taken for waste disposal. It's not like we have a big backyard to bury them in.'

HEB Maintenance, under contract by Marlborough Roads, picked up dead cats as part of maintaining the region's roads.

The cats were scanned for microchips, details registered and stored in the freezer for two weeks in the hopes of owner collection.

Marlborough Roads highway manager Frank Porter said animal collection was an unfortunate byproduct of keeping roads clean.

'After two weeks if the cat is unclaimed, HEB Maintenance's process is to bag and dispose of them at the Blenheim landfill,' he said.

'As many of HEB Maintenance's workers are pet owners themselves, they appreciate the loss of a pet is a sad time, and treat the cats with dignity even if they are not claimed.'

The number of cats stored in the freezer at any one time differed, but averaged at three to four per month, he said.

Department of Conservation Renwick biodiversity supervisor Mike Aviss said his agency did not deal in the collection of dead domestic animals.

'If it's in the public domain, and it's a domestic animal, it's not our issue,' he said.

'On State Highway 1, for instance down in Kaikoura where there are seals near the road, if there is an incident on the road we don't have the authority to work there.

'It's a road issue.'

The Wildlife Act made the conservation of protected species the priority of his office, Aviss said.

Aviss said marine animals, birds and lizards, living or dead, were the focus of DOC.

He said DOC was more involved in the upkeep of lands.

'If we have a mess on conservation land then we're responsible for it,' he said.

DOC also oversaw the eggs, feathers and nests of protected species to prevent collection by the public.