Farmyard and Horse Care

We take in and care for injured and stray horses, ponies, donkeys, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, geese, chickens, and rabbits.

The Facility

We have 7 brick & mortar stables and 10 paddocks with walk-in shelters.

We also have 7 enclosed areas with shelters for the farmyard animals. We have utilized the old dog and cat isolation wards for the sheep, goats, and rabbits.

We also have a small undercover medicine paddock in front of the Horse Care Unit and Farmyard office.

There Is a crush that we use when needing to restrain and treat horses, used for the horse’s and vet’s safety. It comes in very handy when doing stitch-ups when the horses are sedated.

The Horse Care Unit has two 2-berth horse boxes and a cattle trailer with a towing vehicle on site. We also have access to another towing vehicle when needed, which also doubles as our Chief Inspector’s bakkie.

All the animals (unless for medical reasons) have ad lib access to roughage 24/7. This comes at a vast expense especially now with the price of Diesel, and frequent shortages due to climate change.

The staff within the unit are true animal lovers and the animals sense it.

This is where the journey begins for these abused and neglected animals learning to trust again.

SPCA Pet Care Guides

Protecting the Welfare of Farm Animals

Our Farmyard was opened in June 2011. It provides shelter and care for stray and confiscated farm animals.

Our Inspectors regularly remove stray cattle and goats left to pasture dangerously on the side of major highways; confiscate chickens kept in filthy conditions with no food and water from roadside markets and regularly take in neglected sheep.

We also inspect farming practices and abattoirs and provide advice to the City Council where necessary. This unit has the power to confiscate animals deemed to be at risk and to prosecute offenders.

Farm animals and poultry must be given basic welfare requirements:

Appropriate food and constant access to fresh, clean drinking water.
To be kept in an appropriate environment that provides shelter and a comfortable resting area.
Prompt veterinary attention when necessary to treat illness or injury.
Sufficient space to move around freely, and company.
To be treated in a way that ensures freedom from fear and distress, in conditions that avoid mental suffering.

Teaching Compassion in Farming

Welttierschutzgesellschaft e.V. (WTG) is a Berlin/Germany based registered non-profit organisation. Their vision is a world, in which animals are appreciated by people, treated according to their needs and with respect. In their work for animal welfare WTG focuses on countries and regions with little protection for animals. They aim at improving the situation for animals in the long term i.e. by providing veterinary care, by supporting animal sanctuaries and through our educational work. WTG cooperates with local partner organisations and involves the people who are directly concerned.

The Welttierschutzgesellschaft e.V. have recently partnered with the Cape of Good Hope SPCA – South Africa’s largest and oldest animal welfare organisation- based in Cape Town, South Africa founded in 1872.

Along with ensuring the protection of abandoned and abused animals across the city, the Cape of Good Hope (COGH) SPCA is committed towards teaching compassion in farming to urban and rural farmers in need of support and education.

With the backing/funding of the Welttierschutzgesellschaft e.V. the COGH SPCA Education Department will complement its daily community outreach and social upliftment programme with a dedicated year-long project designed to teach compassion in farming across our metropole.

The benefits of this project will be twofold; Firstly we are to provide support to farmers in need through basic training and support in order to ensure correct animal husbandry techniques. Secondly to prevent cruelty to any farm animals and ensure the humane treatment of farm animals at all times in accordance with the Animal Protections Act 71 of 1962.

Restoring the Lives and Dignity of Equines

More than just a stable yard, the SPCA Horse Care Unit established in 1995, is a refuge for neglected and abandoned equines, whose lives are restored by the dedicated, patient efforts of many.

The HCU looks after the welfare of horses across the Cape Metropole and Atlantis areas. The team deals with distressed and injured equines that are victims of cruelty and neglect.

The facility includes 17 outdoor and 8 indoor stables for animals requiring intensive or specialised treatment and can at any time accommodate up to 40 equines. The unit has two horse boxes and two vehicles capable of getting to locations situated off the beaten track.