Fighting animal cruelty
The Scottish SPCA is appealing to animal lovers across Lanarkshire for support as its centres reach capacity.
The new campaign is a result of the welfare issues that have arisen from the pandemic.
Scotland’s animal welfare charity has seen an increase in the number of calls to its helpline around unwanted animals.The rise in demand for puppies has led to an increase in the number of raids and seizures of pups from low-welfare puppy farms and dealers.
This has resulted in a surge in the number of animals in Scottish SPCA animal rescue and rehoming centres, including Lanarkshire, and increased pressure on vital services.
More than 136,000 calls were made to the charity’s animal helpline in 2020 and its frontline team attended an average of 214 incidents each day, which totalled almost 78,000 over the year.
A total of 3369 animals were rehomed and over 7000 wild animals were admitted to the NationalWildlife Rescue Centre.
The charity cared for over 1300 animals seeking temporary refuge which includes those involved in legal proceedings. No fewer than 317 animals caught up in court cases were cared for over the pandemic.
The Scottish SPCA is dedicated to preventing animals from suffering. Hank the bull lurcher was used for badger baiting and had suffered horrific injuries when he arrived at the Lanarkshire Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre.
Badger baiting is an appalling crime where small dogs wearing a locator collar are sent into setts to find badgers underground.
When the baiters recognise the dog has found a badger, they dig down and uncover the badger, they then set larger dogs, normally lurchers or bull breeds, like Hank, on the badger and a fight ensues. Some baiters deliberately injure the badger first to give their dogs a better chance.
SSPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn, said:“Badger baiting is a truly abhorrent crime where there are no winners.
“The wild animal will almost always end up dead but it’s not only wildlife that suffers. Sadly we have had to euthanise dogs involved in badger baiting due to the severity of their injuries.
“We are dedicated to providing every animal with the best possible care, especially those like Hank who have been forced to engage in something as violent as badger baiting. Our expert teams are well equipped to rehabilitate an animal that has been through something as traumatic as Hank has.”
The committed staff at the centre cared for and rehabilitated Hank until he was ready to be rehomed.
Mike continued:“Our centres have hit capacity and we desperately need the support of the animal-loving Scottish public so that they don’t let animals suffer.
“We will continue to be here for every person and animal, like Hank, that needs us in all communities across Scotland.
“Every single person who signs up to support us with a monthly donation will be making an impact and will allow us to rescue animals like Hank.”
The Scottish SPCA receives no government funding and is entirely reliant on donations from the public.To find out more about the #DontLetAnimalsSuffer campaignandbecomingamemberofthe Scottish SPCA, visit: scottishspca.org/puppy