Pawprint issue
102
Feb 2017 / Apr 2017
EDITOR Kuma Chow VOLUNTEER EDITOR Carol Dyer INTERN EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Keren Zhou CONTRIBUTORS Holly Chan Vivian Chiu Chris Cui Nick Debnam Jennie Fung Dr Jane Gray Shu Ping Ho Carrie Lam Tammy Lau Dr Teresa Lee Vincent Li Rebecca Ngan Debbie Tam Judy Wan Dr Adam West Antonia Wong Letty Wong Dr Fiona Woodhouse Heather Yin Dr Kasumi Yoshimura Chi Hang Yung DESIGNERS Kitty Lau Winnie Chan OFFICIALS OF SPCA Mrs Regina Leung Ms Gigi Fu Miss Pamela D. Barton MBE Mr Tim Hamlett Mr Derek Kwik Mr Rob Morris Mrs Lucy Wong COMMITTEE MEMBERS Dr Judith Clarke Mr Nick Debnam Ms Joanna Eades Ms Cathy Hilborn Feng Ms Jacqueline Kwan Mr Derek Kwik Ms Beatrice Kwok Mr Rob Morris Mr Tim Sollis Ms Kelly Wong EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ms Alice Choi
2 . Issue 102
Spotlight One of the biggest stories of 2016 was that of the SPCA’s rescue of over 300 red-eared sliders, the unfortunate victims of “mercy release”. They were brought to us over a two-month period, our inspectors racing against time to pull them, injured and exhausted, from the sea. Once the turtles were with the SPCA, our veterinary and welfare staff took over the job of nursing them from a salty hell back to health. Inflatable pools had to be placed on our rooftop in Wanchai to provide a temporary home for so many creatures! Meanwhile, our communications and adoption teams did everything possible to draw media attention to their plight in an attempt to solicit help from the public to find them suitable homes. A not dissimilar case occurred last June when our Inspectorate, veterinary and welfare teams were tasked with caring for over 60 canines and cats rescued from a suspected “breeding farm” in Pat Heung, Yuen Long. In fact, a hoarding case involving 36 dogs from the same area had been handled by the SPCA in December 2014. Arriving in very poor health, these dogs required substantial resources on a daily basis, including medical care, feeding, grooming, socialisation and handling, while our Inspectorate and veterinary staff worked hard with the police to secure a conviction. Finally, once prosecution was concluded, our adoption services helped to find these animals their forever homes. In these cases, finding adequate space in the shelter for these animals was an enormous challenge. We had to tap into our foster-parent network to help care for animals that were not in prosecution cases in order to make room for the ones that were. A big influx of animals does not occur daily, yet its occurrence poses a severe challenge to our current capacities. Even though we are flexible and creative in coming up with solutions, these are just temporary measures. To ensure the sustainability of our contribution to local animal welfare, we are planning to open a New Territories Animal Welfare Centre in Tsing Yi to expand and improve our services. Our aim is to have the centre up and running by our 100th anniversary in 2021. As a registered charity, over 99 per cent of our operating costs comes from public funding. Your help in donating or raising funds or spreading good words about our work will Help Us Help More Animals.
Alice Choi Executive Director