One of RSPCA WA’s aims is to achieve regional equity in our service delivery. This is particularly important for the community outreach and enforcement aspects of our work.
Inspectors based in regional WA play a critical role in animal welfare. They enforce the Animal Welfare Act 2002, rescue animals from dangerous situations and work with the community to educate people on ways to better care for their animals.
Earlier this year, RSPCA WA appointed its first ever Broome inspector, thanks to an increase in Government funding and the generosity of donors. The Broome inspector joins four others in the regional team based in the Mid West, South West, Great Southern and the Goldfields.
WA’s vastness creates a unique set of funding challenges for regional-based inspectors.
While it may take a metropolitan inspector 15 or 30 minutes of travel to attend a cruelty report, for regional inspectors it can be hours.
Our inspector in the Goldfields travelled a massive 37,736kms last financial year. This included trips out to remote indigenous communities to provide advice and emergency pet supplies.
Regional areas can draw the short straw when it comes to service delivery, so for corporates this presents an interesting and meaningful opportunity to direct their sponsorship towards. On-ground support in regional WA has a measurable impact and funding in this space often addresses corporate social responsibility priorities of large corporations operating in Western Australia.
We are extremely grateful to the regional vets, who provide wonderful support and sometimes discount their services for rescue pets, despite facing their own time and resource challenges.
Aeropets continues to be a valuable partner in flying animals in need from regional locations to the Animal Care Centre in Malaga for intensive medical and behavioural rehabilitation.
Another key partner, Elanco, provide the RSPCA with flea, tick and worm treatments for our rescued animals. This service is particularly important in regional WA, where parasites tend to be more common than in metro areas. Our inspectors work with regional communities to promote parasite prevention and provide Elanco products to those in need free of charge at Community Action Days.
At a Geraldton event in October this year, 90 treatments were distributed. These products had an immediate positive impact for pets in these areas.
Bobbi is one of many regional animals positively impacted by Elanco’s support. This gorgeous girl was covered in thousands of ticks when she was seized from a property in Broome. She travelled the 2000-odd kilometres to Perth for extensive treatment at the Animal Care Centre.
While in care, Bobbi was on a strict regime of flea, worm, and tick medication, which helped her get back to her healthy and happy self. She has since been adopted into a loving new home.
Once people know there is an RSPCA WA presence in the community, they start lifting the lid on abuse and reporting more of it.
Reports in the Goldfields grew from 23 to almost 130 in just one year when an inspector was appointed in 2012. That number had jumped to 500 by 2019.
RSPCA WA believes providing the community with support across WA is everyone’s responsibility.
We encourage corporates to consider the tangible impact their support could have in regional WA.
