-
play_arrow
Newy 87.8 FM Playing The Music You Know And Love
-
play_arrowJim’s Dairy Delites: Newcastle’s Historic Milk Bar SOLD and Undergoing Restoration Newy Staff
music_note
Hunter groups share more than $150,000 in animal welfare grants
newy.com.au – Five Hunter animal welfare organisations have been awarded more than $150,000 in NSW Government funding to support cat and dog rehoming, desexing, microchipping, vaccination and new infrastructure across the region.
The funding was announced on Thursday as part of the first round of the state’s $6 million Companion Animal Welfare and Rehoming Grants program. The recipients were Hunter Valley Animal Facility & Rehoming Centre, which received $46,440, Central Coast Animal Care Facility trading as Maitland Animal Rehoming Centre with $32,940, Blackroo Community Indigenous Corporation with $29,700, The Stay Foundation with $24,300, and Hunter Valley Cat Haven with $18,900.
Administered by the Office of Local Government, the program will allocate $1.5 million a year to eligible organisations over four years through a competitive grants process. The NSW Government said the funding would help ease pressure on council pounds, reduce euthanasia rates and support volunteers who do much of the rescue and rehoming work.
Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said the grants were “real support for the people on the ground doing important community work” and would mean “more animals cared for, more families helped and stronger communities right across the Hunter”.
Hunter Valley Animal Facility and Rehoming Centre president Peta Smith said the grant was “a lifeline” that meant the group could build a cattery on its property “to house more than 20 cats at a time”, while also upgrading its power supply for cats and kittens.
Blackroo Community Indigenous Corporation chairman Steven Fordham said the funding would help strengthen partnerships with local veterinary services so the organisation could provide more affordable desexing support to Aboriginal families across Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter. The Stay Foundation managing director Jesse Reinhard said its grant would help provide subsidised desexing, vaccinations and microchipping for about 74 pets in the Newcastle and Hunter region.
