Representatives from Rochford District Council recently attended a reception at the House of Lords.

The event was in honour of the two RSPCA awards recently won by the Council. It is the first local authority in England and Wales to achieve a silver level award from the RSPCA for animal welfare. The Council has also been awarded a silver award for its handling of stray dogs.

Member Champion for Animal Welfare Councillor Mrs Mavis Webster said “These awards are a huge honour for the Council. They are testament to all the hard work that officers have carried out to ensure that standards of animal welfare are maintained to a high level.

“Council officers involved in animal welfare work extremely hard, for example, our dog warden does a superb job in ensuring lost dogs are reunited with their owners and any stray dogs are rehomed as soon as possible.”

The Council has won awards in two of the categories; the Animal Welfare Principles Footprint and the Stray Dogs footprint.

The Animal Welfare Principles Footprint includes the provision of a written policy on animal welfare – the Animal Welfare Charter – and examples of good practice sharing. Additional requirements include website links and information, and adoption of higher welfare policies with regard to food procurement.

The Stray Dogs Footprint covers the policies and procedures that should ensure stray dog welfare is protected from collection to conclusion, including kennelling, both during and out of office hours, as well as swift treatment of injured and sick dogs. It also focuses on proactive work to educate the public and preventative measures to reduce long-term straying.