SPCA is disappointed to announce the cancellation of their Annual Street Appeal in towns and cities across New Zealand. Scheduled to start today, Monday 1 March and continue for the entire week, the decision was made in light of the upgrade in lockdown levels over the weekend.

At Alert Level’s two and three, New Zealand’s largest animal welfare organisation is unable collect much-needed funds on the street due to the lockdowns’ strict criteria.

SPCA’s General Manager – Marketing and Fundraising Dominique Leeming says while it’s hugely disappointing the street appeal won’t go ahead, there are other ways the public can donate.

“While we always knew there was a chance of going into a lockdown at any time, this is going to have a huge impact on our fundraising, in a normal year we raise around $300,000 with our street collection. We urge generous Kiwis to visit our website and make a donation online.”

“We are fortunate to have a fabulous network of volunteers who signed up to collect for us, and for that we are very grateful, but this year we can only collect donations online.” she said.

SPCA requires $47 million each year to operate – this includes more than $10 million to run the Inspectorate programme which involves rescuing animals and prosecuting offenders. With minimal government funding, SPCA relies on the public for the majority of its donations.

“The street collecting component of our Annual Appeal is just one of the ways we planned to engage with the public this week. However, while we won’t be able to offer that personal touch this year, we are still committed to raising funds to help the animals and we urge the New Zealand public to continue to support us, albeit online,” Ms Leeming said.

“Our organisation works incredibly hard to protect our nation’s most vulnerable animals from abuse, neglect and abandonment but it’s only possible for the charity to continue its fight for justice, on behalf of these animals, with the ongoing public support.

The 2021 SPCA Annual Appeal is supported by The Coffee Club.

The public can donate to SPCA’s Annual Appeal by donating online at: www.spca.nz

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