PORT ELIZABETH, May 9 (ANA) – The National Council of SPCAs said on Monday that two clinics in the Eastern Cape faced possible closure due to dire financial constraints.
The SPCA in East London and King Williams Town remain cash-strapped and needed urgent assistance to be able to assist animals in distress, the organisation said.
In a statement on Monday, Chairman of the East London SPCA, Annette Rademeyer, said that an urgent and heartfelt appeal was being made as the clinics faced the “very real possibility” of closure if they were not rescued.
Rademeyer said the immediate priority was the survival of both the SPCA clinics.
“The monthly running costs for the East London SPCA are about R240,000 and for King Williams Town around R180,000 per month. In each case, the account for drugs/medication/veterinary supplies is very high,” said Rademeyer.
“The East London SPCA recently had an outbreak of kennel cough, which meant that they had to purchase more drugs than they usually would. King William’s Town was currently experiencing an outbreak of parvo virus with 16 cases in one week alone.”
She added that King William’s Town SPCA spendt around R40,000 each month on medication and veterinary supplies.
“Given that owners do not or cannot pay for treatments, only around R5,000 per month of this cost is recovered,” said Rademeyer.
She also revealed that the jobs of 44 employees were at stake.
Rademeyer said King William’s Town SPCA had been rendering services to the community for 57 years and the East London SPCA for close to 100 years.
She explained that income from the Buffalo City Municipality was not a grant, but payment for services rendered on its behalf, in this case for the SPCA taking on and caring for stray animals.
“The two SPCAs carry all the responsibility and costs for running the pound on behalf of the Municipality. East London is reimbursed by R10,000 per month for one pound and King Williams Town by R6,600 for running three pounds. Costs far exceed what Buffalo City Municipality pays,” said Rademeyer.
She said that both struggling SPCA clinics could no longer afford to render services such as picking up dogs in the street and taking them into their care.
“The public of Buffalo City is advised that both SPCAs have been pushed into a position where we are seriously considering having to close our clinics to the public … The only service that these SPCAs will be able to offer the public is to put a suffering pet to sleep if it has been signed over to the SPCA,” said Rademeyer.
“This sounds harsh. It is harsh but the alternative is closure, complete closure. The SPCAs cannot afford to treat pets for free. It is not fair to expect the SPCA to subsidise treatment costs for owned pets.”
– African News Agency (ANA)
