First look at RSPCA’s new care centre
CONSTRUCTION of the $12.5 million RSPCA Animal Care Centre at Wellcamp Business Park will be completed by next month, according to RSPCA Queensland CEO Darren Maier.
The new shelter features long-stay care for abused and neglected animals alongside short-term boarding facilities for pets. The facility will also increase the organisation’s capacity.
“It’s looking good. The facility itself will be finished just before the end of this month,” Mr Maier said.
“We will be fitting out all the condominiums and the dog areas in December and we are hoping there will be enough done by mid-December we can open and start trading.
“We will be moving from our Rockville facility, which is much smaller, so we should be able to replicate the same capacity by mid-December.”
He said the grand-opening of the new facility was planned for February.
“We’re focused on the opening in February, but we will have been operational for six weeks before that,” Mr Maier said.
The boarding facilities at the new site are expected to be running by Christmas.
“We’re pushing hard to make sure we are at that point,” Mr Maier said.
“We’ve had both dogs and cats booked in for boarding over Christmas through the existing shelter, so we want to be in a position to offer that.
“This will also help us raise important funds to continue the work our carers do.”
Work started on the new facility in March after years of planning. The construction was partially funded through the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions fund.