The Irwins Animal Rescue Centre faces a devastating loss as unforeseen civil litigation threatened to leave 269 dogs at the mercy of the court.
The centre has reached a stage where operational costs have to be drastically scaled down for the organisation to survive.
The financial struggle was brought on by unforeseen civil litigation, and further costs incurred, when the organisation was required to submit a consent use application to the Midvaal Council.
Irwins was subjected to spending a large amount of money in securing the services of a professional litigator to prepare and submit the application, following a noise impact study.
“We also foresee the need to erect some form of noise reducing structures as a measure to reduce noise levels at the centre. This is to satisfy the Midvaal Council and our neighbours,” said Ms Tanya Sequeria, from the organisation.
There is now an urgent need for the organisation to re-home 200 dogs by mid-May, in a bid to reduce operational costs.
To do this, the Irwins Animal Rescue Centre will hold regular open days and has, until further notice, waived its adoption fee.
Strict home inspections will still apply before any adoptions will be approved.
The organisation also hopes to raise an additional R30 000 each month to fund operational costs.
“The harsh reality is that if we are unable to achieve these objectives, we have reached the stage where we will regrettably be forced to carry through the only unthinkable, but remaining option, of reducing the quota of dogs in our care by means of euthanasia,” said Ms Sequeria.
The centre is a pro-life shelter.
The centre is open seven days a week from Sunday to Friday, from 9.30am to 3pm, and on Saturday’s from 9.30am to 1pm.
The centre is situated at 59 Aloe Ridge Drive, Walkerville, Johannesburg.
For more information, e-mail tanya.sequeira01@gmail.com or Irwin.comps@gamil.com
