Talk:Steve Austin (dog trainer)

Article Creation 2011

Just wanted to make note that I created this article November 2011 simply because there was no good source about Steve Austin anywhere, and he's a very influential trainer that deserved his spot in Wikipedia history. I am quite new to editing Wikipedia, and hope there are not too many errors that affects this article's quality. — Preceding unsigned comment added by MacDogald (talk • contribs) 10:04, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

Controversy

Steve Austin has come under heavy fire for appearing in a photograph, whilst holding onto a dead cat hanging from a white rope [1] (March 7th 2012) resulting in public demands for his resignation.

PIAA's CEO Roger Perkins, who has also been heavily criticized for the introduction of a new policy whereby pet stores who sold animals, that were later deserted, would be required to find new homes for them [2] and [3] defended Steve Austin by stating that he was "having a bit of fun after a day of hunting feral cats in the Kimberleys [4]

The same photograph, with a caption underneath saying “I wake up every morning and I do what I’d do if I had $30 million. I’m a lucky man.” was posted on the Saving Pets blog [5] where Steve Austin's actions were condemned stating that "the display of a dead cat’s body by a so-called representative for companion animals is unethical, unnecessary and abhorrent" [6]

Debra Tranter, founder of Oscar's Law (an animal advocacy group campaigning for the banning of "puppy factories" in Australia) [7] stated that the photograph was "disgusting" Oscar's Law Facebook Posts

Dr Vadim Chelom B.V.Sc., a Veterinary Surgeon, stated that "You don’t smile for a photo posing with a dead cat unless you have derived a degree of enjoyment from the killing of that cat" [8]. Dr Chelom stated that “Feral cats may be major Australian pests and killers of wildlife but gloating at one cat’s death shows the kind of lack of respect that should rule this person out of any role in the animal welfare debate”.

The Austarlian Government, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Coummunities states that "The feral cat is found in most habitats across Australia. It has caused the extinction of some species on islands and is thought to have contributed to the disappearance of many ground-dwelling birds and mammals on the mainland. On islands, feral cat control is feasible, but elsewhere management is difficult due to the lack of effective and humane broadscale control techniques, and the presence of domestic cats." [9] and [10] — Preceding unsigned comment added by Qonoz (talk • contribs) 06:49, 7 March 2012 (UTC)