Balmore animal centre continues to need support during lockdown
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Local people are being urged not to forget about animals during the coronavirus crisis with the Scottish SPCA centre in Caithness needing £11,000 every month to provide care.
The society has launched a new campaign with a simple message as the charity provides a vital lifeline to Scotland’s animals throughout the pandemic – don’t forget the animals.
Involvement by the Scottish SPCA can be the difference between life or death for animals such as Ash the border collie who was rescued, along with her puppies, from under a shed and taken to the local centre at Balmore.
Ash had been dropped off at the home of her new owners, only to become terrified, and darted off into the garden to hide under the shed. She only left her hiding place to eat or "toilet", and the next thing her family knew there were puppies under the shed.
The dogs were taken to the Scottish SPCA’s rescue and rehoming centre for Caithness and Sutherland after a call from the new owners.
Ash was highly strung and petrified of everyone. However, with lots of patience and encouragement, she began to eat ham from the hands of the animal care assistants. Eventually, she would let people she knew gently stroke her head.
At the moment, the border collie is being fostered by one of the society’s animal care assistants, Stephanie Turner. On top of caring for animals in the centre every day, Stephanie is working to build Ash’s confidence until she is ready to live with a patient, understanding owner.
Centre manager Christine Urquhart 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 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 person who signs up to support us with a monthly donation will make a difference and will save lives."
Scotland’s animal welfare charity has launched the new campaign 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 Scottish SPCA has seen almost 1500 members stop their monthly donations. This, combined with the cancellation of fundraising events and challenges, means the society could face losing up to 20 per cent of its income this year in a worst-case scenario.
Since the nation entered lockdown on March 23, the society has fielded more than 11,000 calls to its animal helpline and responded to over 4400 reports of animals in urgent need.
The charity 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 as strays coming in to rescue centres over the same period.
More than 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 free home-learning resources for parents, carers and teachers across Scotland.
The society receives no government funding and is entirely reliant on donations from the public.
The Scottish SPCA recently revealed a survey which found 25 per cent of people confuse the organisation with the RSPCA, which does the same work but in England and Wales only. Seven per cent 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/join
