Cape Town - In hopes of bringing service delivery to the people, with mobile clinics in high deprivation areas, Cape of Good Hope SPCA wants to roll out the red carpet, with the launch of the Prestigious Tails Up Club Lottery campaign, called “Rising Stars”.
Animal lovers can now engage in a win-win campaign, that will directly increase sterilisations, vaccinations, as well as treatment of minor ailments, including deworming and tick and flea management, with a once off R600 ticket, valid for 12 months, or a monthly R50 subscription to the Rising Stars Tails Up Club.
Pet owner Alexandra Miszewski said that often you find that animals that are sterilised have much healthier and longer lives than those that are not sterilised.
“There are a lot of problems relating to cancer and reproductive issues that you get in unsterilised animals and you significantly reduce the chance of dealing with those issues later down the line, which could also be a huge cost saving for a pet owner, and often you get an improvement in behaviour when pets are sterilised.
“By sterilising your pet, you are actively doing something to reduce the number of unwanted animals because when you have a situation where animals are unsterilised, you often have unplanned breeding and that could result in a whole lot of puppies and kittens – which essentially become unwanted pets because they have nowhere to go, resulting in a lot of pressure on animal welfare facilities, due to a lack of resources,” said Miszewski.
Given the effect of lockdown, reduced working hours, and a rise in unemployment, there has been an increase in people who are no longer able to access pet care in the private sector. With all hopes lost, they are turning to the welfare sector for their veterinary needs.
Wellington Animal Hospital vet Nellma le Roux said that population control is extremely important. The amount of animals surrendered to, found, and confiscated, by SPCA and welfare organisations, is shocking. Vets have to euthanise hundreds of animals, simply because people don’t want them and those that have them don’t always know how to provide adequate care.
“Dogs can get sexually transmitted cancers, uterine infections, and prostate cancer – which can be prevented by sterilisation. Puppies are cute – but they need a lot of extra care, special food, and homes.
“Aggression among dogs is also hormone dependent, as is roaming, marking, and difficulty in handling and training. There are no side effects to sterilisation if done at the right time (six months for small breed dogs, eight-12months for large breeds).
“Diseases like Parvo, distemper, and rabies, are all viral diseases, making it fatal as higher incidences occur in communities where dogs roam, and are allowed to reproduce unhindered. It is important to remember that sterilisation is not a treatment to the disease, but population control inhibits rapid spread,” said Le Roux.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA chief executive Moyo Ndukwana said that, given the amount of registered NPOs in South Africa, there is a dire need for aid and quality interventions in animal welfare, to alleviate the burden on, and migrate our most vulnerable towards, improved access to quality veterinary care.
“We have seen a significant increase in people accessing veterinary care at a primary level, subsequent to the nationwide lockdown. Hence, we are aiming at achieving greater coverage and saturation, with the mobile solution in high deprivation areas. This targeted program will be tailored and differentiated to a localised context, aligning with our new high impact, high performance philosophy,” said Ndukwana.
Prospective subscribers can sign up online at www.capespca.co.za/rising stars/ to stand a chance to win their share of the R120 000, with the monthly draw of R10 000 paid to the lucky ticket holder.
Weekend Argus