Compassion runs deep in Samantha Blake when it comes to rescuing animals, and she believes education is the key to better welfare in the future.
Ms Blake and her husband run Sweet Pea Animal Hospital and Rescue in Forster on the New South Wales mid-north coast.
Their business is dedicated to rescuing animals from all over the country.
For Ms Blake, animals and animal rescue have been a passion from an early age.
"In my teens I became aware of the [animal] cruelty mostly happening overseas," she said.
"I saw a program about Jill Robertson, CEO of Animals Asia, and her story about moon bears.
"I wanted to work with the bears in China, so that's what made me decide to do vet nursing … and it's all snowballed from there."
Ms Blake worked closely with the moon bears and said it was horrifying to see the situations they came from.
"They have stunted skeletons and a lot of dental problems because they chew at the cages," she said.
Ms Blake said from this experience, she was compelled to rescue animals in her own backyard.
"No matter where you go, whether to work with bears or primates, there are always dogs and cats. There is a lot of work to be done in Australia," she said.
Rescue groups growing online
Ms Blake said the rescue component of her business was constant and could get out of hand.
"There's still hundreds of thousands of cats and dogs euthanased in Australia every year due to homelessness," she said.
Many of the animals the Sweet Pea team seeks to rehome have been found through growing Facebook pages dedicated to rescuing homeless pets.
"There are two pages predominantly operating in New South Wales, but they do represent other states too. They have volunteers in almost every remote town," she said.
"It's a combined effort. At the moment we have a cat coming down from Rockhampton."
Australian Country Poundies has more than 5,000 members, and more than 3,000 people support Rural Pound Aid.
These online rescue platforms photograph each of the animals, post their details online, and seek community pledges to transport and rescue impounded pets.
"It is a very recent change in regional communities, and these Facebook pages are representing those animals in remote and regional areas," Ms Blake said.
"There just isn't the population in regional communities to adopt all the animals filling the pounds. They need support from major towns and cities."
The future of animal welfare
Ms Blake has recently completed her Masters degree from the University of Edinburgh in International Animal Welfare Ethics and Law, and is now turning her sights to improving these matters in Australia.
She said originally she had hoped to change Australian legislation, but realised education and an introduction of animal welfare in the school curriculum was the key to change.
"It needs to start at a young age. The topics would be developed to suit the children," she said.
"I think it's essential to improve animal welfare long term.
"Education is the basis for change. This is an education of how to choose your pet, how to maintain reproduction, and ultimately reduce the need for rescue.
"Any living being is a life that needs to be valued, and to teach that to children could have a lasting effect."
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