Official Opening - Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre

BLACKTOWN City Council has officially launched the recently completed Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre - (BARC)- at Glendenning.

BARC is the largest council facility of its type in the southern hemisphere and is of a specialty design based on extensive national and international research.

BARC has already received strong praise. Animal Services Australasia CEO Mark Slater describes BARC as “a cracking new facility.”

The Mayor of Blacktown City, Tony Bleasdale OAM said “This is a one-stop shop for domestic animal welfare in Western Sydney. Blacktown City Council is providing a home for good at BARC.”

All potential pet adopters are taken through a unique concierge-based process. BARC has plenty of dogs and cats available to suit different lifestyles. Council is seeking to change perceptions on the community acceptance of adopting animals that are impounded and need rehoming.

Mayor Bleasdale said “We knew that Council’s former Animal Holding Facility had passed its useby date. In designing BARC, Blacktown City has changed the way animal facilities are designed and operated. Everything we do seeks to improve the rehoming rates for pets. We know that building BARC is the right thing, and we are using bestpractice methods to ensure BARC works for local families,” said Mayor Bleasdale.

Underpinned by research, the design is benchmarked against world’s best practice in animal welfare. The BARC buildings have improved on the traditional design for animal rehoming facilities, providing a secure and transparent environment for animals, with clear circulation, ‘homely’ viewing rooms for potential adoptions and a function area for educational events.

“BARC is as modern and as a good a facility as you will find this side of California. We are committed to best quality animal care, and to animal rehoming. Our commitment means that Council has fully funded this $36 million project. BARC is built to last,” Mayor Bleasdale said.

Sadly, even the best facility has a limited capacity. All over Sydney, animal care facilities have been inundated with animals people no longer want or animals that have escaped their homes.

Council’s first priority is to reunite escapees with their owners, but many animals are not registered or microchipped, leaving us no way of finding the owners.

If you are thinking of taking on the responsibility and joy of adding a pet to your family, please visit our BARC facility and give one of our many abandoned animals a chance at a forever home.

BARC is open weekdays 8.30 to 4.30 and 9am to 1pm on weekends.

BARC contains 135 dog kennels, 230 cat ‘condos’ and livestock and poultry areas for other animals waiting to be rehomed.

There is even a Council library, so those who adopt a pet can choose to take one of the many new pet related books from the display library in the BARC foyer.

Council has a veterinary clinic onsite which is operated in conjunction with veterinary hospitals and provides education and training for students at Western Sydney University and Richmond TAFE.

BARC has the capacity to engage with other local councils to assist them with their animal welfare needs.