The Scottish SPCA is to launch their tenth annual Scottish Animal Week on 4th September. To mark the milestone they will host a variety of events over the week including street collections on Saturday (9th) and an open day at the centre in Edinburgh on Sunday (10th).
The open day is free to everyone interested in animals with a host of activities on throughout the day.
During the ten years that Scotland’s animal welfare charity has been celebrating Scottish Animal Week they have rescued and rehomed well over 50,000 animals, including Goaty McGoatface (below), the goat who arrived into their care back in March. The young kid was discovered injured at the side of the West Highland Way.
Edinburgh Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre Manager Diane Aitchison said: “Goaty McGoatface was discovered with his umbilical cord still attached and had multiple puncture wounds. The poor guy was very weak and bleeding from his wounds when he arrived into our care.
“He recovered from his injuries well and we were able to successfully rehome him.
“Seeing animals like Goaty McGoatface leave to start a happy new life is the kind of moment that makes this job worthwhile.”
Diane added, “He waited very patiently before finding his forever home, but thankfully his patience paid off. We wish him all the best in the future.”
This year the charity has already spoken to over 23,164 children in Edinburgh and Lothians through their ‘Prevention through Education’ programme which was launched in 2009. This free programme encourages children to treat animals with compassion and respect.
Recent research published by the Scottish SPCA and the University of Edinburgh has shown that the programme has had a positive impact on Scotland’s children with a 382% increase in the number of calls to our animal helpline from children over the last five years.
Gilly Mendes Ferreira Head of Education and Policy at the Scottish SPCA said, “Our interactive programme encourages children to think about what animals need and they learn how they can be responsible towards animals they come across including their pets.
“The research has shown a clear increase in children’s knowledge about animal welfare following participation in our workshops and is further evidence that the subject of animal welfare has a valuable role to play in school curriculum.”
Anyone interested in the Scottish Animal Week open day should head over to the centre on Mansfield Road, Balerno EH14 7JU from 12 – 4pm on Sunday 10 September.
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