By NOEL MURPHY
BELEAGUERED Geelong Animal Welfare Society is clawing its way back from financial strife after falling from a surplus of almost $1 million to a reported $400,000 deficit.
Chief executive officer Belinda Russo told the Independent corporate and community pledges were pulling the Moolap shelter back from the brink after a torrid two years in which two management boards were overturned.
Essential infrastructure spending for the shelter to meet its legal obligations, along with new services, had exhausted reserves but new pledges of financial, staffing and other assistance could return the shelter to the black within three years, Ms Russo said.
The past two years of difficulty for the region’s largest anmial shelter followed the rise to power of a no-kill lobby after a bitter campaign against the previous administration.
The lobby sacked or pushed out almost all the previous board as 30 members and staff left the society and its Moolap shelter.
But the replacement board faced complaints of wrongly killing family pets, giving away desexed and immunised animals free of charge and dumping an after-hours ambulance service.
Ms Russo said the no-kill board, which lacked governance skills, had been replaced.
The society had since adopted a renewal strategy to bring the shelter up to scratch, she said.
“There’s a lot of ground to make up but we’re quite positive about it. We need to stay transparent the whole way through.
“This is a community shelter that belongs to the Geelong region. It’s very important everyone knows what’s going on.”
Ms Russo said activists within the no-kill lobby had abused, threatened and thrown stones at her.
An unexpected increase in unwanted animals due to personal financial difficulties and landlord demands had exacerbated the shelter’s problems, she said.
“It’s really quite worrying. A lot of people are losing their jobs, being made redundant.
“I’m very worried about the flow-on from Alcoa.”
