The former ACT RSPCA CEO Michael Linke COMMITS acts of animal cruelty and admits it making excuses as to why he tortured rabbits to death at the rspca shelter.The corrupt TAMS have covered up Michael Linkes acts of animal cruelty, and denied that he has committed acts of animal cruelty who has now done a runner to New York. The RSPCA has allowed Michael Linke to resign rather than terminating him from his job, who are also covering up his crimes, and have further sacked the whistle blowers instead who worked at the rspca to allow the RSPCA to continue their corruption and acts of animal cruelty in torturing animals to death without being dobbed in: Canberra Times: RSPCA tarnished in rabbit wrangle: It was not a good look for an organisation best known for cuddly kittens and cupcake fund-raisers. In early September The Canberra Times revealed that the RSPCA had concreted a number of rabbit warrens at its ACT headquarters at Weston Creek. The measure seemed to be at odds with the animal welfare charitys mission to protect all creatures great and small. That was certainly the view expressed by United Voice, the union representing staff at the site, which argued that the use of concrete slurry on August 28 had posed a danger to animal welfare. Criticism by the union and animal rights groups forced RSPCA ACT chief executive officer Michael Linke to defend the measure. Categorically, this is not a method that RSPCA would use to eradicate rabbits, Mr Linke told The Canberra Times at the time. There are 57 rabbit holes on site and five have been filled. There are three or four holes in a high-traffic area and we took a decision to start the slurry. It didnt flood the warren. Ultimately, the solution that I came up with was to protect the staff first. And yet while the concreting of the rabbit holes was intended to protect staff from a potential occupational health and safety hazard, the controversy revealed division and discontent within the ranks of the organisation that culminated on Monday with Mr Linkes surprise announcement that he had resigned from the RSPCA. Mr Linkes exit comes amid complaints from at least nine workers about underpayment, staff welfare and management style, with the charitys governing board promising to investigate the concerns raised by United Voice. RSPCA animal welfare executive manager Glenn Howie remains suspended and under investigation after publicly criticising Mr Linke over the concreting and challenging the CEO over other workplace issues. The Canberra Times can reveal that Mr Howie was stood down only weeks after calling on the organisations council to stand down Mr Linke over the concreting controversy. Mr Howie, stood down on full pay on September 19, had sent emails to president Sue Gage, later forwarded to the governing council, claiming that Mr Linkes actions had brought the RSPCA into disrepute. An inspection of the Weston Creek premises by Territory and Municipal Services compliance officers later found that about 12 rabbit entry/exits of four different warrens had been concreted over, contradicting Mr Linkes claim that only five holes had been filled. TAMS inspectors found the concrete had penetrated only about one metre below the ground, and had not posed any animal welfare concerns, with all warrens within the RSPCA grounds found to be active. Mr Howie, who is responsible for all animals on the RSPCA site, has declined to comment while he is suspended. But emails from senior staff to Mr Linke show the chief executive was warned of a good chance that the slurry would dry out quickly and not reach all parts of the warren, creating animal welfare risks. Potentially then, we would have rabbits dying from asphyxiation and starvation rather than drowning in the slurry, an email said. After a meeting with senior staff, Mr Linke replied by saying a range of actions had been approved to get rabbits out of warrens before the August 28 work. This is an incredibly hard decision and one that is fraught, he said. When questioned again about the use of sludging on the day the work began, Mr Linke said the matter had been discussed with the council on August 27. I accept that this is the only course of action left to us to ensure we provide our staff with a safe workplace and also address a defined pest animal problem, he said. Mr Linke has not responded to repeated Canberra Times requests this week for an interview. He also did not respond in the days before he resigned to a series of questions about workforce issues at the RSPCA. Speaking to ABC Radio on Tuesday ahead of a five-week holiday in the US, Mr Linke blamed problems within the RSPCA as revealed in The Canberra Times on a small number of disgruntled staff. The ACT government said in August it had plans for a Symonston facility. Canberra Times: RSPCA denies using concrete to kill rabbits: Concrete was poured into rabbit warrens at the RSPCA ACTs Weston headquarters. The chief executive of the RSPCA ACT has denied suggestions the concreting of rabbit warrens at its Weston headquarters posed a danger to animal welfare. Michael Linke said the concrete slurry used on August 28 filled a small number of holes in order to protect the health and safety of the societys workers, not to eradicate the pest population. There are 57 rabbit holes on site and five have been filled, Mr Linke said. There are three or four holes in a high-traffic area and we took a decision to start the slurry. It didnt flood the warren. Ultimately, the solution that I came up with was to protect the staff first. Citing fears for animal welfare, the union representing staff at the headquarters, United Voice, raised concerns about whether the slurry option was the best approach. Mr Linke said it was never intended to kill the scores of rabbits on the 20,000 square-metre site, with the death of a couple of rabbits an accepted risk. The warrens are hundreds of metres long, he said. [There would be] 40 to 60 rabbits, something like that. There was zero chances of rabbits starving and zero chance of suffocating on any scale. If it got stuck in a dead end, it would have died in two or three minutes. Categorically, this is not a method that RSPCA would use to eradicate rabbits. In June, Mr Linke told an ACT Legislative Assembly estimates hearing that a rabbit eradication at the site would occur in the most humane way possible. We would cover rabbit warrens with traps, we would get rabbits out of their warrens and into the traps and we would humanely euthanise them, he said. When queried by MLA Chris Bourke on how the rabbits would be flushed to the surface, Mr Linke said gas would be used or the pests would be flooded. Not to the point where the rabbits drown but something that is a bit annoying for the rabbits, to get them to remove themselves from the burrows, he said. It is not an easy process. Mr Linke said while three cubic metres of concrete had arrived at the site on the day in question, not all this was used for rabbit warrens. University of Canberra animal law expert Bruce Arnold said it would be problematic if concrete was being used on warrens to eradicate a population of rabbits. [Where] the burrows are blocked, if there are rabbits inside, they will starve to death, Assistant Professor Arnold said. And we would broadly, in Australia, view starvation as an inappropriate way to kill an animal. Mr Linke said there were plenty of holes for the rabbits to escape from and water was used in the days leading up to the concreting to move some of the rabbits. That was designed as a preventative measure to get some rabbits out, he said. Mr Linke said gas had not been trialled, as the warrens were thought to be too extensive. Canberra Times: Warnings about RSPCA ignored, say staff: RSPCA chief executive Michael Linke resigns amid crisis: Workers at Canberras RSPCA say they tried to alert the charitys governing council and the ACT government to alleged problems at the groups Weston Creek compound as long ago as 2010. But one would-be whistleblower said her claims about over-worked and demoralised staff, animal treatment and management style were ignored. The charitys chief executive, Michael Linke, resigned on Monday and flew to New York on holiday. His resignation comes amid two investigations at the ACT RSPCA into complaints by workers about underpayment, staff welfare and management style. Nine workers at the Weston Creek headquarters - about a sixth of RSPCA ACTs employees - have taken grievances to their union, United Voice, a move that forced the charitys governing board to call in investigators. Mr Linke, who was in transit to New York on Tuesday, has not responded to repeated requests for an interview. However, he took to the airwaves on Tuesday morning to defend his legacy and blamed the RSPCAs alleged problems on a small number of disgruntled staff. Animal welfare executive manager Glenn Howie remains suspended and under investigation after publicly accusing Mr Linke of animal cruelty for concreting over rabbit holes on RSPCA land in August, and challenging the chief executive over other workplace issues. But an ACT government inspection last month found there was no cruelty when the rabbit holes were filled in with concrete slurry. A former supervisor at the compounds wildlife clinic, Carly Wilson says she and a bunch of other staff wrote to the nine-member governing council in 2010 to complain about workplace problems and the methods used to care for wild animals brought to the shelter. We were working 12, sometimes 15 hours a day, we never finished on time, and then were only getting paid for 7½ hours, Ms Wilson alleged. We were told to take home the after-hours phone and we were forced to take animals home with us. Ms Wilson said after she and her colleagues received no response from the council she took her concerns to a senior bureaucrat in the Department of Territory and Municipal Services, outlining her concerns in a lengthy conversation. That was just ignored too, Ms Wilson said. A former volunteer worker, who asked not to be named, said she was dismissed from her position in the troubled wildlife unit after she spoke out about welfare practices she believed were wrong. But a spokesman for the Municipal Services Department said it had no record of a complaint other than the rabbit warren matter. RSPCA council spokeswoman Kasy Chambers did not respond to questions before deadline. During his interview on ABC Radio on Tuesday morning, Mr Linke said he did not understand the controversy. I dont understand this, he said. It just smacks of a couple of disgruntled employees trying to damage an organisation that is founded in saving animals. RSPCA ACTs new chief executive George Costi came to the defence of his predecessor on Tuesday, saying Mr Linkes legacy would be an outstanding record in the animal welfare field. Mr Linke had overseen one of the highest adoption or live release figures in Australia, Mr Costi said. What a load of rubbish, it was other groups hard work that the rspca always try to take the credit for. The rspca cover up for Michael Linke, so youcan be sure, that with Michael Linkes resignation, who should have been sacked and prosecuted, that there will be no change at the rspca as far as animals and animal welfare is concerned, they will continue their mass killing of animals that they cannot sell.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 16:13:20 +0000
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