Why animal rescue centres need extra help because of coronavirus – Helen Martin

The SSPCA has pioneered a fostering service so volunteers can provide animals with temporary homes, but extra cash from governments or a rich benefactor would not go amiss, writes Helen Martin.
The SSPCA has set up a new fostering service for animalsThe SSPCA has set up a new fostering service for animals
The SSPCA has set up a new fostering service for animals

ANIMAL rescue centres are also suffering badly with the coronavirus. Human contact and distancing means re-homing is not possible.

Not only does that cut back on finance, but it means there is no capacity for the average number of dogs, cats and other animals that are usually brought in and surrendered by owners, or which are discovered abandoned or mistreated and delivered for safety and care.

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The Scottish SPCA has pioneered a fostering service so volunteers, especially those locked down alone, can offer temporary homes.

In the rest of the UK, the RSPCA has had to close many homes facing a massive drop in income.

The same may well go for other rescue centres which are manned mostly by volunteers but who rent the property and have to pay for lighting, heating and food.

The Greyhound Trust (GT) cares for ex-racers and other greyhounds. But with racing cancelled, and no income, trainers are issued with just 50p a day to feed and bed the dogs, many of whom may not race again when tracks eventually re-open.

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Some of the trust’s kennels are full, others are keen to take hounds but no human contact is allowed.

Worst of all, some owners are reported to have ditched their “pets” – either thinking the animals are infectious or because they can’t afford to feed them with their income wiped out.

It’s not surprising that human welfare comes first in a global pandemic although many regard pets as family members.

A little funding from governments or rich animal lovers wouldn’t be inappropriate.

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