The current situation

The building occupied by the SPCA as our animal shelter until May this year was originally the Taupo Dog Pound and was donated to the branch in 1995. Over the years, makeshift improvements to the building were made as funds have become available but the old shelter was always cold, draughty, smelly, not sufficient for the hygiene standards we needed to maintain to prevent disease outbreaks and most of the time could only house a fraction of the number of animals we need to cater for.

Looking to the future

It was time for us to move on. In conjunction with the Taupo District Council (whose new Dog Pound is immediately adjacent to our new premises) we have built a new Animal Centre on land in Centennial Avenue donated by Contact Energy. Over the past three years we have conducted extensive research on shelters and animal centres both nationally and internationally and from that research we have designed a modern and versatile Animal Centre that will serve the animal welfare needs of our community for decades to come.

The cost

The cost of turning our dream into a reality will be in the close vicinity of $1,200,000 in total. This will include building and fit out costs and, as it is business as usual for our SPCA during the building programme, an allowance for ongoing operational expenses.

We receive no government funding for our operational expenses or for this building project so we are totally reliant on financial support from our local community. Accordingly we have commenced a major fundraising appeal to raise the funding needed to complete the project. Please click the link at left for further details on the Animal Centre project and see the News page for photo updates of the build project and the new Centre in operation.

SPCA Hat