The Scottish SPCA has launched a new campaign to not forget the animals during the pandemic as it carries out it’s important role after losing 1,500 monthly donations.
Scotland’s animal welfare charity has launched ‘Don’t Forget the Animals’ as it continues to deliver its life-saving services to animals nationwide.
Despite a fall in membership and donations due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Society’s dedicated animal care teams have helped thousands of animals over the past month.
In recent weeks, the Society has seen almost 1,500 stop their monthly donations. This, combined with the cancellation of fundraising events and challenges, means the Society could face losing up to 20% of its income this year in a worst-case scenario.
Since the nation entered lockdown on March 23, the Scottish SPCA has fielded over 11,000 to its animal helpline and responded to over 4,400 reports of animals in urgent need.
Over the past month it has launched an emergency fostering service to free-up space as it continued to rescue animals without being able to rehome.
More than 130 animals have gone to foster homes, with over 300 animals seized on welfare grounds or picked up on strays coming in to rescue centres over the same period. Over 700 animals are receiving rehabilitation at the National Wildlife Rescue Centre, which is getting busier all the time as the weather improves.
The Scottish SPCA has also had to suspend its education programme, instead offering a suite of free home-learning resources for parents, carers and teachers across Scotland.
Whilst the Society has not seen an increase in abandonments since the pandemic began, there is concerns the longer it lasts the more likely it is financial difficulty will lead to people abandoning their pets.
Scottish SPCA chief executive Kirsteen Campbell said: “Our frontline teams, whether on our helpline, out on the road, or in a rescue centre, are still here fighting to rescue and care for every single animal we can.”
“We know Scotland is a nation of animal lovers and now, more than ever, we ask that they don’t forget the animals.
“Our aim is to be here as long as animals and people need us, giving animals like Ash and her pups their second chance in life.
“Every single person who signs up to support us with a monthly donation will make a difference and will save lives.
The Scottish SPCA receives no government funding and is entirely reliant on donations from the public. The Society recently revealed a survey which found 25% of people confuse the organisation with the RSPCA, which does the same work but in England and Wales only. 7% of Scots have donated to the RSPCA since December 2018.
To find out more about the #DontForgetTheAnimals campaign and becoming a member of the Scottish SPCA, visit www.scottishspca.org/dontforget.
