Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Inc.)

Animals' Shelter

Analysis of Services provided in 2008

THE JSPCA COMMITTEE:

Mr N le Q Blampied                                               President  

Major Stephen Coleman                                       Chief Executive Officer

Mr A Morley                                                            Vice President

Mr D Crespel                                                          Vice President

Mrs S Ferguson                                                      Honorary Treasurer

Mr C Gruchy                                                            Honorary Veterinary Surgeon

Miss A Coffin                                                          Honorary Secretary

Miss V Baal                                                            Committee Member

Mr A Jarrett                                                             Committee Member        

Mr R Bignell                                                            Committee Member

Mr R Langlois                                                         Committee Member

Mrs E Beer                                                             Committee Member

Mrs V Campbell                                                     Committee Member

JSPCA MISSION STATEMENT:

"Prevent cruelty, promote knowledge, provide for the aged, sick, lost and unwanted animals”.  

CRUELTY/WELFARE INVESTIGATIONS:

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter works closely with the Police and the States Veterinary Officer in investigating cases of alleged cruelty or mistreatment of animals.  Members of the public are able to contact the Shelter for advice should they have any concerns about the welfare of an animal.

In 2008, excluding welfare concerns regarding agriculture/equine species, (the States Veterinary Officer is largely responsible for the investigation of cases involving these species), the number of reported welfare cases remained similar to that of the last two previous years. 

Of the total number of reported cases of concerns for the welfare of dogs, a large number involved barking dogs and appropriate advice was offered to the dog owners.  Barking is a normal behaviour for dogs.  However, barking can become a nuisance or can be disturbing for neighbours in particular.  Problems with barking occur when it disturbs neighbours, frightens visitors or is keeping the owner of the dog awake at night.  Usually the owner of the barking dog is completely unaware of this problem habit, as the barking may only occur when the owner has left the house.   Further information about barking and helpful tips about how to resolve or decrease a barking problem can be found on the JSPCA website (www.jspca.org.je).

Table illustrating the number and type of welfare concerns reported to the JSPCA by members of the public in 2008: 

Through continued education and the dissemination of information by the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter about the importance of caring for and respecting domestic pets and wildlife it is hoped that there will be a significant improvement in the attitudes towards the treatment of animals, which, in turn, is fundamentally important in the prevention of cruelty to animals.

BOARDING ANIMALS:

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter has facilities to board both dogs and cats.  It is proud to be able to offer what it considers are excellent boarding facilities.  Both the Kennels and Cattery have been designed to minimise the risk and spread of disease, as much as is possible, with maximum comfort for the animal and hygiene in mind.   Each animal has its own individual kennel with an outside run and boarding dogs are walked on-site on a daily basis.  Every day each animal is given a hands-on health check.  

The Animals’ Shelter also offers an “Emergency Boarding” Service for which a number of kennels are kept available where possible.  This service offers boarding facilities for pets belonging to people who may experience a life-changing event.  

Number of boarding days spent at the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter by dogs and cats in 2008:   

Despite a small decrease in the number of dogs boarded at the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter in 2008 compared to the number in 2007, there was a 7.6% increase in the number of days cats spent boarding at the Animals’ Shelter in 2008 compared to 2007.

ANIMAL AMBULANCE SERVICE:

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter provides an animal ambulance service whereby trained staff are available to rescue injured animals, collect strays (except dogs which are still the responsibility of the Connetables) and assist the public in any way necessary, 24 hours a day.

In 2008 the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter’s driving staff completed 3739 journeys, which is the equivalent of 72 journeys per week.  26.7% of this total number of ambulance journeys were undertaken by the night ambulance drivers, as emergency calls outside of the normal Animals’ Shelter working hours, which is a similar percentage to that in 2007.

The very busiest time of the year for the duty animal ambulance drivers tends to be during the spring and summer months of April through to September, with the night ambulance driver being especially busy during that period.   

The animal ambulances are co-ordinated by the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter reception staff who are usually the first point of contact for members of the public.  In 2008, the receptionists answered 22,037 telephone queries, only a 1.9% comparison to 2007.  In addition to this total number of daytime telephone calls, 1897 calls were received by the night duty/out of hours animal ambulance driver in 2008.

VETERINARY CLINIC:

Animals that attend the JSPCA Veterinary Clinic are animals being prepared for re-homing via the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter and the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter Foster animals.

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter operates a Foster Scheme, whereby the scheme offers free veterinary treatment to elderly animals re-homed from the Shelter or to animals the Shelter re-homes with on-going medical conditions, such as Diabetes Mellitus.  This Scheme helps to increase the chances of older animals finding new homes.  

In 2008, in comparison to the previous years, more animals were seen in the JSPCA Veterinary Clinic, both for general surgery and for clinic appointments.  This increase not only reflects the steady general increase in the number of foster animals that the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter now cares for, in addition to the increased number of animals of a variety of species received at the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter for re-homing, but may also reflect the increase in available operating time due to the appointment of a part-time veterinary surgeon to perform surgery at the JSPCA clinic. 

There was a 50.4% increase in the number of Animals’ Shelter animals being attended to at the JSPCA Clinic, as well as a 25.5% increase in the number of foster animal appointments.  There was also a 28.6% increase in the number of surgical procedures, such as dentals and routine neutering, performed on animals at the Clinic, which includes operations performed on foster animals as well as welfare clients.

On 26^th August 2008 the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter was pleased to announce the re-opening of the JSPCA Welfare Clinic, a much needed resource and form of support for pet owners who are in receipt of Income support.  Since the re-opening of the Welfare clinic there has been a steady increase in the number of clients registering to attend the welfare clinic; 145 Welfare clinic appointments were attended by clients and their pets from August 2008 until 31^st December 2008.

Another noticeable trend was the increase in the number of neutering operations on Animals’ Shelter rabbits and guinea pigs that were undertaken in 2008.  There was a 21.2% increase in the number of guinea pigs castrated at the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter clinic and an increase in the number of rabbits castrated and spayed at the Clinic, 35.7% and 27.7% respectively.  This largely reflects that dramatic increase in the number of small mammals that the Animals’ Shelter received for re-homing in 2008.

There was also a noticeable increase in the number of cats neutered at the JSPCA clinic in preparation for re-homing.  There was an increase of 24% in the number of cat castrates that were performed on Animals’ Shelter animals in 2008 compared to the number undertaken in 2007 and there was also an increase of 72% in the number of cats spays performed on animals being prepared for re-homing in 2008 compared to 2007.

In April 2008, the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter was very fortunate to be given a blood pressure monitor for use within the Animals’ Shelter Clinic, which was very kindly donated by Novartis Animal Health.  This piece of equipment is invaluable in helping to detect and treat blood pressure problems in companion animal practice, hence the Animals’ Shelter is very much appreciative for this show of support from Novartis Animals Health.

THE JSPCA ANIMALS’ SHELTER CEMETERY AND CREMATORIUM:

The JSPCA respects and values the close bond that develops between owners and their pets.  When a pet dies, it is important that the owner knows that their pet will be treated with care and dignity.  The JSPCA provides the only pet cremation service on Jersey and maintains the Pet Cemetery at First Tower.

There was a small increase (4.4%) in the total number of cremations undertaken at the Pet Crematorium in 2008 and there was a larger increase of 13.9% in the number of individual cremations undertaken in 2008 compared to 2007.

EDUCATION:

The year 2006 has seen the continued production of high quality educational literature, which is readily available for members of the public to access.  Information about a variety of animals and their correct, appropriate husbandry, in addition to information about topical issues such as feeding wild birds, housetraining house rabbits and facts about red squirrels is available to members of the public in the form of advice leaflets.  These are obtainable from a dedicated stand in the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter reception area.  This information about various animal related topics is also available on the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter Website (www.jspca.org.je), along with news from the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter and topical up to date news bulletins about animal related issues. 

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter endeavours to increase awareness to certain animal issues, for example, the dangers of leaving dogs in cars in hot weather, the hazards fireworks present to animals and highlighting the message of not giving pets as presents.  These messages are promoted and highlighted through the production of relevant informative posters, copies of which are displayed at the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter and regularly distributed to the local veterinary practices, and through the production of regular press releases about these topical animal issues, which are circulated to the relevant media stations.  All of the press releases are also made available to members of the public on the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter website.  

Every year, MSP Publishing, in conjunction with the Jersey Evening Post, kindly produce a magazine, free of charge, for the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter, the material of which is all produced internally by the JSPCA’s veterinary surgeon.  This magazine is subsequently distributed Island-wide within an edition of the JEP and provides the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter with an invaluable opportunity to emphasize the importance of caring for all animals, both domestic and wild.

In 2008, several groups of students from local schools and youth groups visited the Animals’ Shelter.  These visits provided the opportunity for the students to learn about caring for animals and the work the Animals’ Shelter undertakes, as well as being given the chance to have an escorted tour of the Shelter site.  They also play a vital role in introducing children to animals and teaching them the importance of caring for and respecting both pets and wildlife.  It is widely recognised that education about animal welfare from a young age is imperative to the improvement of attitudes towards the treatment of animals, which, in turn, is fundamentally important in the prevention of cruelty to animals.

Educational Events in 2008:

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter continues to liase with individuals and schools, providing work experience placements for students.  The Animals’ Shelter can offer placements for the Project Trident Scheme and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, amongst others, as well as providing the opportunity for individuals to gain experience of working with animals. 

TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION OF WILDLIFE: 2008