Donations urgently sought for new animal shelter in Wiri.
This article was produced by SPCA and is being published by the New Zealand Herald as advertorial.
SPCA is in a race against time to fundraise for a new purpose-built animal facility in South Auckland, as its existing Māngere Centre continues to deteriorate.
Weathertightness has been the latest cause for concern for the dilapidated building, which has been plagued with issues over its many years of operation.
With recent heavy rains and extreme weather events, those issues have only escalated.
“Staff are doing their absolute best for the animals in our care – but it’s all breaking down faster than we can patch it,” says Dr Nathan Wong, a member of the SPCA vet team.
“The Centre just can’t cope with heavy rain,” Dr Wong says. “We get flooding in multiple parts of the building, and as soon as we fix one leak, another one starts. Water has poured down the walls inside my office.”
That veterinary office had been used as a space for kittens and puppies in playpens, who were too small to be left unattended. The room is now unusable.
All electrics have had to be removed, and the space cordoned off to protect staff and volunteers.
Capacity in multiple wards in the Māngere Centre have been reduced, resulting in the recovery of animals like Sandy being impacted.
“She had to be transferred to SPCA’s Thames Centre due to space, and countless other animals have had to be relocated too,” says Dr Wong. “We care for thousands of animals each year, and it’s an endless struggle in this environment.”
SPCA Chief Executive Officer Todd Westwood says the ongoing deterioration of the building highlights just how urgently a new building is needed.
“It’s not only the animals that we’re thinking about, but our teams too,” Mr Westwood says. “It’s a huge Health and Safety risk. It’s not right that they’re having to worry about leaks, mould, and parts of the ceiling falling off when they’re trying to focus on caring for the animals.”
SPCA is persevering with their fundraising efforts, in the hopes of completing a new animal welfare ‘superhub’ in Wiri, South Auckland. The new Centre would provide support to SPCA’s Hobsonville, Whangārei, Thames and Hamilton Centres.
The new building has been designed by animal welfare experts and architects, with animal welfare front of mind. With an expanded hospital, improved layout to reduce animal stress, quarantine-specific puppy pens and dedicated outdoor spaces, the benefits for the animals would be immense.
“As well as having the space to care for an additional 2000 animals each year, the new building would help prevent illness and disease from spreading between animals,” Mr Westwood says. “That means quicker recoveries and adoptions.”
SPCA is calling on donations from the community to support the construction of the new Centre in South Auckland.
“The first bricks have been laid, but we have a long way to go,” says Mr Westwood. “This really is a necessity for the animals, so we’re going to keep pushing on. Any support is truly appreciated.”
You can make a donation to the construction of the new SPCA Wiri Centre here: www.spca.nz/wiri.