Guy Fawkes
With Guy Fawkes fast approaching we’ve teamed up with our friends at SPCA - Wellington Centre to ask residents that live close to the Zoo to please be thoughtful and respectful this year around letting fireworks off near the Zoo. Discharging fireworks near the Zoo can be very frightening for both the Zoo animals and pets around the neighbourhood. Sadly, one of our animals died last year which we believe was a result of being severely distressed by fireworks near the Zoo.
Each year SPCA receives dozens of calls relating to fireworks; including animal injuries, frightened animals, missing pets and, occasionally, abuse of animals. We encourage people to attend controlled public fireworks displays rather than using fireworks at home and ask those planning firework displays on their properties to consider speaking to their neighbours, or leaving a note in their letterbox, so that those with pets and other animals can prepare accordingly.
For the welfare of all animals, we wholeheartedly support Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons in her calls for a 2km firework exclusion zone near Wellington Zoo. Under the Wellington City Council Public Places Bylaw it is already an offence to “discharge a firework in a public place” and this includes the Town Belt and Melrose Park which backs onto the Zoo. This year there will be extra security around the Zoo on Guy Fawkes night, however you can help us even further by respecting this bylaw and encouraging your neighbours to do the same.
Together with the SPCA we want to thank all of you for your support during this time!
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️