Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
There has been an increase in the stray animal population following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Therefore, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken a proactive step to curb the issue through increased outreach programs.
SPCA Clinic Manager Shaneel Narayan says they identified the need to take SPCA services out to the people.
“We run a full time clinic at Walubay but we also have realized that certain communities, neighborhood and settlements we are not able to access this service here either it is costly or the distance is too far so we have decided to do community outreach and taking the clinic out to them.”
Narayan says that they depend on the community partnership to further the outreach to Fijians who cannot access their clinic, situated in Walu Bay.
Volunteer Brittany Nawaqatabu says outreach program also provide an opportunity to educate the younger generation.
“From my knowledge I know that they reached out to primary schools and i think that is a very good idea to start from the grassroots, to start from our children to educate them on how to look after your animals for their welfare and things like this so I think that’s a great initiative”
So far this year, the SPCA has conducted about 28 outreach clinics, which specifically targets highly-populated areas.
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