Who Needs a Website? The Ones Who Need a Home.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, RSPCA, works tirelessly to give rescue pets a home and loving family. Established in 1824(1), it is a charity that has evolved with the times and become a nationwide service. In 1018 alone, the organisation rescued and collected over 102,900 animals(1) and found new homes for 40,738(1). It is the largest organisation that helps rehome animals(1) with 166 independant branches nationwide(2). As well as rehoming centers, there are 39 clinics and 4 hospitals(1) in England and Wales dedicated to caring for animals. Neutering and microchipping services are also provided to keep those animals safe.

The Canterbury branch, established in 1962(2), caters for the East Kent area and is an establishment close to my heart. The volunteers at the branch work around the clock, 365 days a year to care for cats and rabbits that for numerous reasons, have ended up without suitable care. The organisation is a charity, meaning the £500 maintenance and care cost(3) for the branch is solely dependant on the donations from the public. There is an RSPCA store in Canterbury (as well as Faversham, Deal, Dover and Whistable) where 100% of the earnings go towards supporting animals in need in East Kent (4).

This branch is where my boyfriend and I adopted Tia: an 18 year old cat whose previous owner was moving away and couldn’t keep a pet in her new place. For the 6 months we had her before she passed, we gave her the best retirement home we could, with the support and guidence of the RSPCA staff. The staff were so accomodating with Tia’s hyperthyroid and sensitive teeth, telling us exactly what we needed to do and how to do it. If the branch website didn’t have contact details and a description of how to find their establishment (which is about 500m down a dirt path next to a petrol station), we would have never found our beautiful cat. Many people will have stories like mine because of the popularity of the RSPCA, their high care standards, and the good public image it maintains.

A website allows any charity to put contact information and dates of fundraisers out in the public for anyone to see, netting a much larger population of people than alternate methods such as advertising on the TV or in a newspaper. A TV advert can only give so much information in an allocated time. An advert in a newspaper could be missed, coupled with the rise of internet broadcasting comparitive to newspapers(Figure 1), more people are working for online publications, which means companies and charities need to be where the commerse and publicity is. Publicity is vital to gain supporters and donations to keep the charity running as well as maintain an active, trending public image. The RSPCA website offers an online shop as well, catering to the sharp increase in shopping online over the recent years to increase revenue. A website also allows the charity to accept donations from anywhere in the world with online monthly subscriptions. The RSPCA Canterbury branch uses their website to inform the public of new events, job availability but most importantly: the animals themselves. There is also a blog link on the website which is kept up to date with a much more informal, friendly tone (and tons of adorable pictures) to not intimidate possible adoptees.

A website is essential in the technological age we live in, for any company or person trying to be in the public eye. It’s even harder for charites that need donations, tax-payers money, with little in return. However, the RSPCA have a system that works and successfully manages to help the smallest and fluffiest of critters who just need a home.

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