Cape Town - The Animal Welfare Society in Philippi, Cape Town, has experienced a string of break-ins in the past few months.
On Saturday night, thieves were at it again and stole cables and vandalised the premises.
"They have taken the water supply and vandalised our place. We cannot clean the kennels," spokesperson Jacques le Roux said.
The animal shelter relies solely on donations.
The string of break-ins puts a damper on its goal of caring for the animals.
"All our funds so far has gone towards fixing the property and it’s not fair to the animals because they (the funds) are not going towards caring for them."
Yesterday, the staff salvaged what they could.
"We don’t know how they (the thieves) came in. This is the biggest mystery because there is no forced entry or
anything."
In March, the shelter had its seventh break-in when burglar bars were shafted out of the wall. The animals' food was stolen.
The welfare cares for about 300 animals and offers a variety of veterinary services to underprivileged communities in and around Philippi.
Its aim is to educate the
community about taking care of animals and the sterilisation of pets. Many of the animals at the shelter are badly injured or abused or neglected.