More muscle for SPCA

The SPCA has added a new inspector to its ranks, broadening its ability to rescue animals from abusive homes and prosecute cruel owners.
Lesley Gibson has finished a year's study to gain certification as an inspector, providing back up and after-hours support for long-serving inspector and president Val Ball.
Mrs Ball said the inspectors were like the "police force" of the SPCA and they could seize animals from the yards of properties or begin a prosecution for animal mistreatment.
It has been two years since Wairarapa had two inspectors and Mrs Ball said she was thankful for the extra help because it was difficult for her to respond to calls 24/7 by herself.
Ms Gibson has been volunteering at the Wairarapa SPCA for five years, after moving here from the Hawke's Bay as a travel agent.
She decided to undergo the training to become an inspector - a distance learning course that covers law, animal husbandry, and communication - to help Mrs Ball.
"If you're going to help you may as well try and help a little bit more and Val is the only inspector in the area and that puts a lot of pressure on her."
The position caps a lifelong love of animals, beginning as a child and turning into an addiction in her adult years after she bought a lifestyle block in Auckland where she hosted llamas, emus, dogs, cats and birds.
One year, her son gave her a sign for her birthday reading "Silverdale Zoo".
She is now down to a manageable eight dogs on her Wairarapa lifestyle block, with a few supporting cats, birds, and donkeys.
Alongside Mrs Ball and Ms Gibson, Wairarapa's SPCA is staffed by 30-40 volunteers, with some working only an hour or two a week.