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

Animals' Shelter

Analysis of Services provided in 2009

THE JSPCA COMMITTEE:

Mr N le Q Blampied                                               President  

Major Stephen Coleman                                       Chief Executive Officer

Mr A Morley                                                            Vice President

Mrs S Ferguson                                                      Honorary Treasurer

Mr C Gruchy                                                            Honorary Veterinary Surgeon

Miss A Coffin                                                          Honorary Secretary

Mrs R Blampied                                                     Committee Member

Mr R Bignell                                                            Committee Member

Mr R Langlois                                                         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 2009, 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 was slightly higher than the previous year. 

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 2009:

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.

Total number of boarding days spent at the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter by dogs and cats in 2009:

Probably as a reflection of the general economic down turn in 2009, there was an 11% decrease in the total number of days boarding by animals (dogs and cats) at the Animals’ Shelter in 2009 compared to 2008.     However, in 2009, on average, 1050 cats and dogs were boarded at the Animals’ Shelter each month, which is equivalent to 34 animals per day.

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 2009 the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter’s driving staff completed 3759 journeys, which is the equivalent of 72 journeys per week, a very similar figure to the number undertaken in 2008 (3739 journeys were completed in 2008).  28.8% 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, where as in 2008, 26.7% of the total number of journeys were performed by the out of hours ambulance team.  The very busiest time of the year for the duty animal ambulance drivers still 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 2009, the receptionists answered 22,270 telephone queries, only a 1% increase in comparison to 2008.  In addition to this total number of daytime telephone calls, 2113 calls were received by the night duty/out of hours animal ambulance driver in 2009.

VETERINARY CLINIC

Animals that attend the JSPCA Veterinary Clinic are animals being prepared for re-homing via the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter, the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter Foster animals and clients and their pets that are eligible for help via the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter Welfare clinic.

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter Foster Scheme, is a scheme that offers reduced cost 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 is beneficial in helping to increase the chances of older animals or animals with on-going medical problems of finding new homes. 

In 2009, excluding the neutering of cats and dogs, surgical and other minor surgical procedures (including blood profiles, radiography and ECG), accounted for a total of 515 procedures.  62.7% of this figure were procedures undertaken on JSPCA animals (ie disclaimed animals or unclaimed strays being prepared for re-homing), 22.9% were carried out on JSPCA foster animals and 14.4% were performed on welfare clients animals.  Of the types of procedures undertaken, there was, alarmingly, a dramatic rise in the number of dematting procedures performed on JSPCA animals (ie disclaimed animals or unclaimed strays being prepared for re-homing), from only 6 dematts being performed in 2008 to 20 animals requiring dematting in 2009.  Matts occur when an the hair or fur on the animal becomes knotted and tangled and if not addressed early, large solid matts can form over the pet’s body, irritating the underlying skin.  Some animals may not be able to adequately groom for a variety of reasons and hence need their owners to help them groom their coat, for example a sore mouth will decrease a pet’s ability to groom it’s coat, back pain will cause difficult for a pet to groom and obesity can also make it impossible for a pet to adequately reach and groom all of it’s coat.  Generally, most commonly it is cats with long hair that become afflicted with matted coats.  Sometimes the matts are so severe that it necessitates the shaving of the cat’s whole coat.  Pet owners must regularly groom their animals; daily grooming is required for all long haired cats.

Neutering continues to comprise a large part of the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter’s surgical time, with 80.5% of the total number of surgical and minor surgical procedures involving neutering.

In 2009, there was a 25.4% increase in the number of clinic appointments required by JSPCA animals (ie disclaimed animals or unclaimed strays being prepared for re-homing), which may reflect the older age range of animals, especially cats, that the Animals’ Shelter receives for re-homing, as well as perhaps the number it receives that have on-going medical conditions.  In 2009, 58 animals were made foster animals compared to 44 in 2008.

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.  There were 985 welfare client appointments at the JSPCA welfare clinic in 2009, compared to only 27 in the last four months of 2008 after the clinic opened in August.

However, there was more than double the number of missed clinic appointments in 2009 compared to the previous year, where owners had scheduled appointments, yet not attended, without any cancellation or communication from the client.  This is not only disappointing, but also frustrating as another pet in need of the veterinary attention could have taken the missed appointment slots.

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. 

Although there was a 16.8% increase in the number of communal cremations, there was only a small (2.7%) increase in the total number of cremations undertaken at the Pet Crematorium in 2009, largely resulting from the 11.4% decrease in the number of individual cremations performed in 2009.  However, in 2009 more members of the public chose to inter their pets ashes at plots in the Pet cemetery in comparison to 2008. 

Table illustrating the number and type of cremations undertaken and number of internments at the pet cemetery in 2009:

 EDUCATION

2009 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 colour 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 2009, 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.  A variety of presentations about the work of the JSPCA Animals’ Shelter were also given to a number of different Non Profit Organisations (NPOs), introducing the importance of caring for both domestic animals and wildlife into the community:

As a direct result of the JSPCA Red Squirrel Disease Monitoring Project, a number of talks and presentations addressing the issues facing the Jersey red squirrels were also given to a variety of audiences in 2009 by the JSPCA veterinary surgeon.  In May 2009, an invitation was given to present the preliminary findings of this important project at a meeting of the British Veterinary Zoological Society at Durrell, which highlights and emphasizes the vital nature of this project.  The project has not only generated interest locally, but also nationally within the wildlife conservation and veterinary sectors.

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: 2009 figures