We all love to stop and pat a dog or twenty on our strolls around town, but how often do we stop to think about how all of these animals come to be united with their fur-ever families?

In 2023, Blacktown opened the first custom-built animal rehoming centre in Australia. The Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre (BARC) ensures excellent facilities for animals, as well as enabling smooth, seamless adoptions of companion animals into the local community and beyond. 

Blacktown Opens the First Custom-built Animal Rehoming Centre in Australia

The Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre (BARC) is a state-of-the-art, $30 million facility that comprises six distinct purpose-built buildings linked by covered walkways. The facility includes 135 dog kennels and 230 cat homes, a reception and adoption area, staff rooms, vet facilities, function spaces, and exercise yards, all wrapped up in an incredibly modern, environmentally friendly, and welcoming facility that is centred around implementing the best practices for animal holding and rehoming.

BARC is the largest building of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and has replaced the council's 40-year-old Animal Holding Facility, with the capacity to handle the requirements of Blacktown City and several other councils well into the future. 

What to Expect at the Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre

The Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre acts as a holding facility as well as providing the opportunity for unclaimed strays to be sold or rehomed.

The centre has been designed to improve animal assessment efficiency, reduce holding times, increase adoption rates and decrease euthanasia rates by providing each animal with maximum opportunities for rehabilitation so that they may be adopted back out into the community. 

If you're thinking of adopting an animal, take some time to look over BARC's website and see the potential pets available. It's also worth keeping an eye on their Facebook page. Otherwise, you’re welcome to pop into BARC during opening hours and meet the animals for yourself! If you're interested in fostering animals, if a pet needs extra care, or the facility is at capacity, you can fill in a Foster Care Application Form.

Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre Location & Opening Hours

The Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre is located at 20 Owen Street in Glendenning.

The facility is open by appointment. Phone (02) 5300 6000 or email [email protected] for further information. 

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