Our Annual Report 2009-2010 highlights how we turn lives around each and every day – not only for the animals, but also for the community we serve.
Despite the challenges of the current economic climate, we have achieved some amazing results as part of our charitable aims.
The Annual Report is now available to view and download [PDF 9.5MB].
Wellington SPCA’s Kid’s Club takes place every month and children aged 6 to 12 years can come along to take part in an afternoon packed with fun, educational games and activities.
This month it’s all about Christmas! You’ll find out how to care for your pets over the holidays and why it’s important not to give pets as surprise gifts. As usual, there’ll also be heaps of time to spend with some of our special SPCA animals.
It’s going to be a great afternoon, see you there!
When: Saturday 11 December from 4.30pm to 6.30pm
Where: Newtown Hall, cnr of Daniell and Constable Streets, Newtown
Cost: $15 per child
If you want to come along to this cool event, take a look at the flyer and print off the application form here [PDF 893KB] and send it to Jennifer Rizzi, Wellington SPCA, PO Box 7069, Newtown, Wellington 6242. Alternatively, you can fill in the online registration form.
Spaces are limited so bookings are essential.
If you’d like more information about our Kid’s Club you can email Jen at JenniferR@wellingtonspca.org.nz or call her on 04 389 8044 ext 827.
We are looking for help from the public after 10 two to three-week-old kittens were found abandoned last week in a New World carrier basket in front of the cricket clubrooms on Fitzherbert Road in Wainouiomata.
Local police informed us that a member of the public had discovered the two litters of kittens, alone and terrified in the basket. Wellington SPCA animal welfare inspector Clare Stretton attended, however, when she arrived, the basket containing the kittens had disappeared. Despite making local enquiries Inspector Stretton could not locate the basket anywhere near the location stated by police.
Miraculously, after driving around the local area for a short time, Inspector Stretton came across a group of children carrying the basket, with all 10 kittens still remaining inside.
“While these are certainly not the first litters of abandoned kittens we have rescued this season, t’s certainly one of the largest litters we have taken into our care in one go” explained Inspector Stretton.
The abandoned kittens are most likely the product of an undesexed female cat that has been allowed to breed. We cared for nearly 1,200 unwanted and abandoned kittens so far in 2010 alone – and we continue to receive litters on a near daily basis.
“We offer a 24-hour, 7 day-a-week service as well as cheap desexing programmes, so we are always available to offer help to anyone who finds themselves in difficulty caring for their pet” says Inspector Stretton. “But, pet owners need to take responsibility for getting their animals desexed to avoid all these unwanted babies being born.”
While the maximum penalty for abandoning an animal is 6 months in prison and/or a $25,000 fine, the person responsible could potentially face a charge of ‘wilful ill-treatment of an animal’ which carries a much heavier penalty of a maximum 5 years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine.
After a thorough veterinary check was carried out at our Newtown animal centre, all of the kittens were immediately sent out into the care of fosterers. If anyone is interested in adopting a kitten from us or has information about the abandonment of these kittens, please contact us on 04 389 8044.
The bunny and sheep costumes are back on their hangers for another year and the money has been counted.
Our Annual Paws Appeal street collection was a phenomenal success – with a record-breaking $72,000 raised in donations!
Wellington SPCA staff and volunteers took to the streets for our biggest fundraising event of the year and the people of Wellington, Porirua, Kapiti and Lower Hutt definitely showed us their generous side.
We were also very fortunate this year to have amazing support from the team at Classic Hits, The Radio Network and TV One’s Breakfast show who certainly helped get the message out and the donations coming in. A massive thank you has to go to The Costume Company, Totally Frocked and Anything Goes Costume Hire for lending us 17 fabulous animal costumes absolutely free and to Party Masters for donating 50 helium balloons free of charge – awesome!
The street collection would not have been possible without our committed volunteers and staff and the amazing support of all those who made a donation – no matter how large or small.
All of the money raised will go directly towards helping fund our vital animal welfare work and allowing us to continue to take a stand against animal cruelty. Wellington SPCA receives no direct government funding, so without donations we would not be able to continue this work.
If you missed the chance to make a donation to one of our collectors, some of whom dressed as cats, dogs and even penguins(!), you can still make a donation now. A huge thank you once again to everyone who supported our Annual PAWS Street Appeal and here’s to going one better next year!
The second edition of our fantastic new-look newsletter is now available for you to read and download.
In this issue we highlight some of the great events we’ve held over the last few months, as well as some of the fantastic results we’ve achieved with the help of our fabulous donors, supporters and volunteers.
We also take a good look at the Saving Lives programme and highlight some of the positive ways we are implementing this initiative at our centres and in the community.
Changing Lives - part I [3.52mb]
Changing Lives - part II [1.89mb]
We hope you enjoy reading it and would love to hear what you think – please email us with your comments and feedback.
Want to help bring a little Christmas cheer to the animals this year and help support Wellington SPCA?
Well, now you can! Our Christmas cards and calendars are now available from our Newtown animal centre.
At only $15 for a pack of 10 cards and $25 for the calendars – they’re fantastic value!
The cards include two designs – one featuring a very cute kitten and the other is a super-sweet pup.
Our calendars also come in two different designs – one for the dog-lover and one for the cat fanatic and feature beautiful photos of past and present Wellington SPCA animals.
So, call in to either our Newtown animal centre today and help make this Christmas really special for the animals in our care.
From time to time farmyard birds are rought into our care – Ren and Stimpy and the Hulk are just three of our feathered-friends who we’ve been caring for recently.
Some birds are surrendered to us because their owner can no longer care for them; others are brought in by concerned members of the public who have found them, seemingly lost.
At our Newtown animal centre we simply do not have the appropriate facilities for birds like Ren and Stimpy and The Hulk on a long-term basis. Luckily for these guys, we have been able to find them a fabulous new home with The Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary in Otaki.
However, The Black Sheep Sanctuary, like us, is a charity and can therefore only care for a limited number of animals like these chooks.
We therefore want to gather together a list of possible adopters and fosterers who will be able to offer homes to farm animals, not just chooks, that come into our care. Although we already have a fantastic team of fosterers, many of them care for kittens and puppies and don’t have the space to care for larger animals.
So, if you already care for farm animals, have a lifestyle block, or are interested in becoming a livestock fosterer or adopter, then we’d love to hear from you.
Please email your name, address and contact details to nurse@wellingtonspca.org.nz with Rooster as the title field, and one of our team will be in touch with you shortly.
Thank you.
In celebration of World Animal Day we launched a kid’s fundraising competition and we are proud to announce the winners of our competition for ‘Most Money Raised’ are Frances Perry, Lucy Stevens and Jean Perry. Their fundraising event ‘Man and Dog Stall’ was a huge success, raising $105 in just over an hour. Passing patrons were hungry for cupcakes and brownies and their dogs were treated to honey dog biscuits and dog tug toys. The team made all of the food and toys themselves – a fantastic effort.
Huge congratulations to our winners who each won a prize pack and a special shelter tour – to see for themselves exactly how their fantastic efforts are helping the animals.
On Saturday 4th December 2010, BRONZ (Biker’s Rights of NZ) Wellington Inc are holding their first every charity motorbike ride in support of Wellington SPCA – and they need your support!
This fantastic event will see a group of bikers and bike enthusiasts riding up the beautiful Kapiti Coast as far as Waikanae and then heading back down to Wellington – stopping off along the way to collect donations of pet food, blankets, towels and cash!
Show your support for Wellington SPCA – please come along to any of the collection points listed below with your donation. This is also a fabulous opportunity for anyone with a keen eye to check out some awesome machines.
The meeting and collection points and times are:
If you are keen to show your support by taking part in the ride please email info@bronzwellington.org.nz as soon as possible.
This great event will culminate in a presentation outside the TSB Arena followed by the chance to celebrate the day in the Parrot and Jigger Bar and restaurant at the Station Village, Hutt Road, Lower Hutt.
The event is supported by Dulux, Tribe Design and Selleys
A cat that disappeared from a home in Mount Victoria, Wellington in January 2009 was yesterday reunited with its ecstatic owner.
The missing moggy, named Oscar, had been seen hanging around a property in the Wellington suburb of Roseneath and was brought into our Newtown centre by a member of the public who decided he was a stray.
A quick scan confirmed that Oscar had a microchip, so staff called the mobile number stored on the database straight away. And sure enough, Oscar’s owner was over the moon to hear that his pal had been found and, as he was in the area, called in to the centre to collect Oscar the same day!!
Microchipping is a quick, easy and relatively painless procedure and can be the difference between losing your pal forever, or being reunited – even after nearly two years!
Call us today to find out how you can get your pet microchipped with us.
Some facts about microchipping
