The biggest capital fundraising campaign in RSPCA SA’s 150-year history kicks off with a prominent seven-hectare corner site has been secured, the final plans approved, and the current facilities are up for sale.
Now RSPCA South Australia is calling on animal lovers to help build a world-class refuge for animals in need, incorporating the state’s first purpose-built, 24/7 wildlife hospital. The charity is $3m shy of the $26m needed to build its new Animal Care Campus, to be located within Glenthorne National Park- Ityamaiitpinna Yarta at O’Halloran Hill.
In revealing the final plans for the site today, RSPCA SA CEO Paul Stevenson expressed confidence that the South Australian community would recognise the need for the new facility and rally to help make it happen.
“We’re the last state to upgrade its RSPCA facilities – this new Campus will lift us to the same standards of animal accommodation as they have interstate,
with the added bonus of a much-needed wildlife hospital,” Mr Stevenson said.
“This will be a Campus all South Australians can feel proud about, knowing that our most vulnerable animals – including injured and ill wildlife – are receiving the care they need to recover in facilities designed to promote their wellbeing.
“Right now, at our existing Lonsdale shelter, the combination of sub-standard facilities and an industrial zone location that’s not on any public transport route make the provision of quality care a daily struggle for staff and volunteers.
“Our vet team currently operates in the cramped rooms of a small brick house, in winter some of our animal enclosures flood and in summer it’s a battle to keep our dogs cool.
“With increasing numbers of animals coming into our care, we’ve had to add transportable buildings around the site – just to ensure everyone, animals and humans, has shelter.
“It is definitely time to upgrade and move to this far more accessible location on the hill.”
In addition to the wildlife hospital, the new Campus will have:
• Enclosures for short-term accommodation of wildlife under vet care
• Environment-controlled accommodation for dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs
• Dog exercise yards, with agility obstacles and other enrichment structures
• A veterinary clinic for companion animals in RSPCA care and to support community cat desexing programs like the current program for residents living in the Onkaparinga district • An education hub, providing animal care education and training to school and community groups
• A new base for the inspectorate and RSPCA animal rescue officers
The new Campus will be located on the northwest corner of the intersection of South Road and Majors Road at O’Halloran Hill,
within the community precinct of Glenthorne National Park-Ityamaiitpinna Yarta. The land has been provided by the South Australian government on a seventy-year peppercorn lease.
“Thousands of people visit our shelter at Lonsdale every year, some to adopt an animal and others to surrender an animal they can no longer care for,” Mr Stevenson said.
“We also have animals arriving every day via our inspectorate, rescue officers and local councils, many requiring immediate veterinary care. In the past 12 months, we’ve taken in 10,740 animals – 1,697 more than last year – with nine out of every ten finding new homes.
“We’re proud of our rescue, care and rehoming achievements, but to meet the increasing demand for these services and to expand into wildlife care, we need a much better base than the Lonsdale site can provide, with its isolated location and patchwork of buildings dating back to the 1970s.
“For anyone who cares about animals, I encourage them to contribute to the cost of this development with whatever amount they can afford. Through its animal care and education facilities, this Campus will significantly raise the bar on animal welfare standards in our State for many years to come.
“Please be part of this exciting next chapter of the RSPCA in South Australia and help us to build it.”
