Durban — Millions of citizens will soon start their holiday travels to celebrate the festive season.
Some pet owners leave their animals behind, putting increased pressure on animal rescue organisations. National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) spokesperson Jacques Peacock said the festive period posed an increased risk of pets going astray or being accidentally injured with no one to attend to them immediately.
He said many people surrendered their animals to their local SPCA when they went on holiday.
“The festive season is known to be the busiest time of the year. This festive season particularly, the NSPCA is focussed on replenishing our Disaster Fund. This year was one of the worst years for fire disasters and we did not hesitate to attend each cry for help.
“The NSPCA will always be in need of sustainable funding, but specially during the festive season, when people would rather spend money on expensive Christmas gifts instead of donating to the NSPCA,” Peacock said.
He added that several cases had been reported in the media about children causing mischief involving animals when they were at home with nothing to do, the most recent case being teenagers caught fighting with dogs. He urged people to be responsible pet owners, with a reminder that animals were owners’ responsibility.
“We hope South Africans will remember their animals, as well as the NSPCA, this festive season. To your pets, you are their tribe. They look to you for protection and care. The NSPCA remains on the forefront of animal protection and we rely on the generosity of the public to assist us,” Peacock said.
Kloof SPCA operations manager Sarah van Heerden shared some of the challenges they faced during the festive season including:
- Pet owners who go away on holiday without planning adequately. The pets end up being abandoned or not cared for properly.
- Stray animals being brought in without proper identification.
- Pets surrendered because they are an “inconvenience” at this time.
- Summer thunderstorms and New Year’s fireworks increase admissions.
“We see up to a 40% increase in the admission of pets over the festive period,” Van Heerden said.
She added that despite the “negative” challenges, the positive impact of school holidays was that foot traffic increased to their thrift shops and tea garden, which helps with fund-raising.
“We also have an increased number of youngsters visiting our SPCA, and take this chance to educate them on what the SPCA’s function is and how they can help us,” she said.
Independent on Saturday