Animals will suffer if the closure of a pet rescue centre covering Caithness, Sutherland and Orkney goes ahead, a charity has warned.
Caithness Cats Protection has called on the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) to rethink its plans to close Balmore near Dounreay by Thurso.
Balmore is the only SSPCA centre in the area and is earmarked for closure by the end of October.
Caithness Cat Protection is warning against closure of SSPCA centre
Volunteers for the charity, which fosters and rehomes cats and kittens, fear pets who are without a home could end up in the wrong hands.
Joan Campbell of Caithness Cats Protection said: “The decision to close Balmore SSPCA in Caithness goes so far beyond the realms of caring for animal welfare, most people believed they had misheard.
“Balmore SSPCA is for the axe under the guise of expansion of services to communities.”
Meantime the SSPCA is bringing its Pet Aid Roadshow to Thurso on September 27 – a move which Mrs Campbell says is”like using a band-aid to heal an axe cut.”
She added: “It is a sop to the voices of concern as it sinks in that the whole of the north, including the Orkney Islands, will be without an animal welfare centre.”
Balmore SSPCA is one of two centres to close
She continued: “The area is fortunate in having two well-recognised charities for animal welfare, KWK9 Rescue for dogs, and Caithness Cats Protection, both run by volunteers, but neither one is a centre.
“The excellent work of those two charities goes a long way to ensuring they are already in desperate need of more fosterers without the additional stress of closing the Balmore centre.
“If nothing concrete takes the place of SSPCA Balmore, then there really is going to be an animal welfare crisis in the far North of Scotland.”
Scottish SPCA chief executive Kirsteen Campbell said the charity’s animal helpline, local inspectors and an education programme will be there to support people in the region.
She said: “We are also expanding our speaker’s network and will have more capacity to deliver workshops and talks to local groups and organisations. Now, this team will also be supported by additional dedicated colleagues delivering key services such as rehoming, fostering and community engagement.
“To support all of this, we will be increasing our capability to grow our volunteering network across Scotland, with a particular initial focus on Caithness and Ayr.”
She said the kind of support pet owners needed was changing.
“More and more of the issues we’re coming across are societal ones, driven by financial issues or a lack of knowledge on how best to look after a pet,” Ms Campbell said.
“It is far better for the pet and the person if we provide support in the household, or access to services such as Pet Aid where we can provide food and advice, so that people can keep their much-loved pet with them whilst they get back on their feet.
“Animal rescue goes far beyond the walls of a rescue centre, and as more and more people turn to us for help to look after the animals in their lives, we need to adapt the way we do things to meet and get ahead of that growing demand. ”
She said the SSPCA planned to grow its fostering service.
Adding: “We’re committed to working with the people and communities in Caithness and the North of Scotland, as we have for decades, to make sure we provide the animal rescue service they need.”
