Be responsible, be compassionate, be the eyes and ears

The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has the following message for people as the festive season approaches:

“If you have animals, please ensure that they have the best of care.

“Making sure their vaccinations are up to date is the first step and also a condition of being able to book pets into boarding facilities if you are going away.

“Please plan ahead and ensure that their every need is catered for, whether you are with them or away during this period.

“We recommend microchip identification as the ideal gift if an animal does not already have this form of permanent tamper-proof identification, which is also proof of ownership.

“Compassion comes in all forms and we ask for consideration towards all creatures and the promotion of responsible behaviour.

“An appeal is made to everyone to choose activities that do not exploit animals in any way.

“Even if an animal may not be harmed, we ask people to consider if petting lion cubs is ethical and to look at the bigger picture; this is just one example.

“Being the eyes and ears of the SPCA movement links to this and we ask members of the public not to be afraid to report anything of concern.

“This might range from youngsters aiming at living creatures with air guns or similar items, to accidents involving animals or broken down vehicles carrying animals.

“Please carry the number of your local SPCA with you on your cellphone.

“Even if this is not the appropriate SPCA, they can forward the information quickly.

“Above all, please report concerns regarding abused, neglected or cruelly treated animals by phone.

“Every SPCA has an all-hours emergency number, but e-mails may not be monitored around the clock and the same applies to messages of this kind on Facebook.

“The identity of an informant is always kept confidential.”