With an increased number of abandoned pets coming into the pound, Tamworth Regional Council Compliance Officer Ross Briggs said they're simply running out of options for estranged and stray animals.

An amendment to the Companion Animals Act (2022) means the pound must notify at least two agencies that a pet is available for adoption, once the fortnight they are held for an owner to come and collect them, is up.

"We have to give extra time to notify those agencies that this animal needs a home, and that's extra time we have to occupy cages in our yard," Mr Briggs said.

This essentially causes a bottleneck with animals flowing quickly into the pound and the pound attempting to move animals onto other shelters or those who can adopt, according to Mr Briggs.

"I realise that the idea is to reduce the amount of euthanasia that's going through the pounds," he said.

"But there are a lot of areas there that there are no answers for the council to respond to, in terms of dogs that are brought into the pound that have been involved in attacks."

"There's no sort of exemption there for us to go 'that dog's a danger. We can't, we shouldn't be rehoming that animal'. We have to look at finding a home for that animal."

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This means dogs with no hope of being rehomed filling spaces in the pound that could be taken by those with a chance, he said.

Mr Briggs said the capacity problem also extends beyond the pound.

"This legislation's not just a Tamworth thing, it's affecting the whole state so all the rehoming agencies are inundated as well," he said.

"So it's really going to bog-down very soon, I think."

With the rate at which animals are coming into the pound, Mr Briggs' prediction could very well be considered realistic.

"In the past month we've had about 60 dogs and over 20 cats brought into the pound," he said.

"It's been a pretty steady sort of increase since the legislation came in at the start of the year."

With the situation as it stands, Mr Briggs said they're now looking at trying to make more space at the pound.

"We are looking at extending the pound and getting some more runs in," he said.

"But what happens when they start filling-up?"

He said guidance arounds implementing the changes to the Companion Animals Act needs to be improved, so councils can have some clarity about what their options are.

"So that we can operate a bit more effectively and move animals around the state if we need to," he said.

However, first and foremost, he said people need to have a "good hard think" about whether they should be buying a pet, because they don't have the capacity to keep taking them in.

"The more people that go out and buy a cute puppy or a cute kitten and can't look after it ... that comes here and puts more pressure on the system."

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