A Brief History
The Story of The Stubbington Ark: Past, Present and Future
The RSPCA Solent Branch started life as the Portsmouth and South
East Hampshire Branch in 1878 dealing with all the problems that
the dramatic population growth in the area has brought. With
more people come more pets and consequently, more problems.
Every year hundreds of animals are abandoned, rejected and
cruelly mistreated. The RSPCA is usually involved and the
local branch and shelter bear an enormous burden serving a
catchment area of about 400 square miles.
By the early 1980s the facilities at the Branches' Park Gate
shelter were at breaking point and overcrowding, growing waiting
lists, obsolete equipment and other pressures handicapped efforts
to respond to a growing need. The Branch took on the task of
searching for new accommodation and in 1984 took a great gamble and
bought this 8 acre site here at Ranvilles Farm in Stubbington.
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Despite the excellent new facilities, expansion has been
necessary year by year to keep pace with the ever-growing demands
made by todays’ uncaring society. Ignorance being the key to
many of the problems the RSPCA faces, ‘The Ark’ considers education
vital to ensure a better future for animals. We are one of
the few shelters in the country to have developed an Education
Centre and we encourage visits from school parties, youth groups
and adult groups. Promoting knowledge of the work we do and
the problems we face, will hopefully pay dividends in years to
come.
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In the meantime, the fight goes on
and we have built a puppy unit, puppy play area/socialisation area
and a similar area for adult dogs. The intake and isolation
cattery has been re-designed and renovated to provide distinct
quarters for infectious diseases as well as casualty and maternity
areas. In addition we have built an adoption cattery, adding
30 more cat units; enlarged our reception building and staff areas;
modernised our communications systems; re-fenced paddock areas;
modernised old stables; built goat stables and updated our heating
and ventilation systems. Our latest commitment are purpose
built Small Animal Units, a dedicated Rabbit Unit, and Ferret Unit
providing specialised accommodation for rabbits and guinea pigs,
ferrets, small animals and exotics, and domestic bird aviaries.
The project also integrates a new Wildlife Unit providing a
wild bird unit, a casualty unit, wildlife pond, ducklings ponds and
eventually a fox and badger unit.
We have developed assessment and rehabilitation programs for
socially disabled animals and radically changed veterinary routines
to improve welfare standards. Thanks to our generous supporters, in
2010 ahead of schedule, we opened a "State of the Art" Veterinary
Unit costing £700,000 providing 21st century facilities and
procedures for the thousands of animals needing care each year.
With veterinary staff on site 7 days a week we aim to meet
every need. All cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and ferrets
are neutered on site in our operating theatre and we microchip all
adopted cats, dogs and ferrets. Staff too all have the
opportunity to undertake first class internal an external courses
and all have succeeded in, and continue to take further NVQ
qualifications in Animal Care. The result is a confident,
dedicated, skilled and professional workforce providing the best
care we can for the many needy animals in our care.
We are now receiving 7 times as many calls for help as in 1984
when we first conceived ‘The Ark’ project. That is over 145
calls a day and each year take in over 6,00 animals. At
present we have over 140 dogs and nearly 150 cats looking for new
homes. We have a multitude of other pets such as rabbits,
guinea pigs and birds that we try to re home and wildlife we try to
help. Last year we found homes for 85% of our charges but
that record has become hard to maintain. The easy
availability of animals from unscrupulous breeders, puppy farms and
irresponsible owners who refuse to neuter their animals, coupled
with an amazing lack of knowledge on how to look after animals by
many owners, ensures a constant stream of unwanted animals into the
shelter.
The Stubbington Ark is, we hope, of benefit to the entire
community. It is the largest single undertaking ever
attempted by a Branch of the RSPCA in the history of the Society.
To date it has cost over £1 million to build and day to day
running costs exceed £3,000 per day. We are very proud of all
that has been achieved and will continue to expand to meet
increasing demands that society places on us. |
