A cut in funding from the Lottery has forced the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), to reduce its free services, including the work it does in poor communities.

Since its launch 62 years ago, one of the services it has offered is the care and treatment of beasts of burden, like donkeys, horses and oxen, which many people in rural and other marginalised communities depend on to work the land and for transport.

For the past 15 years, the SPCA and its branches across the country have received tens of millions of rands in funding from the National Lottery Commission (NLC). But in 2017 that funding was cut after the NLC announced a shift in its focus to poverty relief, leaving the SPCA and other animal welfare organisations scrambling to make ends meet.

The funding is also used for outreach projects, property maintenance and upgrading, veterinary costs, animal handling equipment and salaries, among other expenses.

Roxanne Joseph