New Facebook site to help furry friends

A NEW Facebook site, Queenstown Animal Rescue (QAR), is hoping to make a difference to the welfare of animals in the Komani area, writes journalism student Kelia Losa.

Formerly known as Queenstown Animal Talk, the initiative now has a logo and a name change as, “We’re not just talking about it anymore,” spokeswoman Ulandi Crous-Coetzee said.

The initiative began when former Komani resident Tracy Hayes, who now lives in Nelson Mandela Bay, posted on Facebook that she was concerned about the animal neglect in her home town.

Several towns in the Eastern Cape area, including Nelson Mandela Bay, East London and Grahamstown, have large animal rescue communities on Facebook. Grahamstown alone has three, including one solely for feline rescue.

As Komani did not have such a social media platform to create awareness about anything furry (or even feathery), Crous-Coetzee contacted Hayes and Queenstown Animal Talk came into being.

Crous-Coetzee said their overall goal was to ensure animal welfare and to “give a voice to those who cannot speak”.

Goals include curbing the influx of strays, raising awareness of animal abuse and/or neglect, putting an end to “free to good homes” adverts and making a difference to the community.

Their goals also included helping the SPCA to establish a stray dog pick-up unit, to launch awareness campaigns in urban areas, rural areas and schools, to eliminate unwanted animal pregnancies by “sterri drives” (sterilisation) and to generally raise the community’s interest in the welfare of animals.

Crous-Coetzee urged the community to donate their time and share their love of animals.

“I have had many people say, ‘You are fighting a losing battle’, ‘What difference can you make?’ and ‘You are wasting your time’. A couple of people even bashed our stray dog pick-up attempt, saying ‘You failed, look at all the dogs still walking around’. There are fortunately a few of us who do care and even if it takes us 20 years, we will make a difference.”

QAR’s other active members are Yolanda Moss, Charlene Kashula and Theresa Nel.

QAR had their first meeting on July 5 but were already involved in a formal stray capture attempt with the SPCA on May 11.

Crous-Coetzee and Hayes believe “someone has to do something” to address the community directly and to lighten the load of the over-worked SPCA.

“The SPCA covers an enormous area and they only have two vehicles and limited resources. I have seen, first-hand, just how hard it is to capture these poor animals,” Crous-Coetzee said.

While the QAR and SPCA operate as separate organisations, the QAR attends SPCA meetings. QAR will try to get the state and private vets involved in the project in the future.

Their first major fundraising and animal welfare awareness event will take place at the Tamboekie Festival in October.

They will also host a potjiekos competition and dance soon.