Kaitāia's SPCA Centre has closed permanently following sanitation and hygiene risks at the leased facility on North Rd. Photo / Noel Garcia
Far North animals in need will be sent to Kerikeri following the permanent closure of SPCA’s Kaitāia Centre, leaving one local charity with an overwhelming burden.
Due to concerns for staff and animals stemming from “plumbing and subsequent sanitation and hygiene risks” at the leased facility, it was temporarily closed on May 29.
Donna Doolittle’s Animal Rescue has since seen a marked increase in need from the community.
Founder and trustee Donna Badorek described a “substantial impact on the volume of messages and requests for help.”
“The team and I are physically and emotionally exhausted.”
According to the SPCA, a full evaluation following the centre’s temporary closure made clear the building was not fit for purpose, forcing the decision to close and move operations to its Kerikeri Centre, where approximately 40 animals had already been transferred.
As the building was leased, SPCA declined to comment on how much it would have cost to get it up to standard.
According to its recorded owner, who requested not to be named, the building is owned by Lot 5 Properties and is among “the oldest commercial buildings in Kaitāia, at 50 or 60 years” in age.
He described the problem as having developed recently, just “this year because of the tremendous rain”.
“Because of the ongoing inclement weather, the effluent liner from the septic tank stopped working.”
He said the system hadn’t yet been upgraded to connect to town sewerage and expected it would cost $20,000 to “see any change”.
But first, the water table would have to lower to allow work to proceed.
“It’ll be months before it dries up enough.”
He said SPCA had rented the building from its previous owner on a contract which he could not confirm the length of, and it was most recently a month-to-month lease.
He added SPCA was responsible for removing concrete work in order to restore the building to its original state, and shared plans to work with them.
“I’d rather spend the money on that and use the space as a dry store, rather than spend on the septic tank.”
He estimated it would cost $10,000 to remove concrete used to build kennels, and said he had told SPCA he would cover the cost.
On Friday, the site just off Kaitāia’s North Road where it had operated since November of 2017 was locked and darkened.
SPCA said it was fortunate no staff or animals were affected by the risks, thanks to the swiftly taken measure of temporary closure.
But the closure, now permanent, was thought unacceptable by some.
“We cannot have a community with such a high prevalence of animal welfare issues [and] not have SPCA facilities available,” Badorek said.
“It has and will continue to have an impact on the wellbeing of our community animals.”
Badorek said the situation meant her team was left with the burden, while other rescues down the line were required to help out where possible.
“Many don’t know they can call SPCA Kerikeri, but even so, the people I am referring are coming straight back to me saying that SPCA are unable to help, as they don’t have the capacity to take in the ridiculous quantity of animals in need.”
Earlier last week, the charity said it would make “significant plans to channel funds into desexing initiatives” to target the larger goal of reducing the number of unwanted animals.
SPCA area manager Margaret Rawiri acknowledged there would be disappointment at the centre’s closure, but said the reallocation of resources towards desexing, combined with developing the SPCA-owned space in Kerikeri, would better address “the core issue of overpopulation” and be a “more responsible” use of funds.
“Without actively curbing the breeding cycle, the demand for shelter spaces will continue to outstrip the available resources, perpetuating the cycle of stray and abandoned animals.”
According to Rawiri, more than 1200 of the 2060 animals that came into SPCA’s care in the region over the last year were classed as strays.
She said many of those would have been adopted following desexing. Others may be in foster care and some may now be at the Kerikeri Centre awaiting adoption.
SPCA’s strengthened regional focus on curbing overpopulation revolved around plans for a new mobile desexing unit.
The unit - in development since 2021 - would service areas with the highest need for desexing.
It was expected to make its nationwide debut in Northland in October.
Rawiri said the unit and its operation would not be cheap for the charity to fund.
“It will cost thousands of dollars to run each week and involve crucial work by veterinarians and vet nurses, SPCA teams and travel costs.”
Additional support for community desexing would come in the form of vouchers for use with a local vet.
Rawiri said the centre had desexed 111 animals within the last year.
Interim CEO Robyn Kiddle said the closure would allow for the establishment of a “better functioning ‘hub’ centre in Kerikeri to effectively serve the region” following the evaluation of resources required to do so.
SPCA owns 16, or just over half, of its centres - including Kerikeri - which Kiddle emphasised as a point of strength “as the facilities could be invested in because SPCA owns the land”.
SPCA also closed its Tokoroa Centre in the Waikato in May due to its declining financial viability and the “considerable investment” required to bring it up to standard.
Its allocated funds were similarly redirected towards desexing initiatives as larger neighbouring centres had already taken over the care of its incoming animals.
While a full assessment of the Kerikeri Centre was pending, discussions around requirements necessary to expand its capacity to accommodate more animals were in motion last week.
It currently had a “manageable” 75 animals in care - 59 at the centre itself and the remainder in foster care.
Rawiri said while shelters were fundamental for temporary care, “animals generally do not thrive in a shelter environment. It can be stressful and unsettling for them in the long term”.
Foster care was emphasised as “essential” to the organisation, as it provided a relaxed and comfortable environment where animals could rest and recover from illness.
An SPCA field officer would continue to service the local Kaitāia area where animals required assistance and transport them to Kerikeri, with an on-call officer available at all times.
Rawiri also said SPCA was working closely with TopVets Kaitāia, with whom they’d partnered for “a long time”, to ensure a smooth transition.
Inspectorate services - delivered across the Northland region by eight team members - would continue education and enforcement in Kaitāia, and the local op-shop would continue to raise funds.
Anyone requiring assistance with abandoned, abused or neglected animals was encouraged to contact SPCA’s Kerikeri Centre on 0800 428 464.
“We deeply appreciate the dedication and hard work of our Kaitāia Centre staff and volunteers, who have played a vital role in the welfare of animals in the region,” Rawiri said.
SPCA is the country’s biggest animal charity, and the only one in Aotearoa entrusted to uphold the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and prosecute where necessary.
It receives a Government contribution for inspectorate work, but the cost of operating centres is funded solely by public donations.
The Director-General of Health ordered Far North District Council to install the systems.