Be Careful Out There – Being Be Careful Out There – Being proactive in animal welfareproactive in animal welfare

Ian MacFarlaine VNIan MacFarlaine VNSuze GommeSuze Gomme

Cats ProtectionCats Protection

The basics

US THEM

What do we believe…?

•

Every animal has the right to be treated with kindness and respect…

Every animal in pain has the right to proper veterinary care…

Every abandoned animal has the right to a loving, caring home…

No healthy animal should ever be destroyed simply for want of a home…

The RSPCA as a charity will, by all lawful means, prevent cruelty, promote kindness to and alleviate suffering of all animals

• We believe that animals, as living creatures, are entitled to legal protection, moral and ethical consideration and have a value beyond economic measure

• Our vision is ‘to ensure that every cat is given the chance of a life where it will be treated with kindness and understanding of its needs’. We will achieve this through our three key objectives of finding good homes for cats in need, by supporting and encouraging the neutering of cats and by improving people’s understanding of cats and their care.

So…

• None of these charities’ mission statements confine themselves to just providing shelter….

• The word “every” and “all” are found…

My story starts in 1990….

In South London

Involving

• One of these

Involving

• One of these

Involving

• A few of these

Involving

• One of these

Involving

• AND RATHER A LOT OF THESE

Our Cat Lady of the DayOur Cat Lady of the Day

So I couldn’t help being left with the feeling that something wasn’t quite right…..

Our Cat Lady of the DayOur Cat Lady of the Day

So I couldn’t help being left with the feeling that something wasn’t quite right…..

For the next 10 years…

Fast Forward 10 yearsFast Forward 10 years

Fast Forward 10 yearsFast Forward 10 years

To North London

Where we had one of these

And one of these

And not enough of these

To do this to

But we did have a plan and by the end of that year things snowballed

a bit …..

Making the plan work

• Sometimes you have to make the thing happen first, and show that it’s worth the effort, before anyone will believe you!

Why do we need to be proactive?

People are ignorant

Why do we need to be proactive?

People don’t care

Why do we need to be proactive?

The centre is remote

Why do we need to be proactive?

People are ignorant

People don’t care

The centre is remote

By being proactive…

We can help more animals but without making a massive financial commitment in respect of each animal

By being proactive…

We can affect a wider community

By being proactive…

We can take the service to the animal

By being proactive…

We can be preventative

By being proactive…

We can help more animals but without making a massive financial or lifetime commitment in respect of each animal

We can affect a wider community

We can be preventative

We can take the service to the animal

So who do we need to reach?

• Sarah, age 19…..

So who do we need to reach.

• Sarah, age 19…..

• Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome….. Sarah!!!!!!

Dogs Trust – City Dogs.

• Targets young people in urban areas

• Non-judgemental

• Parks, streets, estates, “hangout spots”.

Wood Green – “Hands-On”

RSPCA - CAAW

St. Augustine, Florida

Cats Protection

• Local Councils…

Cats Protection

Over to our expert….

Cats Protection

• CP volunteers getting out into the community

• Working together with other charities and other bodies

Who?

Where?

Community centres

Supermarket car parks

Local parks/ dog walking areas

When? • In warmer weather (no ‘summer’ in UK this year)

• Weekdays and Saturday/ Sunday

• All day (+ into evening if area suitable)

Before the event Advance publicity is

essential• Advertising in local press• Posters in shops, on bus stops, etc.• Fliers delivered to local housing

Who did what - 1

Dog health checks and behavioural

advice

Who did what - 2

Veterinary nurse and

receptionist/ van driver

Who did what - 3

Dog warden service • Lost and stray dogs

• Responsible dog ownership – barking,

dog mess, etc.

• At the event, gave general advice and

handed out ‘poop bags’

Who did what - 4

• Dog neutering vouchers

• Low-cost microchipping

• Flea and worm treatments

• Claw clipping

Who did what - 5

• Cat neutering vouchers

• CP info/ advice leaflets

Who did what - 6

• Also gave out neutering info with our phone number,

asking people to give to others with

a cat/ kitten

What we did after

• Lots of follow-up to make sure vouchers were

used

What was achieved - 1

20 dog neutering vouchers given out

600+ visitors

152 dog health checks

72 cat neutering vouchers given out

50+ people given help/ advice

20 microchips implanted

1 ‘kitten breeder’ dealt with by RSPCA

What was achieved - 2

• More widely/ longer-term:• Awareness-raising for each partner• Recruitment of volunteers• Relationship-building• Local Authority won ‘Innovator of the Year’

award

What was achieved - 3• And most importantly for CP:

• Prevention of many unwanted litters – at least 7,500 kittens over 5 years

End result….• By getting out there and working together we

‘multiplied’ our effectiveness

• I got a slight tan…

• Happiness all round!