RSPCA Tasmania to Expand the Spreyton Animal Care Centre

RSPCA Tasmania will expand its Spreyton Animal Care Centre as part of the organisation’s ongoing transition to a centralised care model.

The Spreyton expansion includes providing more Safe Beds to care for the animals of those fleeing family violence, refurbishing and building more kennels, and better facilities for larger animals including horses.

These services form a critical part of the purpose and mission of RSPCA Tasmania and will always remain the central priority as the RSPCA shapes its operations now and into the future.

To help prioritise the expansion of Spreyton, the RSPCA will close its two Adoption and Retail Care Centres at Launceston and Latrobe, which like similar retail outlets nationally have been running at a loss.

RSPCA Tasmania CEO Andrea Dawkins said the expansion of the Spreyton Animal Care Centre would future proof the facility for the next 20 years.

“The RSPCA is a proud Tasmanian not-for-profit organisation that helps thousands of animals every year, and sadly the need for our services is only growing,” Ms Dawkins said.

“The RSPCA is taking action to ensure we can continue to meet the growing needs of the community, and that’s what our ongoing transition to a centralised care model will achieve.

“An important part of this is focussing all of our deeply precious resources on expanding our Spreyton Animal Care Centre to make it the beating heart of our organisation.

“The expansion will not only ensure we can care for more animals, it will also ensure we have the most contemporary facilities to care for cats, dogs, pocket pets, horses and more.”

To assist in resourcing the expansion, the RSPCA Board last week took the decision to close our two Adoption and Retail Care Centres, which ran at a loss of around $100,000 in the past year.

The Launceston and Latrobe retail outlets will remain open as the RSPCA works with staff and other stakeholders in coming weeks and months to determine the most appropriate closing dates. Importantly, all six staff will be offered other roles across the organisation.

“This move will ensure we can put every scarce resource that we have at our disposal into future-proofing the Spreyton Animal Care Centre for the next 20 years,” Ms Dawkins said.

Ms Dawkins said that the RSPCA would welcome any donations to assist the organisation continue to support the care for animals.

“The RSPCA is not immune to the cost of living crisis, which has put upward pressure on our costs and increased the number of animals being surrendered into our care,” Ms Dawkins said.

“If any Tasmanians have the capacity to donate and help our team care for Tasmania’s animals that would be a timely and welcome help – every dollar counts.”

To make a donation, please visit: https://www.rspcatas.org.au/donate/