SPCA doubles Christmas donation goal as more clinic supplies needed and fewer animals adopted
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The wish-list items will benefit animals under SPCA's care and those in the community including abandoned pets.
ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
SINGAPORE - If you want to earn some brownie points to get on Santa’s nice list, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) needs your help.
The animal welfare charity said that due to a surge in the number of animals with complex medical issues and a decrease in adoptions throughout 2023, its donation goal for Christmas nearly doubled in 2023, but less than a third has been raised so far.
In a Facebook post on Dec 18, SPCA appealed for donations to fulfil its Christmas Wishlist, a fund-raising effort that began in 2005.
“Your contribution goes towards supporting their urgent needs such as procedures like luxating patella surgery, limb and jaw fracture repair surgery, and the cost of monthly preventatives, vaccines, CT scans, pain relief medication and many more,” the post said.
The wish list also includes other items animals need, such as animal feed, litter trays, pet shampoo and even exercise pens.
SPCA executive director Aarthi Sankar told The Straits Times on Dec 20 that the charity had raised $121,691 as at Dec 18, but it hopes to raise $386,752 by Dec 31. This is an increase from its 2022 Christmas Wishlist target of $202,073.
She said: “This rise is due to heightened urgent needs, particularly for essential medical equipment and procedures.”
The charity is seeing an increase in animals with injuries caused by trauma such as fractures due to a fall from height, she added, and extensive surgery is often needed to restore their quality of life.
There has also been an increase in animals being surrendered or abandoned with pre-existing health conditions that require medical attention, Ms Sankar said.
“The bulk of donations will go towards funding our clinic supplies and surgery to support these rehabilitative efforts,” she added.
The charity observed its lowest adoption rate in five years in 2023, with 560 animals finding homes from January to November. In 2019, 979 animals were adopted.
Ms Sankar said the wish list items will benefit animals under the charity’s care and those in the community, including abandoned pets. SPCA helps more than 4,000 animals across its various services each year.
The public can donate specific items on the wish list, but cash donations are preferred because SPCA has limited space to accommodate all the items at once.
Find out more about the different donation options and the list of animal feed, animal and clinic supplies, and miscellaneous items at spca.org.sg/christmas-wishlist-2023/
For more information, contact SPCA at fundraising@spca.org.sg or call 6287 5355.