AGM reveals tough times and wins at Boksburg SPCA

Despite the pandemic and the resulting impact of lockdown regulations, SPCA Boksburg has made great efforts to deliver its essential animal welfare services against all odds.

This was announced at the company’s annual meeting on July 16, held at its offices in Boksburg East.

Giving his report on the past year, Willie du Plessis, Chairman of the Boksburg SPCA, said the organization is expected to do much better in this new financial year given the plans it has.

During the meeting, du Plessis provided a summary of what the Society has accomplished and there were discussions on finances used over the past fiscal year and matters that the organization and its members wish to consider.
Additional board members and new appointments were also announced.

finance
Du Plessis noted that total revenue was up 5% and expenses were up 5% year over year.

According to du Plessis, operating costs have been managed tightly, but donations, particularly from the business community, are declining — whether in the form of monetary donations or donations in kind of services and goods.
Boksburg SPCA ended up with a small surplus, largely due to a preserved legacy.

The chairman said that given the economic fallout following the Covid-19 pandemic, they expected the 2022/23 financial year to be difficult, causing major difficulties across all income brackets and businesses.
“We anticipate that it will be more difficult to access donor funding to expand the services we provide.”

The funds raised in the 2021/2022 financial year show a slight increase compared to the previous financial year. Fundraising occurs annually through the thrift store, medical clinic, found new homes, donations, meal fees, and other initiatives.
Although still not enough to meet the growing demand, the good news is that the City of Ekurhuleni has significantly increased the SPCA grant for the 2022/2023 financial year

challenges
Du Plessis pointed out that the Boksburg SPCA’s three main challenges remain:

• To keep financial improvement and income generation at a balanced level
• Receive sustained support from the community and business community to ensure positive development in the operational aspects of society
• To ensure that the organization maintains its credibility and reputation in the community.

operational statistics
The organization’s statistics for 2021/22 show how busy society is and that the need for its services has been increasing at an alarming rate. The total admission for the fiscal year was 4365 animals.

Follow-up complaints of atrocities: 552
Admitted dogs: 649 strays and 2239 donations
Admitted cats: 643 strays and 834 donations
Adopted dogs: 410
Adopted cats: 92
Dogs claimed by the owner: 150
Cats claimed by owner: 6
Spayed dogs for underprivileged owners: 718
Cats spayed for underprivileged owners: 552

Range
Du Plessis said the Boksburg SPCA’s reach has grown from strength to strength.

Aside from the fights, the organization seems to have performed well throughout the year. It started projects at Reiger Park (since 2021) and Windmill Park (this year).

These outreach programs provide an opportunity to reach families who do not have access to veterinary clinics and they provide education, deworming, tick and flea control, fly control and sponsored spaying and medical care.
“A wonderful team of volunteers support us with our outreach where an average of 100-200 pet owners are seen each week. Subject to finances, this is an area we would like to see grow.”

vet clinic
The Boksburg SPCA has its own clinic and can support the community with affordable veterinary care and spaying.

“We don’t have a full-time vet, but we do have two assistant vets, Dr. Liané van der Westhuizen and Dr. Debz Chetty who provide expert support Monday to Wednesday and the occasional Friday.
The Company is continuing its recruitment campaign for a full-time vet or a few on-site vets to fill Thursday and Friday shifts.

maintenance
In the past fiscal year, the club has been able to continue kennel upgrades and club upkeep. However, this is proving more difficult as donor funding dwindles.

The organization managed to maintain the facilities, but more often out of pocket as the economic situation made it difficult to get support from local businesses to donate the money or materials needed.
Despite this, they were able to raise enough funds to complete the project to replace the much-needed paddock row kennel and some other maintenance work that was backlogged.

Given the aging fleet of vehicles and limited resources available, the Company also requires assistance in securing at least two vehicles to continue to provide its service efficiently this fiscal year as its efforts to source replacement vehicles have proved unsuccessful over the past year .

compliment from the staff
The Boksburg SPCA has 17 employees. Its inspectorate consists of Chief Inspector Vicky Finnemore, Inspector Neo Mmoya, Inspector Denise Govender and Inspector Ralph Chivaviro, and Field Representative Melanie Mey.

“Our inspection team responds to and handles complaints of atrocities and provides reconnaissance, proactive pre- and post-home inspections in our jurisdiction. From time to time they are asked to support NSPCA and other SPCAs in Ekurhuleni.”

committee
Du Plessis said the six-member committee worked hard to ensure the society ran smoothly.

“There have been a number of fundraisers and income generation initiatives over the past year and these initiatives include the Christmas Spirit Fundwith media assisting with kennel and kennel upgrades.
“An exciting initiative was the introduction of feral cat spaying days, with 77 feral cats spayed during this reporting period.”

Thank you for your support
Du Plessis thanked everyone for their continued support but reiterated that the SPCA always needs support and more donations.

“Every donation, big or small, money, cat or dog food, second-hand items for our charity shop, books for our bookstore, or other merchandise has made a difference.

“We would like to recognize a few companies whose continued support from Boksburg SPCA deserves a mention. These include Boksburg Advertiser, Caltex Sunward Park, The Doggy Parlor, Supaquick Sunward Park, Alair Airconditioning, Bestfence and Netstar.”

The Chairman also thanked his manager and staff for their faithful service.
Three employees were honored at the event for many years of service.

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