A R750 000 donation will help the Cape Animal Welfare Forum alleviate the plight of many pets whose owners have been hard hit by the economic impact of COVID-19.
‘The financial aid will alleviate hardship experienced by the public and will allow the Cape Animal Welfare Forum to support indigent pet owners so that they will be able to continue feeding their pets and not be forced by circumstances to abandon them. To be able to care for animals by providing nutritional food and a warm place to sleep contributes a lot to the health and morale of communities. The City works closely with the animal welfare sector to assist vulnerable communities,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security and patron of the Cape Animal Welfare Forum, Alderman JP Smith.
Communities across the metropole are dealing with unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This has affected the entire community, including animals whose owners cannot afford sufficient food for their pets.
According to the Cape Animal Welfare Forum (CAWF), some animals have become strays as they search for food, while others have been surrendered to struggling animal welfare shelters as their families can no longer afford to care for them.
There has also been an increase in social media posts where pet owners enquired about a new home for their pets.
‘The City of Cape Town has generously granted R750 000 to the Cape Animal Welfare Forum in order to ease the plight of suffering animals living within indigent Cape communities. The forum is an umbrella body consisting of 33 registered animal welfare non-profit organisations. Many of these NGOs have suffered major financial setbacks since the start of lockdown, making this grant critical to their ability to continue supporting communities. Funds will be used to buy dog and cat food for families with animals living within indigent areas serviced by CAWF member organisations,’ said Karin de Klerk, Chairperson of CAWF.
The animal welfare sector strives to ensure that animals in indigent communities are healthy and the need for this during the pandemic is outlined by the World Health Organisation – a healthy community has to include the animal population. https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/one-health
‘We all have a responsibility to care for our communities, which include both humans and animals. If we identify community members who are not in a position to feed themselves or their pets, we should stand together and see how we can assist those in need. The cold winter weather conditions will make life more challenging and places an added responsibility to provide for our animals, but if we work together, we will be able to see this through. The financial aid is but a small gesture that will go a long way in caring for our pets. I would like to thank the animal welfare organisations and volunteers for their unselfish contribution and assistance,’ added Alderman Smith
The Animal Welfare sector has undergone serious challenges in the last three months that have depleted their ability to raise funds towards supporting animals at shelters.
This has left shelters even more vulnerable during the winter months. The CAWF will be grateful and appreciative of any donations or support towards any of the 33 charities that are registered under CAWF.
Some examples of needed donations include pet food, blankets, saleable household goods to support the animal charity shop including clothing, household goods, books or linen.
For more information on how you can help, members of the public can contact the chairperson of CAWF, Karen de Klerk on the following email address: info@cawf.co.za