Pet charity’s measure to tackle COVID-19 spread

Scotland’s animal welfare charity has announced a raft of measures to ensure it can continue to rescue animals and support pet owners in the face of coronavirus.

The Scottish SPCA’s nine animal rescue and rehoming centres – including Lanarkshire – closed to the public on March 18 – unless with a pre-arranged appointment.

It has stopped rehoming animals on the advice of the government. It has also temporarily stopped accepting used blankets or towels as donations for fear of spreading the virus.

Last year the Society dealt with over 220 incidents per day and cared for over 20,000 animals across its rescue centres and wildlife hospital.

Scottish SPCA chief executive Kirsteen Campbell said:“As the coronavirus spreads, we have a duty of care to the public, our staff and the animals we help to ensure we can continue to do our job without putting anyone at risk.

“These precautionary measures are designed to make sure our dedicated animal welfare experts can still be in centres to look after animals and our committed inspectors and animal rescue officers can still be on-hand to rescue animals.

“We will still be there whenever people, pets and wildlife need us.

“We have been monitoring the spread of the virus for some time and have already taken steps to ensure all of our centres are well stocked in terms of specialised food and veterinary supplies.”

The SSPCA has also confirmed it is developing a suite of materials which parents can use if they are home-schooling their children following Friday’s school closures.