Breaking down our annual report for FY18-19

Our annual report (which you can find in full here) details all the wins, woofs and worries from our last financial year. There are lots of numbers, statistics and dollars listed in this document, so we wanted to clear up any confusion and highlight the good stuff.

Read on to find out more about the annual report. Or, head here to check out the interactive breakdown in our impact report.

800 new volunteers were welcomed onboard

It’s always wonderful to welcome a fresh batch of like-minded animal lovers to the team. Last financial year, we were able to grow our hive of busy bee volunteers by 800!

One of our new volunteers, Ian, told us what he loves the most about helping out at our Sydney Shelter: “I feel very fortunate to be able to help out. Everyone I’ve met who works or volunteers for the RSPCA are the nicest people that I’ve met in such a long time!”

We’re so happy to have you, Ian! And all our long-term and new recruits.

352,583 people were reached by education initiatives

Part of our job is to educate and empower everyone to understand and properly care for animals. We’re stoked that the number of people impacted by our education efforts is so high — and we’re sure it’ll only get higher!

This year, we launched a program called HEART (Humans Enriching Animals and Rehabilitating Trauma) with students from Fairfield West Public School’s Newly Arrived Program. The eight-week pilot was funded by Sydney Water, and aims to increase students’ knowledge and understanding of animals and their care. It also helps to improve the mental health and inclusion of students new to the country.

143,607 calls were answered at our contact centre

Did you know we have a contact centre dedicated to fielding cruelty complaints and animal emergencies? They’re the first port of call if you see an animal in danger or distress and need to let us know about it.

Thanks to a call from a member of the public, our contact centre was able to dispatch the Animal Ambulance and rescue stray cat Lucas. Lucas had a severe leg injury and needed to be operated on immediately. Thankfully, he was brought into our care, rehabilitated successfully and put up for adoption. Now, he lives a happy life with his new forever family.  

Along with emergencies and cruelty reports, we also handle general enquires and donations through our contact centre.  

1,085 people were given emergency help

At RSPCA NSW, we believe that behind any animal who needs our care and protection, there is often a human being in need of help and support too.

Our Community Team works tirelessly to provide emergency care to animals whose owners are facing adversity. For example, we organised foster care for a Greyhound named Davy* while his owner Harry* was hospitalised for mental health reasons. Harry adored Davy but didn’t have any friends or family who were available to care for him – he just wanted him to be loved and cared for properly while he was away. Once Harry recovered and was discharged, he was happily reunited with Davy.

29,682 animals came through our doors

Every day this year, 81 animals turned to us for help, and we did everything in our power to give them a second chance at happiness.

We have an open-door policy at RSPCA NSW. This means we take in animals – not just cats and dogs but a plethora of species, including chickens, goats, pigeons and horses – in their most vulnerable, broken and injured state.

Unfortunately, sometimes that means a difficult decision has to be made about an animal’s life – whether because it is deemed too cruel to keep them alive, or to ensure the safety of other animals or humans. 

And while this is a disappointing outcome, we’re pleased to say that our euthanasia rates are falling year on year. We’re doing everything we can to ensure it keeps moving in this direction too.

Additionally, we’re so proud that 20,040 of the animals who came to us were rehomed, reclaimed, transferred to another rescue group for further treatment or are still being well looked after in our shelters.

See the full annual report, and reports from previous years, here.

*Names changed for privacy