Fife is hotspot for reports of animals in need

Fife has been revealed as Scotland’s hot spot for reports of animals in need.

The Scottish SPCA has said that almost 10 per cent of its jobs relate to the Kingdom - more than major cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Officers responded to 3226 reports from concerned Fifers, compared with 3113 in Glasgow and 2761 in Edinburgh.

The figures come as the charity battles the impact of lockdown which saw all nine of its animal rescue and rehoming centres closed.

As a result, any animals arriving there could not be rehomed, putting huge strain on the organisation’s resources.

Kirsteen Campbell, Scottish SPCA chief executive, said: “Our whole team has worked so hard through this unprecedented crisis, and the passion and dedication they have displayed all the way through has been truly inspirational.

“Even during lockdown, we were still averaging a call about an animal in need every 90 seconds, which shows the scale of demand there was for our services.

“As Scotland’s animal champions, we have a duty to continue to do our job under any circumstances to make sure pets, wildlife, farm animals and people get the help they need.

“Thank you so much to our partners and the public for such great support.”

The charity launched an emergency foster scheme saw over 260 animals who were ready to be rehomed go out on foster. Over 70 were permanently rehomed.

As restrictions eased, it also introduced virtual rehoming to get animals into loving homes.

Despite the closure, some 1796 animals were rehomed in the first six months of the year - down 23 per cent on 2019.

The society’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre did not close its doors. Admissions in the first half of this year were down 47 per cent., but 3377 animals still arrived at the base in Clackmannanshire.

The Society had engaged with 48,798 school children through its free educational programme until it was put on hold in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cancelled bookings since then meant education officers were unable to meet over 40,000 primary and secondary school pupils.

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The Society provided free educational resources online to support home-learning, and these have been downloaded over 6,000 times by parents, carers and teachers. 1,000 printed learning packs were also developed and, with the help of Police Scotland, distributed to children who may struggle to access online tools.

Scottish SPCA chief executive Kirsteen Campbell said: “Our whole team has worked so hard through this unprecedented crisis, and the passion and dedication they have displayed all the way through has been truly inspirational.

“Even during lockdown, we were still averaging a call about an animal in need every 90 seconds, which shows the scale of demand there was for our services.

“As Scotland’s animal champions, we have a duty to continue to do our job under any circumstances to make sure pets, wildlife, farm animals and people get the help they need. Thank you so much to our partners and the public for such great support.”

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