Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter is to quickly shut certainly one of its websites because the charity struggles to handle monetary pressures introduced on by the cost of dwelling disaster
The metropolis’s oldest animal welfare charity is quickly bringing its operations collectively at a single web site because it appears to handle the numerous pressures on its funds. The charity previously reported that its power prices have been set to quadruple to round £200,000 a 12 months.
In December it added that it could usually cost the charity £259 to warmth one canine kennel for a 12 months, however this was set to extend to round £1,000.
Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter has been reuniting misplaced pets with their homeowners and discovering loving new properties for animals in want since 1896 and at present operates from two metropolis places.
But now the charity’s Claremont Road base, which opened within the Nineteen Forties, will quickly shut and all its animal care and rehoming companies will happen from its bigger shelter in Benton.
The Benton web site is being ready for its prolonged position and with enter from specialists, a brand new consumption space is being created to make sure newly-arriving dogs are remoted safely and have a separate space for train and coaching earlier than they transfer into the shelter’s current kennels forward of rehoming.
Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter efficiently rehomes round 1,000 animals every year and desires to lift spherical £1.2m yearly to cowl its prices.
It doesn’t obtain any Government funding and, due to the present monetary disaster, is going through quite a lot of important points with a discount in donations, a steep improve in working prices and a rise in name for its companies.
Chris Bray, chief government of Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter, stated: “We will proceed to supply all of the animal care and assist we already do and can nonetheless be there to obtain animals that want our assist as we’ve got for the final 127 years.
“We’re very connected to Claremont Road and I do know many native individuals will really feel the identical, significantly the tens of hundreds of people that first met their pet once they rehomed an animal from there or have been reunited with a misplaced pet.
“This hasn’t been a simple choice for us, however we’ve got a duty firstly to the animals in our care now and people that can come to us sooner or later and, to fulfill this duty, we have to guarantee we will climate the present monetary pressures.
“Bringing all the things collectively will imply a extra streamlined course of for dogs newly arrived in our care in addition to decrease transport and web site maintenance prices.
“These are exceptionally robust occasions for everybody and that is placing actual strain on our donations in addition to rising the variety of animals we’re caring for, and we’re additionally working with native meals banks to attempt to assist individuals struggling to maintain their pets.”
The Claremont Road web site, which is anticipated to shut within the autumn, has beforehand been a canine and cat rehoming shelter, and, extra just lately, supplied someplace to isolate and assess any potential well being or behaviour points in dogs forward of their transfer to the charity’s current Benton Rehoming Centre.
Chris added: “The services at Claremont Road want main updating and funding, so it is smart to make the transfer throughout to Benton now, which is able to assist save us money and can deliver the group collectively on one web site.
“As at all times, the welfare of the animals we take care of is on the coronary heart of each choice we take. In 2020, we efficiently moved all our cats to the Benton web site with nice success and doing the identical with our dogs will assist guarantee we’re utilizing our funds as effectively as potential and ensuring the animals are supplied with the perfect care.
“We’re going to mothball the Claremont Road web site at this level with a view to returning to it at a later date when, hopefully, we’ll be in a stronger monetary place and might take into account how greatest to utilise it for our long-term future.
“A variety of the fixtures at Claremont Road are reusable and we’re eradicating them and repurposing them at Benton. We’ve already had native corporations, together with White Knight Maintenance and Thompsons of Prudhoe, being extremely supportive with work together with refurbishment of a vet room, creation of socialisation areas and an animal meals preparation space.”
At 10 acres, the shelter’s services at Benton are a lot bigger than the 0.5 of an acre at Claremont Road. Five of the shelter’s group might be transferring throughout from Claremont Road and the charity will proceed to observe the location for safety functions whereas it’s closed by way of T3 Security who handle safety for each websites.
Chris stated: “People and businesses throughout town have at all times been extremely supportive of our work however we want assist now greater than ever, particularly by common money donations, so we will proceed to be right here to assist the animals and folks throughout the North East once they really want us. If any animal lover needs to succeed in out and see how they can assist, we’d ask them to please contact the shelter and we’d be very appreciative.”
To assist Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter with an everyday donation or with any animal rehoming question please go to: www.dogandcatshelter.com.
