The RandWest SPCA was on the brink of closure a year ago. Not anymore …
Brenda Eloff, RandWest SPCA chairperson revealed the good news to committee members during their annual general meeting on Saturday, July 16 where financial statements, statistics and the road ahead were discussed. She, however, cautioned all not to celebrate too soon as more work needs to be done if they were to keep their doors open.
“There will always be a need for funds as every day brings new challenges, but because of the local municipality honouring their Memorandum of Agreement with us, we can cover our monthly expenses. This, together with the community’s support and all the fundraising done by my team is a huge step for us.
“I am honoured to be part of such a great team of committee and staff members working so hard to keep our doors open and for all the challenges that we have to face every day. I am also grateful to the community who stands by us and supports us through it all.”
The chairperson also shed a tear as committee member Mischell du Toit resigned and emigrated to New Zealand.
“We have lost a giant as Mischell and her husband Rynhardt repaired our kennels, built a play pen for the animals and gave our office roof a huge makeover. We must also mention we have two volunteers whom we cannot do without as they are always going above and beyond to help in any situation. To Wendy Eno and Andre Eloff, we salute you.”
As far as financials are concerned the RandWest SPCA’s yearly income (2021–2022 book year) grew by 41,20% while their yearly expenses (2021–2022 book year) decreased by 3,65%. Eloff said the reason why their expenses decreased is that they had to cut down on their outreach programmes.
“We were privileged to get companies on board that helped with essential items needed monthly. With that said, there were many outstanding debts and accounts in arrears that we needed to pay. Even though we are an NPO we still need to honour payment where it is due.
“Our biggest challenge currently is that we need reliable vehicles for our staff that attend to complaints far and wide. The current vehicle is falling apart and our inspector cannot be left stranded next to the road when she has to deal with an emergency, so we are trying to save for a new vehicle. There is also a huge amount of repairs and maintenance to be done to the offices and kennels. We need to carry on with our fundraisers to prevent going back to the same position we were in a year ago.”
Most concerning to Eloff was the number of abandoned animals and the problem of re-homing them.
“It is shocking to see how many are being abandoned and surrendered, and how many are re-homed. We are getting a lot of surrendered animals because families just cannot afford to care properly for their pets.”
Eloff said statistics for the financial year (from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022) show that the number of stray cats admitted totalled 868; cats surrendered were 472; stray dogs admitted were 681; dogs surrendered were 881; cats admitted in terms of the APA were 3, and dogs admitted in terms of the APA were 50. Only five cats and 49 dogs were homed.
“Our biggest challenge will always be having enough money to fulfil our duties to the animals and the community. The past year we had to cut down on outreaches, which are a crucial part of our job because we provide free sterilisations, and we educate people how to care for pets and what to do when your pet gets sick.
“Our second challenge is getting the members of the community to realise that they must sterilise their animals. We are working with the state Vet by doing steri drives, but that is by far not enough. We also need to start with adoptions. It is unacceptable to take in 1 340 cats and only five get re-homed, and 1 562 dogs and only 49 get re-homed. Our premises need to be better secured and lastly our offices desperately need a facelift. It had not been painted for many years and the ceilings are collapsing.”
Asked what the future holds for the SPCA, Eloff concluded, “We are trying to be at events in and around town. We also try to do fundraisers at least once a month. We are more active on social media, and thanks to the Herald for always supporting us in the newspaper. We are looking for someone in marketing to join our committee as we want to put the RandWest SPCA back on the map.”
