Council accused of tossing beloved pet ‘into a bag and into landfill’

Banyule Council has come under fire after a dead cat was “put in a bag and thrown into landfill”.

Ivanhoe resident Dora told Tom Elliott she was contacted after beloved pet Lulu was hit by a car and died.

When asked when she could collect the body, she was told “everything had been taken care of”.

She followed the matter up further, where she was told Lulu had been put in a bag and thrown into landfill.

“I’m just wondering what the point of registering a pet with council is,” Dora said on 3AW Drive.

“It’s very distressing. She was a loved pet.”

Click PLAY below to hear more on 3AW Drive

3AW Drive was sent the following statement from Banyule City Council:

Council understands how traumatic it is for someone to lose a loved pet.  Council always makes an effort to identify the deceased animal and get in contact with the owners and offer the option of collecting their animal.  At times the deceased animal can be such in a bad condition that it its likely to be even more traumatic for an owner to collect. A level of discretion and judgment is used by Council officers in an effort to minimise trauma to the owners and Council may dispose of the animals remains. Council is open to offering owners the option of collecting their animal even if it is in a very damaged state however given Council does not have facilities to store deceased animals collection would need to occur on the same day.  We understand the upset and shock that any pet owner goes through when informed that their animal is deceased and we endeavour to deal with our residents as sensitively as possible.