One of the kingdom’s leading animal charities is to mark its ruby anniversary with a slap-up fundraising dinner and dance for supporters at a five-star hotel in Manama this month.

The Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) 40th anniversary celebration event will be staged at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain, Convention & Spa on November 28 and will also include a raffle and auction.

“The charity receives no government funding, relying entirely on proceeds from the BSPCA Thrift Shop and individual donations,” said Rachel Gibson, BSPCA fundraiser, who added that money was ‘very scarce’, and the society needed ‘generous support for its essential work’. 

All proceeds will go to supporting the BSPCA’s many operations advancing animal causes, including its Animal Welfare Centre (AWC) in Askar, school educational visits, emergency call-outs for animals in distress, free neutering of strays and the lobbying of governmental authorities. 

The organisation’s origins date back to December 1979 when six concerned residents registered a charity to promote animal welfare and prevent acts of cruelty, with the first executive committee elected in 1982. Without funds or an official meeting place, a small team of volunteers called the ‘Flying Squad’ rescued injured and sick stray animals for treatment at local vets. Temporary accommodation for the animals was found at a stable, and small private donations funded their care.

In July of that year, the BSPCA opened a shelter in Shakhoora, near Saar. It was a modest set-up, with kennels for 30 dogs and a small cattery in a donated cabin, but the facilities served their purpose, and over the next 29 years, they improved and expanded, with the additions of a new cattery, a small vet clinic and a reception office. 

The shelter became the place of last resort for many abandoned animals, and from where the BSPCAfound them permanent, loving homes. It became a favourite place for people to visit and help clean, groom, exercise and socialise with the animals. Over the years, thousands of cats and dogs were rescued, and many families’ beloved pets owe their existence to the society’s work. 

Shakoora was eventually developed into residential land. In 2003, His Majesty King Hamad granted the BSPCA land near Askar and the focus shifted to building the state-of-the-art AWC. Work was completed in 2012 and the rehoming facility now houses approximately 80 dogs and 30 cats, in addition to those in quarantine. 

It features a large living and playing space for the animals, as well as a stable for donkeys, a duck pond and an aviary. The AWC also houses a large vet clinic, a classroom for school visits and offices. The BSPCA says hundreds of animals are still being adopted into permanent, loving homes every year. 

The charity is also now heavily involved in helping to tackle the causes of animal abuse and mistreatment, promoting solutions, publicising issues, educating the public, investigating abuses and lobbying for reform. 

The BSPCA helped the government draft the first Animal Welfare Law, which outlawed all forms of animal cruelty, and helped steer the bill through parliament. 

Working with the police, the BSPCA brought about an end to the practice of shooting stray dogs, and is now regularly called to attend cruelty and welfare incidents. The BSPCA has also helped bring many perpetrators of cruelty to justice through the courts. 

The practice of dog- and cock-fighting has also been in its sights. Years of undercover surveillance by BSPCA staff members and volunteers, co-ordinated with police raids, has largely stopped the international criminal rings that organise these events coming to Bahrain, a spokesman added.

* For tickets to the dinner and dance call Rachel on 66608901, or ask at the Thrift Shop or Animal Welfare Centre.