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JERSEY SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: GRANT AND LOAN _______________
Lodged au Greffe on 22nd June 1999 by the Finance and Economics Committee
______________________________
STATES OF JERSEY
STATES GREFFE
175 1 9 9 9 P . 8 5
Price code: B
PROPOSITION
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion -
to authorise -
(a ) a grant of £300,000 from the general reserve;
( b ) a loan of £100,000, which shall bear interest at four per cent per annum and shall be repayable in equal
annual instalments of principal and interest over a period of twenty years,
to th e JS PCA as a contribution towards the redevelopment programme of the Animals' Shelter. FINANCE AND ECONOMICS COMMITTEE
REPORT
Background
The Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) charity was established in 1868 to care for animals in need in Jersey.
The JSPCA Animals' Shelter in St. Saviour's Road comprises an Animal Hospital, an Education Centre, a Cattery and Dog Kennels for emergency boarding, boarding of stray and unwanted dogs and commercially boarded dogs. The Society also run a Pet Crematorium at Howard Davis Farm, Trinity .
The following is a list of some of the services provided by the JSPCA to the Island -
• T h e JSPCA runs a 24 hour ambulance service to collect sick and injured animals and transport them to the
Animals' Shelter or to a veterinary surgery. The ambulance staff attend road traffic accidents, catch stray animals, collect distressed animals from private homes and assist disabled owners to transport their animals to their vet. They collect illegally landed animals and transport them to the isolation unit. They also collect dead animals from the roads and beaches and transport them to the Shelter which meets the cost of cremation if the owners cannot be traced.
• T h e JSPCA staff rescue injured wildlife and rehabilitate them until they can be released back to the wild.
• T h e Animals' Shelter controls the feral cat population through a free spay/neuter programme.
• T h e Shelter invite groups from schools to activities at its Education Centre.
If the JSPCA Animals' Shelter did not exist, the States would have to allocate the funds to support an alternative institution to provide the services which the Animals' Shelter provides for the welfare of animals in Jersey.
Historical overview of redevelopment of the Animals' Shelter
In 1981 the JSPCA offered the site at 89 St. Saviour's Road to the Housing Committee for residential development. The request was turned down, but the Committee was grateful that the Society considered the housing needs of the Island. However, the following year the States agreed that it should acquire the JSPCA's property.
The JSPCA agreed that it would be prepared to move if a suitable site could be found. The Island Development Committee "IDC" indicated that it would consider providing financial assistance to facilitate the move. As a result of this, costings and valuations were undertaken and the search for an alternative site began.
Between 1982 and 1994, several alternative sites were investigated with little success.
In 1994 the JSPCA carried out a survey of households surrounding the Animals' Shelter and discovered that 87 per cent of neighbours would prefer to see the Animals' Shelter redevelop at St. Saviour's Road rather than have the site sold for housing. As a result of this survey and a fact-finding visit to the United Kingdom, the President of IDC made a statement on 5th July 1994 permitting the JSPCA to redevelop at 89 St. Saviour's Road and prioritising reduction of noise. The JSPCA launched a fund-raising campaign in 1994 and commenced rebuilding in 1996.
Funding request
The overall redevelopment of the JSPCA Animals' Shelter includes the following facilities -
• A n imal Hospital and administration building
• E d ucation Centre
• C a ttery
• E m ergency boarding kennels
• Str ay and unwanted dogs' kennels
• C o mmercially boarded dogs' kennels
• Q u arantine facility
• E x ercise yards
• D o g behaviour unit
• Pe t Crematorium at Howard Davis Farm.
Although the majority of the work has been funded by charitable donations and from the JSPCA's funds, the Society require £411,700 to complete the project.
The Finance and Economics Committee, having carefully reviewed the request, are minded to assist the JSPCA and has taken into account the following factors -
• th e project includes the conversion of the existing isolation quarters and construction of replacement facilities to provide an emergency quarantine service, which is supported by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department;
• th e JSPCA incurred substantial abortive fees in seeking an alternative site for the Animals' Shelter in the early 1990s;
• th e costs incurred over the years in the collection and upkeep of stray dogs under the Dogs (Jersey) Law 1961 has only been partly funded by the States.
Discussions have taken place with the JSPCA and the Committee has identified that, once the redevelopment project is complete, the Animals' Shelter will generate a small income stream which would support the repayments on a subsidised loan of £100,000 at an interest rate of four per cent per annum, over a term of 20 years.
The Committee, having considered the JSPCA's request for financial assistance, is willing to support a loan under the terms above, together with maximum grant of £300,000.
The loan will be secured on the new buildings and the Committee will require that the property is covered by appropriate insurance.