£3,000 is the amount we need to keep our animal welfare services running for a week.
Tesco Stores have kindly given us permission to collect outside all their main shops during RSPCA Week 2nd-8th May (inclusive). The more collectors we have, the more we will be able to raise. If you think you could help - even just for a few hours - please email volunteering@rspca-cambridge.org.uk, or complete the form on this page. We need collectors for Ely, Newmarket, Royston, Cambridge, Fulbourn, Milton and Bar Hill.
People take the RSPCA for granted and assume that we'll be there when animals need help. It's not widely understood that all our funding comes from ordinary people just doing their best to raise what they can, and if we can't make enough, then we can't pay vets to treat injured animals. Ultimately medical care for humans comes out of taxes and is guaranteed, but there is no National Health Service for animals.
Grand total: £
Some owners may never have thought about how they would manage if their dog needed surgery immediately and the cost was £600. On a low income it may be impossible to borrow the money or to pay it off gradually. Many of those who contact us for help have got their finances in such a tangle that they literally need to borrow the money to phone us.
People are often surprised that vets do not have cheap rates for owners who are on benefits, but private veterinary surgeries are businesses which have to make a profit or close down.
The Cambridge and District branch serves an area stretching from Littleport to Royston. We run an animal clinic in Cambridge; rehome animals found injured or suffering from neglect, and provide help with veterinary costs via private vets for owners on very low income who are unable to travel to the Cambridge clinic. In a typical year over 3,000 animals will pass through our doors, so our funds are stretched very thinly and each penny counts. We live hand-to-mouth, spending money as fast as it is raised; the only fat cats here are furry ones; none of the members of our branch committee are paid for the work they put in.
Users of the RSPCA clinic must bring proof of benefits or paperwork such as a bank-statement which shows that they have a very low income each time they visit the clinic. If you are unable to bring your pet yourself it's fine for a helper to bring them for you, but the helper must show proof that you are in receipt of benefit and needs to have a signed note from you confirming that they are bringing the animal on your behalf.
Our shops need volunteers; donations of sales goods, and customers throughout the year: please give them your support. They are our main regular source of income.
You can become a member of the RSPCA by joining via the internet. Membership will give you voting rights on important issues and the chance of joining your local branch committee as well as simply supporting the society, so it is very worthwhile if you want to help animals.
Buy pet care books and DVDs via our webshop and support our welfare work
Last updated 17/01/2011
