SPCA needs community engagement
MIDRAND – The Midrand SPCA calls on the local community for proactive engagement to fight animal cruelty and to assist them financially.
The Midrand SPCA has expressed their concerns over a number of issues within the area and they are calling on the local community for support and sponsorship.
General manager of the Midrand SPCA, Pam Pretorius, said that there are a number of animal cruelty issues that they are fighting on a daily basis, but the organisation simply cannot get to all the work, emergencies and complaints without the support of the community
Pretorius stated, “Since December, our society has been struggling with only one vehicle that is in use. Our team is working into the nights in order to get all the work done.
“The work we do is not only property inspections, emergencies and cruelty complaints, but also included a number of pro-active inspections that are very time consuming but very much needed as part of the work that we do.”
She added, “Our team is exhausted and it becomes a very stressed situation when you don’t have the vehicles needed in order to cover the workload.
“Our only working vehicle has cost us almost R10 000 in January to keep it on the road – money that we could have spent on fighting animal cruelty.
“We really need assistance in getting new vehicles donated or funds donated towards replacing the old vehicles.”
One of the issues Pretorius pointed out was the chicken-hawking sites.
She said, “These poor chickens are kept in the sun with no water and are malnourished. They are in a poor state and we do a lot of work to assist them.
“Though we’ve worked hard to raise awareness and the situation has improved at some of the sites, there is still a lot more work to do.”
She also highlighted the issue of malicious neighbourly disputes in the Midrand area.
“We get a lot of calls about the neighbours’ dogs that are barking or roaming around freely.
“Noise complaints and stray animals fall under the municipal by-laws and Metro needs to attend to these complaints as this falls under the Metro police’s jurisdiction.
Pretorius continued, “Should there, however, be any welfare concerns regarding the animals, we ask that the public make us aware of these so that we may respond to these.”
She added that malicious or neighbourly disputes take them away from their core functions which are to look out for the well-being of animals.
She further explained that the SPCA appreciated that the public is their eyes and ears out in the community and that they are reporting animal cruelty-related matters to the society.
The organisation is also calling on support and assistance from the community for sponsorships.
Pretorius concluded that they have full-time workers, bakkies to maintain and animals to feed and are asking the public for help so that their organisation continue their work.
The society runs at a financial loss every month and simply cannot continue their work. without the support of the public.
If you would like to give assistance to the Midrand SPCA you can contact them on
011 265 9935.
Related article:
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/206076/midrand-spca-dogs-looking-for-a-home/
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/205473/spca-inspector-rescues-kitten/
