Vryheid SPCA closes down due to lack of support

After 45 years, the Vryheid SPCA has sadly closed down. This happened following a special meeting with the liaison from the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) on Saturday. Stephan Vickers introduced Wroelien Rabie from the NSPCA, who chaired the meeting and explained the situation as follows: “So what has happened is that the Vryheid SPCA has been struggling for some time, as most of you are aware. It is mainly due to a lack of community support. They are my SPCA, I am the liaison officer, but they have struggled to find an inspector. We have tried for five or six years to find an inspector. The problem is that an inspector is what makes an SPCA, because you need to do cruelty investigations. Unfortunately, these two people can only do so much; Antoinette and Stephan have been champions. We, at council, are very sad to lose them. But what it comes down to is non-compliance and they cannot keep up with everything on their own. We have reached a point where the non-compliance has gotten to such an extent that we decided it was in the best interests of the Vryheid SPCA to close down. This will take a very big toll on this area. The work these people have done is nothing short of commendable. They have gone over, above and beyond to try and save this place, but there comes a point when you have to realise that they can only do so much. Without the community’s support and without an inspector, they are in the predicament they now find themselves.” Stephan explained that they had inspectors on occasion, but they didn’t qualify and that meant they were left without an inspector every time. He said it’s not a lack of trying; it’s more a case of getting an inspector who can qualify.

Wroelien continued: “We have decided that these people have such a love for the animals that they are willing to go another route. When an SPCA de-registers, we give the option of opening an animal welfare society instead. The burden of an inspector and becoming compliant with the rules of the SPCA kind of fall away. It becomes easier not having to answer within the 24-hour scope, as required by our act. There are a lot of different compliant issues. They have decided gracefully to open an animal welfare society. The Vryheid Animal Welfare Society will open and the SPCA will close today. The signage has been removed and the animals were moved to Johannesburg on Thursday. Remember, these animals fell under the Vryheid SPCA and therefore they belong to the SCPA. The animals that came in over the weekend were moved to the Dundee SPCA. These people will need everyone’s support because they are ‘staatmakers’. Thank you, Stephan – this was my first SPCA when I started with council. They work hard and they are amazing people. I ask the community to step up and support them, as they cannot do this on their own. Funding is difficult, so even if you assist by walking the animals over the weekend, it will be appreciated. They will also do sterilizations. On behalf of council, we want to thank you.”

Stephan then explained what the Vryheid Animal Welfare Society will be doing. “The aim behind the Vryheid Animal Welfare Society is basically to continue in the exact same way that an SPCA would continue. We will still be addressing cruelty situations; we are in communication with the municipality to keep the pound status. The company has been registered and we had a very positive meeting with the director of Community Services. What might change is the fact that we might have a bigger mandate in terms of responsibilities, because we need their support as well. For the last three years, we have been running the SPCA with no support from AbaQulusi Municipality. The financial strain of that is immense. We will still follow and run the society according to the rules of the SPCA and we will work in ‘conjunction’ with them. We will focus on the Animal Protection Act, which is based on animal cruelty in South Africa. The principles of the Vryheid Animal Welfare Society will stay the same as the previous Vryheid SPCA.

We will also implement an inspector and field officer structure. We also have a registered clinic. We were the smallest SPCA in the country that has a registered clinic and a veterinarian at our disposal. We will still take the stance of ‘animals first and people second’.” Adopted animals under the SPCA flag will still be checked on annually. All printers and other equipment that belonged to the SPCA were removed from the premises, including the SPCA bakkie. The Vryheid Animal Welfare Society is a non-profit organisation and still needs the support of the community regarding funding. The landline is no longer in use and the telephone number to be used is 061 517 3276.

The news provided to you in this link has been investigated and compiled by the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area. Please follow us on Youtube and feel free to like, comment, and subscribe. For more local news, visit our webpage, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.