In collaboration with the Shire of Halls Creek and Nindiligarri Cultural Health Services, AMRRIC staff and volunteers were able to carry out a hugely successful veterinary desexing blitz program in Halls Creek!
On 15th May AMRRIC staff took off from Darwin on the long drive to Halls Creek to meet the program collaborators to carry out the week-long desexing blitz in the area. Beginning on Monday 17th May AMRRIC Program Manager Dr Chelsea, Education Officer Michelle, Fundraising and Partnerships Manager Jane Crouch and AMRRIC contracted vets Dr Stephen Cutter and Dr James Holder alongside AMRRIC-contracted vet nurse Aimee Long and volunteer vet Dr Claudia Neverauskas began working in what was going to be a very busy week.
Rangers from the Shire of Halls creek and staff from Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services were fantastic in going door-to-door to speak to residents and to collect and drop off dogs for desexing. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, engagement with the residents was fantastic and the veterinary team managed to desex a whopping 163 dogs and cats in just 5 days!
This week was part of a two-part program which saw a smaller veterinary team visit Halls Creek in October 2020. That trip, combined with this year’s blitz, was done so in the aims of managing the area’s animal population significantly and to improving the overall health outcomes of the dogs and cats.
Surgical desexing is integral for animal management in any community. The benefits of desexing include decreased risks for mammary tumours and testicular cancer, eliminating risk of painful and potentially fatal pyometra (infected uterus), decrease in roaming and potentially aggressive behaviours of male dogs, decreased nuisance spraying of male cats, and prevention of unwanted litters of pups and kittens.
It was a very busy but overall wonderful week where the AMRRIC team and the collaborators were able to deliver a fantastic veterinary service.
The funding for this program was supplied by Shire of Halls Creek, and we are grateful to the Shire, their rangers, and to the staff at Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services for their support and collaboration.
