For release: 25 May 2010

Government Funding Will Save More Animals

The new government funding for the inspectorate of the Royal New Zealand SPCA will be put to good use preventing the suffering and saving the lives of many more animals said CEO, Robyn Kippenberger.

The four year funding commitment to the RNZSPCA of 1.2 million announced in the Budget is part of MAF Animal Welfare Compliance and Enforcement planning and will enable the SPCA to better coordinate their inspectorate activities with MAF to provide more comprehensive animal welfare outcomes

“This government has already demonstrated its commitment to animal welfare with its fast tracking of the animal welfare bill, and the new funding is a further demonstration of this commitment. We will be using the ongoing funding to increase the capacity of our frontline services.

“We currently receive around 13,000 animal welfare complaints a year and one third of these are in the rural areas. This ongoing government funding will be used to improve inspectorate response to these rural and on farm call outs.

“It has been of grave concern that our inspectors are not always able to respond to the call outs due to issues of funding and training. When even one calf is down, or a goat is caught in a ditch beside the road, or when a horse is suffering, it is the expectation that we are able to assist, even in the most remote areas.”

“The government funding allows us to financially assist the SPCA inspectorate to attend these events and get the veterinary advice and treatment that may be needed. It will directly improve the chance of survival and alleviation of suffering of thousands of animals annually”.

ENDS

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