Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

CHB loses SPCA shelter after more than 30 years of community input

CHB Mail
30 Jun, 2022 03:46 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The sign says temporary but the CHB SPCA shelter has now been permanently closed.

The sign says temporary but the CHB SPCA shelter has now been permanently closed.

SPCA has announced the permanent closure of its Waipukurau shelter.

The organisation says it will be entering into a vet partnership with a local clinic to ensure animals in the region remain cared for.

The facility temporarily closed its doors at the beginning of May, due to staff shortages. Despite extensive efforts to find an appropriate part-time centre team lead, including multiple job advertisements, a suitable candidate was not found, said SPCA area manager Bruce Wills.

"This prompted further discussions around the future of the centre and, after looking at the national SPCA strategy, it was established the centre was no longer financially viable.

"With so few animals coming through the centre, the cost of keeping it running was unsustainable for the charity, which relies on donations to operate its 32 centres nationwide," Wills said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Between May 2021 and May 2022, the Waipukurau shelter's incoming numbers of animals were 40 per cent down on the previous year.

Wills said factors contributing to this include desexing campaigns that have been undertaken in the area in the past two years, which will continue in the community.

Wills says the organisation's full range of services will continue to be available through a new partnership with Vet Services Waipukurau.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Animals across the Waipukurau region will be better cared for through this new partnership, with Vet Services providing extended opening hours and emergency care when required. Animals can then be transported from the vet clinic to SPCA's Hastings Centre, where they can receive the best possible care."

Wills said SPCA was hiring a full-time field officer to help service the community. This will enhance SPCA's ability to attend emergencies, assist with community desexing, and provide assistance to the inspectorate team when it comes to welfare concerns.

"As a charity, we have a responsibility to use the donations entrusted to us by generous members of the public to deliver the best possible outcomes for the animals we care for – across New Zealand.

"We cannot rationalise the cost of keeping the Waipukurau Centre open when we have a national network that can serve the animals in this region, and the money it would have taken to bring the centre up to standard could be better spent elsewhere."

SPCA's Waipukurau Centre was open with limited hours before the pandemic and SPCA says it had "rudimentary infrastructures in place".

Wills said the SPCA felt the animals in the region would be better served in larger centres such as Hastings, where the facilities are better resourced to meet the welfare needs of animals, which is SPCA's main priority.

"We'd like to thank the Central Hawke's Bay community for their hard work and dedication to the centre over the years, and understand that community members will be saddened by the closure. But we'd like to reassure them that SPCA still very much services the Central Hawke's Bay area and will be caring for the animals."

The land and assets were handed over to SPCA in 2017 by the Central Hawke's Bay Committee as part of the move to having one SPCA across New Zealand.

The Waipukurau SPCA Op Shop will remain open, with all proceeds going towards the ongoing needs of animals in SPCA centres locally and across New Zealand.
SPCA is planning to hold a meeting with the Central Hawke's Bay community regarding the centre's closure.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

School's moving day disrupted by ERO review, agency admits mistake

02 Jul 10:27 PM
Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Replacements for bulldozed state homes in heart of Napier suburb cut by Govt

02 Jul 06:17 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

'Go for your dreams': 22-year-old korowai maker reaching international markets

02 Jul 06:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

School's moving day disrupted by ERO review, agency admits mistake

School's moving day disrupted by ERO review, agency admits mistake

02 Jul 10:27 PM

Nuhaka School has been flooded twice since February 2023, disrupting classes.

Premium
Replacements for bulldozed state homes in heart of Napier suburb cut by Govt

Replacements for bulldozed state homes in heart of Napier suburb cut by Govt

02 Jul 06:17 PM
'Go for your dreams': 22-year-old korowai maker reaching international markets

'Go for your dreams': 22-year-old korowai maker reaching international markets

02 Jul 06:00 PM
Stephen Hoyle to swap NZ amateur league football for pro A-League

Stephen Hoyle to swap NZ amateur league football for pro A-League

02 Jul 05:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP