SPCA's big move

After spending 32 years at Mount Vernon Road, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) started its move to its new home in the Kranji "countryside" this week.

The move started on Monday and will be completed next Tuesday. By yesterday, about 140 of the animals had been settled into the new premises in Sungei Tengah Road, along with half of the charity's 30 full-time staff.

The new 7,700 sq m facility is three times larger than its former premises and can house about 350 animals, nearly twice as many as before.

Facilities at the new place, which will be open to the public next Wednesday, include a shelter, a clinic and an exercise and agility course for dogs.

It also has an open-air pavilion for educational talks and animal training sessions, more recovery and surgery rooms and socialisation areas for people interested in adopting animals.

The project cost $7 million and the SPCA still needs to raise $966,560 for the new building through online donations.

The SPCA, which is Singapore's oldest animal charity, traces its history as far back as the 1800s.

It takes in more than 300 animals each month and houses abandoned dogs, cats, rabbits, mice and guinea pigs.

In its last financial year, from July 2014 to June last year, the SPCA took in 1,131 animals and attended to more than 3,200 emergency cases.

It also carried out 846 animal cruelty and welfare investigations during the same period.

Before moving to Mount Vernon in 1984, SPCA was based in Orchard Road.

ateng@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on January 21, 2016.
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