Major New SPCA Campaign to Focus on Saving Lives

New Zealand could become first 'No Kill Nation' says US animal advocate

The saving of animals' lives will be taking centre stage at SPCAs across New Zealand, thanks to a major new campaign to be launched at the Society's annual conference in Rotorua, this coming Saturday.

"Saving lives has always been a crucial aspect of our work. However, we're now planning to make it absolutely central to helping the hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats who find themselves in our centres," says SPCA Auckland's Executive Director, Bob Kerridge, who is spearheading the Saving Lives campaign on behalf of the Royal New Zealand SPCA.

"All life is precious and we want to ensure that every animal taken in by an SPCA centre receives the optimum level of opportunity for enjoying a full and happy existence. There will always, unfortunately, be animals that are too sick or injured to survive with any quality of life. But no dogs or cats should have to die because there isn't the room or funding available for looking after them.

"Rising to this challenge involves treating every animal in our care as if it was our own, bringing together and benchmarking the best practices of our branches and drawing on the experience of innovative overseas animal welfare organisations that have succeeded in massively reducing euthanasia rates.

"And we want to be the first country in the world to apply this comprehensive approach nationwide," he says.

As Bob Kerridge explains, the Saving Lives campaign is not just about reducing euthanasia rates for animals in SPCA centres. It also involves helping pet owners look after their animals so that they are less likely to discard them or surrender them to the SPCA, pushing up centre populations in the process. The campaign also places renewed emphasis on coping with animals' health or behavioural problems and preparing them for adoption.

Other key aspects include low-cost desexing programmes, foster homes for young, recuperating, traumatised or elderly animals and new approaches to maximising adoptions, such as matching SPCA branch opening hours to visitors' needs, making them attractive places to visit and introducing mobile adoption caravans that can take animals out into the community for re-homing. The campaign also involves developing an effective programme for saving abandoned, stray and colony cats.

"Perhaps most important of all is the level of resolve we will bring to this campaign. SPCA staff and volunteers are invariably people who love animals and it's always heart-rending for them when an animal can't be saved.

"By putting the emphasis more firmly on the actual saving of lives, we know that we will be drawing on the wellsprings of love and compassion that motivate our shelter teams and animal lovers throughout New Zealand. We believe this to be a recipe for success," Mr Kerridge adds.

The Saving Lives campaign has drawn praise from Nathan J. Winograd, Executive Director of the No Kill Advocacy Center and a leading proponent of the 'No Kill' community management movement in the United States, who is to address the Rotorua conference.

As Director of Operations for the San Francisco SPCA, Mr Winograd helped push the organisation's life saving rate to over three times the national average for urban communities. He subsequently introduced successful No Kill policies, as Executive Director for the Tompkins County (NY) SPCA and is now helping communities across the United States towards No Kill status.

"At a conference I attended in Australia late last year, New Zealand and Australian animal welfare organisations took up the challenge of a race with the United States, to see which one of us would become the first 'No Kill Nation'. By adopting its Saving Lives campaign on a nationwide basis, New Zealand's SPCA will jump to the head of the field.

"I think the SPCA will be surprised at how quickly it succeeds in saving substantially more lives and moving towards No Kill status, which is, after all, what all animal lovers really want.

"If New Zealand succeeds in becoming the first No Kill Nation, this won't just be a moral victory. It will send a tsunami-like message across the world that it can be done. This would have immense strategic value, not least in the United States, with the lives of many more animals saved in consequence," he says.

The Royal New Zealand SPCA's annual conference commences at 9.00 am on Saturday 1st May at the Sudima Hotel on Lake Rotorua (1000 Eruera Street).

The gathering's opening address will be given by Tauranga MP, Simon Bridges, who is the originator of the bill currently before parliament to toughen sentences in animal cruelty cases.

Another key speaker will be the Auckland-based dog trainer and Behavioural specialist, Doggy Dan, who will be talking about "Big, bad,dangerous dogs and what to do about them".

ENDS

© Scoop Media