Sterilise animals in Cape Town & prevent suffering

Dear Friend,

In recognition of World Spay Day on 25 February, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA launched a coordinated sterilisation initiative aimed at addressing the root cause of rising animal admissions and preventing further suffering across communities.

The We Step in Together campaign, now in its second year, brings welfare organisations into a unified sterilisation effort designed to ease mounting pressure on an already overextended animal welfare system and to reduce the suffering experienced by unwanted animals.

As part of this initiative, the SPCA undertook a two-day Mass Animal Sterilisation drive in partnership with Paws a While and Aid4Animals in Distress, sterilising 207 pets over two days. Since February 2025, collaborative efforts in Lavender Hill have collectively sterilised 718 animals, with a demonstrable impact of fewer unwanted puppies and kittens originating from this community. This is the measurable impact of focused, high volume sterilisation coverage.

Admissions data from the Cape of Good Hope SPCA reveals the scale of the challenge faced by the organisation, which operates under a policy of never turning any animal away and continues to accept animals brought in by members of the public, law enforcement and other welfare organisations.

An average of 2 300 unwanted and stray animals come through the organisations gates every single month. Approximately 69% of these admissions are animals people no longer want.

451 animals were given up last year because “they would not stop breeding” or because owners had too many animals. 

This highlights the impact of unplanned breeding.  

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA continues to absorb the majority of stray and unwanted animals entering the welfare system in the City, including those handed in by other animal welfare organisations. The We Step in Together campaign, aligns the welfare sector around prevention as the most effective response to rising pressures within the sector.

Every sterilised animal represents future suffering prevented.When access to sterilisation increases, unwanted litters decline, pressure on the sector begins to ease. Prevention at scale remains the most effective way to reduce animal suffering across the City.

Thank you for being part of the solution – and thank you for being a valued part of our animal-loving family! We truly appreciate your support.

Kindest Regards,

Joette Emerton

Links:

• Read article on World Spay Day Spay-a-Thon

Dear Friend,

As an animal lover, you may already know the answer to this important question: How do we stop cruelty to animals?

Stronger laws and enforcement? More SPCA Inspectors? A pet ownership register? These would all make a difference, but none would have the power to end the stubborn cycle of animal cruelty and neglect. In reality, the solution is simple: prevent animals from being born in the first place ... stop them from being innocently born into an existing pet over-population crisis, bursting shelters, widespread homelessness and unrelenting abuse.

Pet sterilisation (spaying females and neutering males) is the true ‘cure’ for cruelty. That's why we aim to sterilise 10 000 animals this year – a big, bold goal that we can only achieve with the generous support of people like you. There is no better investment in compassionate change. 

At a minimum, 10 000 pet sterilisations will mean:

• 10 000 less adult dogs and cats used as breeding machines – and suffering the poor health and stress that pregnancy, birth and lactation often cause.
• Countless animals spared the pain of being abandoned, neglected, starved, drowned, burned, chased, chained, used in dog fighting ... the list is, sadly, endless.
• Far fewer puppies and kittens at risk of brutal cruelty – like little kitten survivor, Hope.

Hope’s case is proof of how sterilisation would have directly prevented the brutality that she and her siblings suffered. Hope and her three siblings were being carried around in a box and offered for sale. Nobody wanted them – so they were mercilessly beaten to death.

Seeing those tiny, perfect little bodies bloodied and smashed was one of the most distressing things I’ve ever seen. If Hope’s mother had been spayed, none of it would have happened.

I wish I could tell you that this was a rare case of violence against animals. But abuse is a plague – and like the epidemic it is, only our combined actions can stop it.  

When you support this project, you act against cruelty. Not law enforcement, education or engaging with communities can produce a solution that’s as immediate – or lasting.

We cannot allow more animals to fall victim to cruelty when we know how to prevent it. Thank you for your support: we can’t reach 10 000 animals without you!

Yours sincerely,

Joette Emerton