Shelter: 488 Millwood Rd Huntly North
Tel: 0417382741
For pet adoptions, view animals available and apply online
www.bawcs.org.au/animals-available-for-adoption/

Statement of Purposes - Rehoming Unwanted Animals Program
a) Care for animals until ready to be rehomed.

b) Ensure that animals are suitably rehomed for life by committed owners.

c) Provide support once an animal has been re-homed.

d) Provide permanent housing and care at specifically designated areas of BAWCS for animals not deemed suitable for general rehoming.

e) Arrange for all behavioural problems to be assessed by a fully qualified Animal Behaviourist specialist.

f) Not discriminate between animals that have different care needs or prospects for rehoming.

g) Only resort to euthanasia if an animal:

- Has fatal injuries, an incurable illness or a seriously debilitating
physical or mental condition and a reasonable quality of life cannot be maintained by veterinary care; or

- has repeatedly attacked other animals or people and cannot be retrained;

and never for economic reasons.

Statement of Purposes - Community Support Programs / Education support
a) Provide specialised animal welfare services to the community via Community Support Programs.
b) Aid all persons in the community who are in need of assistance concerning the care and management of pets.
c) Educate and support the community in responsible pet ownership and the moral and ethical treatment of animals.





Bendigo Animal Welfare & Community Services (BAWCS), formerly Bendigo Animal Shelter, was founded in 2003 with the aim of building a No Kill Shelter.

Whilst establishing ourselves in the community, building our programs and rehoming animals on a small scale, we continually searched for the right site to build our shelter.

In 2006 we found the perfect site and were in a financial position to buy the property which consisted of 30 acres of land, mainly cleared. There was no exisiting infrastructure so we were starting from scratch. Whilst we had the approval of our local Council as we met all the planning criteria, the local Poultry Factory farmers objected to our proposal and we were tied up in VCAT for two years, fighting for the right to build our shelter.
We won however at great financial cost which meant we had to delay building until we raised more funds.
With much hard work and support from our community who recognized the great work we were achieving even though we didn't have a shelter, our first building was put on site in 2009. Finally in 2011, more buildings were put up and we started to see the Shelter taking shape and in 2012, the animals from our small private shelter moved across to the new shelter.

Since becoming fully operational, our shelter has continued to grow with the increasing demands on our services. We are proud to be Central Victoria's Only No Kill Animal Shelter facility and also provide a sanctuary for unwanted farm animals. We rely on volunteers giving their time and the support of the community, to be able to help animals in need.

We provide both dog and cat boarding, and all funds raised support our work.

Our Community Support programs support the important role that animals play in our lives, with the end result being that both people and animals have the opportunity to share in a nurturing environment with positive outcomes for both.

We benefit many sectors of the community including the aged, disadvantaged, victims of domestic violence, homeless, young, unemployed, volunteers and of course pet owners in general.

Our organisation has Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.