Busy times at RSPCA Tasmania

It’s hard to believe that it is almost the end of June – and as usual there has been a lot happening.  As I have acknowledged previously, times are tough in securing funds, but it was very pleasing to see such a fantastic turn out right around the state for the 2012 Million Paws Walk.  This was my first ‘walk’ but all indications suggest that this was one of the most successful hosted in Tasmania pre day online registrations were up by almost 100% on last year, and I’d like to thank all those involved in running the individual ‘walks’ that took place throughout the State and in particular thanks to our Fundraising Manager Jo Meyer.  There are a number of new fundraising initiatives for Tasmania that Jo will be rolling out throughout the year for us to look forward to.  Once again, I cannot highlight enough the role that our volunteers play in assisting us in staging major events – thank you one and all.

 Nationally, we have just launched the Stayz Charity Give and Getaway 50 day auction.  100% of the funds raised will be split between RSPCA and Canteen.  We are promoting the auction on Facebook and twitter and you can check out the daily auctions by going to  http://giveandgetaway.stayz.com.au/

Finally, it was very pleasing that the Deputy Premier and Minister for Primary Industries Bryan Green recently announced the phasing out of battery hen farming in Tasmania and the fast tracking of a planned ban on sow stalls.  Our Executive Team worked very closely with Government for quite some time to achieve this ground breaking result and we can all be proud that Tasmania is leading the way in making such an important commitment to animal welfare.

Ben Sturges

CEO - RSPCA Tasmania

Lots happening at RSPCA Tasmania

It's hard to believe that it is almost April! There has been a lot of activity right around the State with a huge push to find homes for the many kittens and cats  that have arrived at our shelters. Early in the year we had an unusual amount of rabbits that were adopted, but this months response to our plea for help with cats has been quite amazing. A big thank you must go to Lorraine Hamilton with her own promotional activity in the north and a thank you to our friends in media across print, radio and television, that took up the cause on our behalf. We well get close to having re-homed 300 cats and kittens for the month, once again a big thank you to all involved.

This Friday we will officially launch the 2012 Million Paws Walk, its one of our biggest fundraising events which takes place in Tasmania on Sunday 20 May.

With walks happening in Hobart, Launceston, St. Helens and Ulverstone this is a great family day out, so we encourage everyone to get on-line and register and assist us in raising much needed funds. Current tough economic times, means that the fundraising dollar is even tougher to secure, so please get behind this one. Walks will take place in Launceston, St. Helens and Ulverstone, with the launch being conducted in Hobart by the Minister for Local Government Bryan Green.

I'm very pleased with the way our Community Engagement programme is developing. Andrea Carne, RSPCA's Community Engagement Manager has certainly hit the ground running, with her visits to a number of Tasmanian primary schools providing an entertaining and informative representation of the work and importance of RSPCA.

In closing I'd just like you all to encourage family, friends and colleagues to spread the word and join the walk, we want this years event to be the best yet!

Merry Christmas & a review of 2011

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff, volunteers, sponsors and supporters along with the RSPCA Board members, for their dedication throughout 2011 and to the many who have assisted me in settling in to my role as CEO.  Although the role can be challenging at times, it is also very rewarding.  Just a few highlights include the delivery of our new ambulances kindly sponsored by RACT, they have helped us enormously in carrying out our work.  We have also been able to provide low cost cat desexing both on the North West Coast and Hobart which is very satisfying.  The re-opening of the Hobart Vet clinic to the public was extremely well received and there were a record number of adoptions in Launceston in August.  There was also the very successfully rally held in Hobart supporting the 'Ban of Live Exports'.  We have achieved quite a bit in a short time and planning is well underway to ensure a successful 2012.  I'd like to thank those that assisted with our Christmas Campaign and our major raffle.

You may have noticed my comments in the media over the past few days regarding the decision by a Southern Council not to provide their regular service in assisting with the pick up of stray dogs.  As I clearly demonstrated, the financial position of councils is drastically different to that of RSPCA where we rely on the generosity of the community to allow us to carry out our work, and we simply can not carry out council work for them during the holiday period - resources are just not available.  On that note, once again

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to everyone who supports us in our work and wish you all a safe, happy and prosperous New Year.

Welcome to my latest blog, plenty going on here at RSPCA Tasmania

It continues to be busy for us all at RSPCA.  Some of you may have heard us participating in the outside broadcast of the ABC’s Chris Wisby programme on 19 November.  It was a worthwhile exercise in not only promoting RSPCA, we were able to micro chip in excess of twenty dogs on the day.  One listener made a forty minute drive to have his dog chipped. I’d like to thank the team who gave up their time for an early start on a Saturday morning, and it was also great to see some of our northern volunteers who visited us at our site on the day.  I can never thank our volunteers enough for their continued dedication and support.

You would all be aware of the decision to close the Burnie Shelter and consolidate services at Devonport.  As I have said publicly, the financial position of RSPCA Tasmania, given tough economic times is that two facilities on the North West Coast can no longer be financially viable and we are confident that we can provide better animal welfare outcomes on the North West Coast by resourcing one facility.  A steering committee will manage the exit from the Burnie shelter from now until 30 March 2012

We recently launched our Christmas appeal.  And while the festive season is a time of joy and happiness for many, we have had a very slow uptake as far as donations are concerned.  I really hope that this will turn around quickly, as we need the help and support from our community to ensure that the animals that will may come to us at this time will receive the care that they deserve. Once again I encourage everyone to pass on this message – the gift of a pet is a gift for life. Please spread the word about donating to the RSPCA this Christmas to allow us to continue our vital work

Rescue Vehicles, Great Adoptions, Golf Day & Raffles - Just a few of the things going on at RSPCA Tasmania

As usual, it’s very busy times for RSPCA right around State and with ‘kitten season’ upon us

things are not likely to slow down!  I’m pleased to announce that on Sunday 19 November,

RSPCA will be participating in an outside broadcast of the ABC’s Chris Wisby radio programme.  Aside from the radio interviews which will focus around micro chipping and desexing, we will also have an information booth on the lawns of the ABC in Hobart.

This should provide excellent exposure for us State-wide.

Recently we launched our new Animal Rescue Vehicles and our important partnership with the RACT.  Our shelters receive calls from members of the public on a daily basis and this now means that these calls can be serviced in Hobart, Launceston and the North West Coast.

I’d once again like to thank the CEO of RACT Harvey Lennon and his team for supporting this project.  And of course we are always looking for Volunteers to assist us with driving these vehicles.

On the subject of volunteers, I was very proud to represent RSPCA Tasmania at the recent Community Achievement Awards dinner where we were a finalist in the Volunteer Management category.  While we did not win, the fact that we were one of only three finalists was a great achievement for us.  I continue to thank our hardworking volunteers for their commitment and dedication.

We also held our inaugural RSPCA Charity Golf Day at the ‘Wood Rising’ Devonport Golf Club on Sunday the 30 October. This was a great day with 18 teams taking part. There were plenty of games and fun things for the participants to do as they went around the course. I was chief drink cart driver and kept the masses well hydrated. The event helped raise much needed funds for RSPCA netting over $3000. The event would not have been possible without the work of Inspector Kelvin Burke. I look forward to next year’s event.

Don’t forget RSPCA Tasmania is currently running a raffle where you could win a new car,  please call in or contact your local shelter for your tickets, we are really hoping for a big result this year.  The raffle is drawn 18 November.

Finally, I would just like to touch on the success of our Adopt a Pet programme.  The Launceston shelter recently sent a beautiful ginger cat to a loving family on Cape Barren Island and a Dalmatian to a new home in Townsville. A few months back a long-term resident dog was adopted by a family in the Barossa Valley, with another of the shelters’ pups going to a farm in Victoria. So the programme has certainly been very successful in helping to generate adoptions as demonstrated by these recent adoptions now that animals can be seen from right around the country.

RSPCA Awareness Week - A Retrospective

RSPCA Awareness week has certainly been hectic.  It all began with Leader of the Opposition Will Hodgman launching the week for us and he was well supported by long time RSPCA supporter and member of the ALP Graeme Sturges. We also had Jo Lonergan from the RSPCA Hobart Vet Clinic with us and her dogs and my Millie modelled our new ‘Adopt Me’ coats for the media.  The coats are now available and we thank Anchor wetsuits for helping us in producing them.

During the week we also received media coverage about cat desexing, an important message to keep pushing out to the broader community with kitten season almost upon us.

The week ended with Happy Tails Day. We rely heavily on community support to carry out our work, but 

 Happy Tails Day also raises awareness and hopefully encourages more people to become involved with RSPCA and learn about what we do.

At the time of writing fundraising tally is not complete, but I think from all accounts it was a successful day right around the state. I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank all that volunteered to ‘rattle cans’ and sell merchandise.

There is always plenty of exciting things going on at RSPCA Tasmania, here are some highlights!

I am pleased to announce that we have just re-opened our vet clinic at Mornington.  With our new vet Joanne Lonergan joining the team in June, we can now keep on top of our shelter work as well as carrying out public work.

This service is aimed out low income earners, concession card and health care card holders.

The main services available are health checks and vaccinations, micro chipping and desexing.  As I pointed out in a recent media statement, it’s recommended that health checks and vaccinations take place prior to surgery if the animal has not been seen by a vet recently.

The reopening of the clinic should also relieve some of the pressure on the Hobart Community Veterinary Clinic at Lenah Valley.

We are currently advertising a new position, RSPCA Tasmania Manager – Community Engagement.  I see this as being a very important role in assisting us in delivering a wide range of educational programmes and activities to various community groups on a state wide basis, to promote and educate the public on responsible pet ownership and RSPCA activities including low cost desexing.

RSPCA awareness week is not far away and concludes with one of our major fundraisers ‘Happy Tails Day which is Friday October 7^th.  We are always looking for volunteers, so if you can assist us on this day please give us a call on 6244 3033.