WARNING: contains descriptions of animal abuse.

Abby Kumar Buccilli says she’ll never fully get the sights and sounds out of her head. Those who respond or bear witness to animal abuse are usually the ones who care the most, and therefore carry it the hardest.

As the founder of Kalgoorlie Dog Adoptions, she says rescuing animals with axe wounds from botched attempts at home euthanasia, to fielding calls from farmers threatening to shoot their unwanted dogs, was all in a day’s work.

Ms Kumar Buccilli founded the now-defunct organisation eight years ago after moving to Kalgoorlie on a short stint with the Australian Red Cross. Arriving in the outback mining town, she says nothing could have prepared her for the harsh reality of euthanasia rates for perfectly healthy animals.

It’s a shock to the system she says has left her with very little faith in human beings.

“Most of the time it was people moving and they couldn’t rehome it, so the easiest thing to do was to put them to sleep,” she says.

It’s an issue that plagues regional areas like Kalgoorlie, where undesexed dog populations run rampant and rescue organisations are unable to keep up with the sheer number of dogs in need. She says council pounds operate more like holding facilities than rehoming centres, and with nowhere else to turn, euthanasia can be the only option.

In the veterinary industry, what Ms Kumar Buccilli describes is called convenience euthanasia.

The term refers to when healthy animals are put down without a physical or psychological reason, as it is unwanted or poses an inconvenience to the owner. It’s a practice that has been banned in shelters and pounds across New South Wales since a rehoming bill was introduced in 2021, yet goes unregulated in Western Australia. 

“When nobody claims the animal and there’s no one else to adopt it, the dog gets euthanised,” she says.

“This is the truth. People don’t want to see the truth.”

Many dogs don’t even make it that far. Ms Kumar Buccilli says it’s not uncommon to hear of owners taking their healthy dogs to the vet to request a euthanasia. In comparison to the horrors of at-home methods, a veterinary euthanasia could almost be considered a kindness.

“It’s better to get euthanised than starving to death, or being killed by a stone, or shot to death,” she says.

Deb Palacios and Colin Prior have been on a mission to reduce the number of unnecessary euthanasias since joining Saving Animals From Euthanasia Inc (SAFE) more than a decade ago. Ms Palacios and Mr Prior have opened their hearts and homes to foster dogs in need, in addition to operating the Perth metro branch as the Team Leader and Dog Coordinator respectively.

The couple’s 49th foster, a three-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Koda, looks right at home lounging on the sofa. An escape artist with a knack for breaking into the treat cabinet, his intelligent and cheeky personality makes it difficult to imagine he was once at risk of being euthanised.

Ms Palacios and Mr Prior say there’s no feeling in the world quite like finding that perfect match for a dog. They say it’s what drives them to keep going despite the many challenges facing volunteers in the animal rescue industry.

“That’s why we do it. That’s why he’s foster dog number 49,” Mr Prior says.

“A lot of people don’t stay in touch but there’s enough people that do and that will send you pictures every year,” says Ms Palacios. “It’s kind of like having grandkids out there, it’s great.”

“I’ve never seen pain this bad”

But with the hundreds of success stories rescue organisations work tirelessly to facilitate, rescue workers say the losses that come few and far between still weigh heavily on their minds.

Of the 748 dogs her organisation rescued over seven years in operation, Ms Kumar Buccilli was only ever been forced to euthanise five dogs. 

“I remember the count because one was extremely aggressive, and the other four had diseases that meant we had to put them to sleep for their own good,” she says.

According to the RSPCA, behavioural problems were the most common reason for dogs in RSPCA shelters to be euthanised in Western Australia during the 2022-23 financial year.

Dr Simon Coghlan, a veterinarian and moral philosopher at The University of Melbourne, says behavioural reasons are not considered to be a convenience euthanasia in most cases. He says while minor behavioural disorders can be treated, a behavioural euthanasia is typically performed in the best interest of the animal.

Ms Palacios says despite fostering the problem cases regularly, it has only been necessary to behaviourally euthanise a small number of dogs.

“From all the statistics I’ve heard, it’s about 5% of dogs end up that way,” she says. “I fully expected our number to be higher but in reality, it’s not. We’ve had four or five in our history of ones that we’ve fostered.”

To ensure euthanasia decisions are made ethically, they say SAFE has a standard set of procedures in place and an agreement must be made between several people in the organisation.

“There’s a lot of trip wires, and if something breaks one of those trip wires, the decision’s already been made,” Mr Prior says.

“Because the alternative is adopting out an unsafe dog, and you put the entire brand at risk if you do that. We need to be an organisation people can trust,” Ms Palacios adds.

In contrast, more than one in five dogs are euthanised while in the care of pounds across Australia according to Pet Rescue. Many of these are considered to be convenience euthanasias, with data from the RSPCA indicating that more dogs are killed in shelters across Western Australia without a physical or behavioural reason than any other state.

Rescue workers say the emotional toll of the industry can be difficult to deal with, often leading to burnout and compassion fatigue.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of mental anguish myself dealing with this rescue and it is why I shut it down after seven years, because it was mentally very tormenting,” says Ms Kumar Buccilli.

“I gave up because I couldn’t do it anymore. I’ve lived around the world in 21 countries working for the United Nations. I’ve never seen pain this bad because these are perfectly healthy animals we are euthanising for what?”

She says having seen the devastation firsthand, she can understand why the veterinary industry is experiencing a national shortage, particularly in regional areas. It’s an issue that the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) says needs to be urgently addressed to support the welfare of animals in regional areas.

“What is the incentive for a vet to live there constantly seeing animals being euthanised? I wouldn’t take that job, even if they paid me more for it,” Ms Kumar Buccilli says.

Euthanasia stress taking a toll on vets

The AVA says the mental health impacts of the high stress profession are contributing to the national shortage, advocating for improved mental health education for veterinary students. Dr Coghlan says while mental health was once not recognised in the industry, it is now highly regarded in teaching.

Third-year veterinary student Taryn Spradbury says university has equipped her with the tools to manage her mental health while working in the industry. She says while it was confronting at first, gaining practical experience in the industry while studying has lessened the emotional toll of euthanasia.

“I first started as a vet nurse so I was really exposed to working with animals and the highs and lows of what comes with euthanasia,” she says.

Perth-trained veterinarian Dr Joanna Potter, who now lives overseas, says making euthanasia decisions can weigh heavily on vets.

Dr Potter says while it does haunt her, she has to make peace with her decisions in knowing she has given the animal a kind death.

“Not because I believe I did something inherently wrong, every life I’ve taken I have done so only after careful consideration – but because I know deep down there was no other ethical choice for the animal,” she says.

Ms Spradbury says convenience euthanasia is a point of discussion at university, and says she feels her studies have empowered her to make up her own mind about how she feels.

“You can feel like you have to do something because you’re being told, but [university] really emphasises that this is not the case,” Ms Spradbury says.

However, she says the stigma around euthanasia can make it difficult to talk about outside of the profession.

“People look at you as if you’re this horrible person, and it’s very unfortunate because it comes at the end of the day from a lack of education,” she says.

“They’ll just think you’re the world’s worst person because to them, death is the worst thing in the world. They don’t see it as a treatment option.”

Dr Potter says recommending euthanasia, in even the most dire of cases, can be dangerous for vets.

“I have been told by owners that if I don’t do what they desire for their pet free of charge, then they will wait in the car park for me to finish work and “do me in” when my advice is euthanasia after their animal is presented torn to shreds from the tarmac barely clinging to life, with the majority of its blood scattered across the front of someone else’s car,” she says.

However, knowing she is doing the right thing is a comfort.

“If I can give an animal a calm, cherished, few moments before easing it into a forever sleep, then I consider my meagre little life to have made some small positive difference to the world,” Dr Potter says.

“It’s something I cling to, in those moments when owners are cruel and rude and the world seems more heartless than I can bear. And then I find the strength to do what is needed, what is ethical, what is right, and serve again the innocent lives of this world the following day.”

If you or anyone you know needs help contact:
Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
Headspace on 1800 650 890
Lifeline on 13 11 14
Curtin Wellbeing on 1800 244 043