Scotland's SPCA animal rescue charity in 'crisis' amid highest-ever running costs

The Scottish SPCA is at “crisis point” as it tackles the highest running costs in its 180-year history, the animal welfare charity has said.

Veterinary supplies, food and energy bills are all up and it means the organisation is being stretched to its limits.

There is further strain as more animals than usual are coming through the doors as pet owners struggle to cope with the cost of living.

In Aberdeenshire, they’re housing everything from dogs and cats to horses and snakes – and everything in between.

It’s almost at capacity, and fewer people are adopting the animals.

Gilly Mendes-Ferreira, the director of innovation and strategic relations at the SSPCA, said less people are donating too.

“We’re in a crisis just now because of the volume of animals that are coming in and what it costs us to look after all those animals,” she told STV News.

“There are food costs, some of the animals in our care are on specialist diets so we need to make sure that we get the right food in for them.

“We have maintenance of all of our buildings. We also have horses here on our Aberdeenshire site so again you need to make sure the fields are up to the standard that they need to be.

“It’s now costing us £56,000 per day to run – that’s a 14% increase compared to last year.

“All of our energy contracts are due renewal at the end of the year so that is a big concern for us.”

A large part of the burden is veterinary supplies, warned Ms Mendes-Ferreira.

She said people aren’t going to see a vet soon enough.

“If they take their animal in, they have a consultation fee to pay so already you’ve got something you need to pay before any treatment,” she said.

“But what we’re trying to get across is that if you leave it, you’re probably going to have more treatment costs to pay on top of that so it’s better to have that consultation at an early stage so that the animal can be treated quicker and hopefully less cost as well.”

Along with high vet bills, the charity said there has been an increase of 35% of dogs coming through their doors since the pandemic.

They require extra rehabilitation due to being unsocialised for so long.

There’s huge demand for its work but with the ten locations the charity needs to run and heat and a fuel contract ending this year, there are concerns for the future of Scotland’s rehoming centres.

However, despite being stretched to their limits, last year animal rescue officers at the SSPCA responded to 86,078 reports of animals in need – over 235 per day.

This included assisting over 13,000 dogs, almost 8,000 cats and over 3,000 hedgehogs.