One of the biggest challenges during the festive season is the spike in stray animals found on the streets and the increasing animal abuse.
Speaking to New Beginnings, the animal welfare organisation faces a lot of cases of strays during this time. According to Cara Labuschagne from New Beginnings, most strays found on the streets during the festive season are due to the fact that their owners go away on holiday and many can’t afford to or don’t want to pay a kennel or pet sitter to take care of their animals.
“Another challenge is that people could be at home celebrating and not paying as close attention to their pets’ safety as they usually would and the animals slip out of their yards and roam the streets. These animals need to be reunited with their owners, but often they don’t have proper identification tags,” said Labuschagne.
As a non-profit organisation (NPO) their goal is to provide hope and help both people and pets in need. They try to ensure that all these animals go to a safe haven where they can be loved and cared for.
“Please keep your pets safe during the festive season and please remember to keep supporting your local animal welfare organisation during the festive season and enable them to care for those in need,” Labuschagne concluded.
Tips from New Beginnings on how to handle stray animals:
- Take the pet to a place of safety. If you can’t keep the pet safe while searching for the owners, you can take them to the SPCA. The SPCA takes in stray animals 24/7.
- Take clear photos of the pet you have found.
- If you are keeping the pet safe while searching for the owners, please also inform the SPCA in case the owner goes there to look for their lost pet.
- Notify the nearest vet, the owners may enquire there as well.
- New Beginnings manages a Facebook page to help reunite lost pets with their owners – Missing Animals Bloemfontein. Send us the photos with all the relevant information so we can help network to find the owner. There are also many other Facebook pages and Whatsapp groups that you can use to network to help find the pet’s owner.
Bonolo Moloi
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