Tenterfield council discussions centred on animal control

I hear that Tenterfield Shire Council are having discussions about the number of animals ratepayers should be allowed to keep in town.
Interesting idea; some local people have been breeding cats, dogs, birds and fowls for years, most of these people have a passion for their pastime. If the council starts limiting the numbers, some of the breeders may relocate to another council area. I would doubt if Tenterfield needs more empty houses and shops, I would have thought there were more than enough.
It would be interesting to know what the police statistics over the last decades prove; we know there have been a number of break-ins, robberies and thefts. I’m no gambler but I would be prepared to bet that the victims of these crimes, who did not have a dog on the premises, would far outnumber the victims who had a dog on the premises. City police statistics would be interesting. How many people walking their dog were raped or mugged compared to how many walking alone were victims? We seem to be constantly being told that the population is ageing. I’m sure we have all heard specialists in geriatrics say that the best therapy for the old is a pet.
I can imagine a scenario where an elderly lady has had three lapdogs for years and the council has decided only two dogs allowed, the old lady stands firm, the council has to abandon their entire by-laws or take her to court, wouldn’t that be interesting, the court has the “Magna Carta” the basis of common law, to protect ordinary people from the excesses of the King or State, signed several hundred years ago at Runnymede, the news probably hasn’t reached Tenterfield council yet.
If I may paraphrase a small sentence in this very large document. An Australians home is her or his castle. The media would love it, well the council is always anxious for publicity and that would certainly get it. In one fell swoop the council could deprive locals of their lifelong passion, their security and the old of their best therapy. They keep outdoing themselves. I’ve been trying to find out why this sudden rush of blood to the brain. The two reasons I’ve been told are 1). After the flooding during which a hen coup was inundated there was a bad smell. At risk of appearing indelicate (which) frequently I’m anyway. I think one of us who live in the real world should inform the council that in the event of a natural tragedy such as a flood or indeed an unnatural tragedy such as a bombing raid, where animals and humans are killed in numbers, there is no bad smell. There is an appalling stench, but nature has compensations, the stench makes it easier to locate the dead, human or animal, so they can be buried fairly soon. If there were no stench they would be harder to locate and there would be more likelihood of disease spreading and making the original tragedy even worse. I know this sort of thing doesn’t happen in fantasyland or in unreality TV but it’s one of the facts of life. 2). I hear that some people who have relocated from the city on their retirement have complained about being woken by roosters. That is tragic, perhaps the council could get together with the State Government and have a six lane highway through the centre of Tenterfield so that people from the city can be lulled to sleep by the sound of the original alarm clock, the rooster. The council may be able to get an agreement with the Federal Government to ban all breeding or keeping of fowls, so in Australia the only chooks would be battery hens. While the council is trying to get rid of pets, a growing number of locals are waiting for the next council elections to remove pests.
Helen Stark,
Tenterfield