Shelter needs to get it right

DIFFICULTY and unrest seem to be constants in the modern-day saga of the Geelong Animal Welfare Society (GAWS).

The organisation was plagued by cruelty and neglect issues in 2011, attracting a storm of protest over a video that appeared to show drugged animals at its Moolap shelter.

The public outcry led to a new administration being installed, which won over the protesters with a new “no-kill” policy and a renewed focus on animal welfare.

The new way came with its own issues, with the costs of caring for and keeping the increasing numbers of animals proving prohibitive.

Then-executive director Belinda Russo told the Geelong Advertiser in October 2012 that vet bills alone had tripled.

A couple of years on, GAWS is now facing its next challenge: addressing a grave financial position that had seen it just months from folding.

The centre had been losing an unsustainable amount of money, recording losses of up to $95,000 during 2013-14.

Administration costs were out of control, having climbed a massive 141 per cent in just two years.

Now another board has assumed control of the organisation and is working its way through GAWS’s books.

The public has a significant interest in seeing the new regime succeed. The City of Greater Geelong has invested about $500,000 in infrastructure upgrades at the centre over the past five years, on top of the $400,000 it pays GAWS annually to run the pound.

It is a large amount of money that ratepayers expect to be spent wisely.

They can also hope that a “transparent” new board can put an end to a tumultuous few years and make GAWS a sustainable and safe animal shelter.