A new Animal Care Campus being built 30 kilometres south of the city is a game-changing development for animal welfare in this state, according to the CEO of RSPCA South Australia Marcus Gehrig. The foundations are now being poured for the $28m project, which will include the state’s first dedicated wildlife hospital.
The organisation is currently spread across two sites, with administration, the inspectorate and rescue team based in Stepney and the animal care (including veterinary treatment) occurring at a shelter built back in the late seventies within an industrial zone at Lonsdale. The new development will comprise of the wildlife hospital, modern companion animal care services and accommodation, a multifunctional community education centre and centralized RSPCA South Australia rescue, inspectorate and administration services.
Relocating to this bigger and more prominent site will help us expand the myriad of ways we already help animals and provide our community with a greater idea of what we do for our state’s most vulnerable animals.
The new campus is located in O’Halloran Hill on the north-west corner of the South and Majors Roads intersection. The seven-hectare site, provided to the charity by the State Government, sits within the community precinct of Glenthorne National Park. According to Marcus, it puts animals in need where they belong.
“We’ve come a long way since the Lonsdale shelter was built in terms of our appreciation and understanding of animals. Hiding them out of sight and out of mind in an industrial zone might have been okay back in the 70s, but it’s certainly not okay now. Relocating to this bigger and more prominent site will help us expand the myriad of ways we already help animals and provide our community with a greater idea of what we do for our state’s most vulnerable animals,” says Marcus.
The campus will be accessible for native fauna rescue groups across the state to bring in injured wildlife for treatment, and will be the central hub for the more than 1,300 community foster care volunteers. The development is expected to double the number of animals RSPCA South Australia cares for each year.
At the new campus, our animals will enjoy climate-controlled accommodation – it will be like the Ritz compared to the current facilities, which are well and truly obsolete.
The campus is anticipated to open in April next year, and until then the organisation will continue to operate out of Stepney and Lonsdale on leaseback arrangements with the properties’ new owners. The move to brand-new, purpose-built facilities cannot come soon enough.
“Our Lonsdale teams, in particular, are relieved to have just one more winter to get through – the kennels flooded so badly on a night last November that staff had to rescue some of our dogs, and it’s a battle to keep them cool during heat waves,” says Marcus.
“At the new campus, our animals will enjoy climate-controlled accommodation – it will be like the Ritz compared to the current facilities, which are well and truly obsolete,” Marcus adds.
Proceeds from last year’s sales of the Lonsdale and Stepney properties are contributing to the $28m construction cost, but the charity needs community donations to meet a $3m shortfall.
Donate here towards the building of RSPCA SA’s new Animal Care Campus.
