gowen.org

Congratulations to the Powers That Be for seeing sense at long last!

On November 8th, the Animal Welfare Bill finally received Royal Assent. This is very good news because it means that all companion animals will, from 26th March 2007 (in Wales), have the same rights as farm animals, and owners will have a ‘duty of care’ for their pets.

In essence, this will give the right to RSPCA Inspectors to act much earlier, before suffering actually manifests itself, to intervene to help animals deemed to be at risk.

We do a bit of voluntary work, as I have mentioned before, driving the Animal Ambulance for our local animal rescue centre, and we have seen some terrible examples of the cruel sufferings that former owners have inflicted on their pets.

Thanks to the existance of rescue and rehoming centres, these animals can be lovingly nursed back to good health and then put up for adoption to be rehomed with carefully vetted new owners.

If you wish to own a pet, we would strongly recommend that you consider adopting a rescued animal, rather than looking for a puppy, kitten or baby animal of any sort. The rewards of giving a life back to a rescued animal are huge. Also, any animal booked from a rescue centre leaves a bed free for another animal to be saved.

If you happen to be unable to adopt an animal because you are out of the house for long periods of the day, you can still have contact with furry or feathered friends by becoming a volunteer at your local animal centre, where you will probably be welcomed with open arms.

At Llys Nini volunteers do all kinds of work: driving the animals to and from the vet for treatment, grooming animals, walking dogs, socializing with cats, giving a hand in our charity shops, answering the telephones, painting & decorating, and even cutting grass! Whatever your skills, you will surely be appreciated. Even a couple of hours a week, multiplied by many times, can make a huge difference. Every small task undertaken by a volunteer frees a qualified member of staff to give even more time to their duties.

If at this time, you are not able to give an animal a place in your home, you could still play a part in animal rescue by helping to provide a bed at Llys Nini

If ever you see an animal which you think is being treated wrongly, DO report it to the RSPCA. There is a national cruelty and advice line (BT national rates):

0870 55 55 999

And the Inspectors will have greater powers very soon to intervene.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 11th, 2006 at 10:27 am and is filed under Animals, Charity, DEFRA, Education, Happy things, Interesting things, RSPCA, Swansea, Uncategorized, volunteering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.