An animal activist in Atlantis is calling on the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) to resume services to the area.
Joshua Swarts, founder of Horse Pals Atlantis, says the mobile clinics in the Atlantis and Mamre areas, which had been coming around for more than a decade, halted abruptly in November.
“People in the area depend on the mobile clinic because not everyone has funds for a private vet,” Swarts says.
“Just a consultation can be anything from R300 to R3000, which is ridiculous.
“Animals are dying because people cannot afford to pay those high prices.
“I had to sadly let one of my dogs die because I did not have R2700 for a vet,” he adds.
PDSA Mobile clinic has been haulted. Picture supplied
The hospital manager for the PDSA, Veronica Nel, says they haven’t been able to provide services in the affected areas due to a staff shortage.
“We had several qualified animal welfare assistants leave our employ, and we, therefore, did not have enough qualified staff to work in both our hospitals, as well as the mobile clinic.”
However, residents can breathe a little easier as the PDSA will soon return to the area.
“We have, however, managed to employ more staff to increase our capacity, and hope to have the mobiles back in all the areas in the very near future.
“We will ensure that our mobile clinics are distributed across Cape Town, in the neediest areas, to ensure that we reach as many animals in need as possible.
“Atlantis and Mamre will most definitely be an area we will return to,” Nel added.