Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 John BERGER (Southern Metropolitan) (23:33): (2094) My adjournment matter is directed to the Minister for Agriculture in the other place. I was pleased to see the announcement of round 13 of the Animal Welfare Fund by the minister at the end of October, offering grants of up to $100,000 for eligible not-for-profit organisations, animal shelters and community foster care networks focused on rehoming, education, emergency animal relief and expanding facilities available to the community in crisis periods. It also offers low-cost vet clinic grants of up to $50,000 for equipment upgrades and expansions for not-for-profit and community vet clinics and up to $200,000 to establish new low-cost vet clinics. This grant program invests $1.6 million into companion animal welfare across Victoria, and over the past decade it has given over $14.75 million towards animal welfare support across the state. For many Victorians, pets are important and beloved members of their families, whether they are cats, dogs, rabbits, fish or more. My electorate of Southern Metro Region is home to Save-A-Dog Scheme Inc based in Glen Iris. Opening their doors in 2006 they are a community-based not-for-profit shelter that saves hundreds of dogs and cats from being killed every year, with support from the City of Stonnington, caring for animals and reuniting lost pound pets with owners across the electorate. They do exceptional work in my community of Southern Metro Region caring for, homing and saving the lives of countless dogs across the state. The action I seek is for the Minister for Agriculture to join me in visiting the Save-A-Dog Scheme facility in Glen Iris to see the excellent work they are doing to promote animal welfare in the Southern Metropolitan Region.