Knox Council offering free desexing to concession holders

Knox City Council has announced free desexing of cats and dogs for concessions holders. Picture: ON FILE.

Concession card holders in Knox can apply for free desexing of cats and dogs at Animal Aid in Coldstream.

The Victorian Government has awarded a $25,000 grant to deliver the pet desexing program in the Knox community to help residents gain access to essential services for their cats and dogs. Up to 150 cats and dogs will be desexed through this initiative.

“Providing support for pet desexing will reduce the number of unwanted cats and dogs that end up in shelters,” Knox City Council said.

“Unwanted cats is a large concern in our community. In 2019/2020, we impounded 340 cats and kittens, and only 17 per cent of cats were reclaimed by their owners. Cats have a much lower chance of getting reclaimed than dogs, which had a reclaimed rate of around 80 per cent,

“Unfortunately, cats that were not adopted or reclaimed had to be euthanised. This program will help avoid this sad outcome for unwanted animals by helping pet owners desex their cats.”

To further encourage households to adopt, Knox City Council is providing free registration for newly adopted and desexed pets for the first year of the registration period, if registered within 30 days of adoption.