Celebrate the Centenary of the SPCA
The SPCA President & Trustee will fire the Noonday Gun
(23 June 2021; Hong Kong) The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Hong Kong) (‘SPCA’) was first established by a group of animal enthusiasts in 1903 on a voluntary basis. In 1921, the SPCA was formed officially, with then Governor of Hong Kong Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs, as President and Patron.
In the early days of the SPCA, the general public barely knew the concept of animal welfare. The major duty of the SPCA was to prevent cruelty to animals. After World War II, the SPCA re-opened in 1950. Although the living condition had been improved after the recovery of the war, the awareness of animal welfare was still weak. Besides, rabies swept through Hong Kong at that time. Since then, the SPCA has been actively educating the public about animal welfare and knowledge related to rabies.
With continuous development of society in the 1960s to 1970s, and the economic boom in 1980s, pet keeping became more popular. The SPCA then expanded its veterinary services to Kowloon and the New Territories to serve residents living in remote areas. The problem of overpopulation of animals arose along with the rise of number of pets. In order to control the number of stray animals, the SPCA has started looking into animal population control solution since the 1990s. At the same time, the SPCA also aimed at cultivating a deeper respect for life and promoting a community in harmony with animals through education and community development.
Over the last few years, the public awareness of animal welfare has increased significantly. The SPCA has been putting effort in lobbying and advocating, hoping to improve the current legislation and policies regarding animals, so as to enhance animal welfare in Hong Kong.
As the longest standing and largest animal welfare organisation, the SPCA has been putting animal welfare as its top priority in the past century, and building an animal-inclusive community under the support of the general public. Moreover, the SPCA is planning to launch its new facility in Tsing Yi for animal welfare and education purposes. The new building will be completed by the end of 2022 to support the welfare, education and community works of the SPCA and expand the services to the New Territories. Heading towards the second century, the SPCA needs the continuous support of the public to enhance animal welfare in Hong Kong and create an inclusive society for humans and animals.
On 23 June 2021 the anniversary day at 12:00pm, Ms. Gigi Fu, the President of the SPCA and Mrs. Lucy Wong, the Trustee of the SPCA officiated the Noonday Gun firing to mark the commencement of the second century of the SPCA. Apart from firing the Noonday Gun, the SPCA is also launching different campaigns and a set of commemorative products in order to showcase the effort in enhancing animal welfare over the years.
Centenary souvenirs are on sale now!
This year marks the Centenary of the SPCA. In this special occasion, the SPCA has launched a set of Centenary souvenirs including Centenary Sweatshirt, Tote Bag, Cardboard Toy Vehicles and Book, so as to celebrate this milestone of the SPCA and review the change of society and the awareness of animal welfare in Hong Kong. All proceeds will be used to help homeless animals at the SPCA.
Visit the SPCA online shop at https://www.spcahk.org/categories/spca-centenary-series?locale=en to purchase the products!
MEOW to the future with Centenary Raffle Tickets
The SPCA Charity Raffle Ticket Sale is now available until 21 July with the theme ‘Better MEOW’, to promote the positive message of ‘Adopt. Don't buy.’ Each raffle ticket booklet (with 10 tickets included) comes with a complimentary ‘Meow to Future’ postcard. Surprise your loved ones by sending them a postcard through future mailings! ‘Pet Mailboxes’ will also be set up in various locations in Hong Kong to temporarily store the blessings. Just drop the postcards in, and we will deliver the blessings to the loved ones on the designated date in the future.
Each raffle ticket is at HK$20. You can purchase a ticket(s) from our online shop www.spcahk.org or at designated SPCA centres and sales locations. Each purchased ticket will be entered into the draw consisting of 161 prizes, with a total value of HK$225,210. Lucky winners will be drawn on 26 July 2021, and the results will be published on 2 August in The Standard, Sing Tao Daily and the SPCA website. (Lottery Licence No.: 4793) Visit https://raffle.spca.org.hk for more details.
The SPCA Commemorative Stamps issued by the Hong Kong Post Office
The Hong Kong Post Office has designed a set of commemorative stamps to celebrate this special occasion. The stamps are now available at https://bit.ly/3wbk4DH.
