'More education key to less animal cruelty'

Some of the dogs which have been available for re-homing.

An expansion of their education work on animal welfare will be an important element in the future activities of the Kildare West Wicklow SPCA, writes Brian Byrne.

According to the Society's secretary, Sally McCaffrey, many of the 'cruelty' cases they encounter are really just a lack of knowledge on the part of the owner of the animal. "In a lot of cases, it's not that the people are cruel, it's just that they don't realise the animal needs more than what they are giving them."

Speaking on the Kilcullen Diary's Daily Cast podcast, she said that quite often just a conversation, or providing an example of what they should be doing, can mean the whole problem being solved.

As part of the Society's education work, members go into schools and school groups come to visit the Society's shelter, but that has all stopped during the pandemic. "When we do go into schools, we get a very good reception, because many children have pets, even if it's only a hamster or a lizard or something. We also get a lot of financial support from the children, who engage in fund-raising events for us."

The Society's work is mainly with small animals, with some 300 dogs being re-homed every year and about twice that number of cats, mostly feral, being treated by the organisation's neutering service.

KWWSPCA is still looking for an alternative site for a new shelter — they have to leave their existing one in Athgarvan in October because of planning issues.

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