SPCA deals with record welfare complaints

Photo / Thinkstock

Canterbury SPCA welfare investigators are run off their feet trying to catch up after a record month for complaints in December.

The charity usually gets 40 to 50 welfare complaints from the public a month.

But they received a record 106 over December.

CEO Barry Helem said this month has been quieter so far, which has been welcome as inspectors are still working through cases from last month.

"December created a lot of work for the inspectors and they need time to catch up particularly with file preparation for the prosecution we take.

"We're not at a point of filing charges yet, but some prosecutions will come out of those investigations."