2018 WHS Community Consultation Survey Results

2018 WHS Community Consultation Survey Results

You spoke. We listened. Here is how YOU are shaping the future of YOUR WHS.

Dear friends and supporters,

It is the time of the year when we share with you the results of our annual community consultation.

The 2018 consultation received more responses than ever before, with over 613 donors, 121 volunteers and 156 members from our social media community. An increase of 37.7% over last year! And, over 85% of all respondents said the Winnipeg Humane Society is going in the right direction. How humbling and encouraging.

The consultation survey had three sections:
1. Our strategic priorities and how you think we should allocate our resources (money, people, time).
2. An open-ended section asking if there is anything else we should pay attention to.
3. Provide feedback on how we are doing overall in being the best animal shelter and animal welfare organization we can be.

In general, there is broad agreement that we should:
-Continue to focus on providing the best possible care and find creative ways to save as many animals as we possibly can.
-Assist pets in the areas of highest need (Winnipeg’s core and other neighbourhoods where the cat overpopulation is very serious)
-Advocate on behalf of ALL animals

On the feedback front, education came on top as well as reaching out to all level of government to ensure Manitobans in northern and rural communities have access to spay/neuter and wellness clinics.

Here is what we going to do in the next year to deliver on your recommendations and expectations:

1. Keep euthanasia down and engage the community to save more pets

Euthanasia rates have dropped 62% compared to three years ago. We have implemented innovative programs: Care to Adopt, Care to Rehome and our Accelerated Care to Adopt programs are all designed to entice those who find lost pets to keep them and adopt them with your Winnipeg Humane Society taking care of spay/neuter and a general wellness exam for a very low fee.

‘Length of stay’ is a term used when talking about how quickly an animal flows through a shelter like the WHS. Taking this approach, we aim to do veterinary exams as quickly as possible, perform spay and neuter surgeries 7 days a week, and we are trying to encourage people to adopt and not shop with reduced fees and special promotions.

Our next priority is to affect how we can help pets and their humans BEFORE they reach our shelter by improving on how we help our community beyond our shelter walls.

2. Helping pets in need where they are at the greatest risk

Thanks to the City of Winnipeg’s Fix It Grant, the Winnipeg Humane Society has an outreach location on Main Street. Led by Jessica Thompson and fuelled by a group of dedicated volunteers, they source hundreds of cats and transport them to and from the WHS for spay/neutering.

We need to build upon this important program because the need is far greater than we are currently able to provide. The supportive CEO of Animal Services is currently is discussions with us to determine how we can make this happen.

We also know we need more low-cost clinics in remote areas of our Province. This past year, a dedicated and incredibly kind WHS supporter passed away, leaving us the most phenomenal gift possible: an endowment fund to support trips to remote areas of the Province. While the money is not enough to pay for a full-time veterinarian, it is a great starting point to continue to partner with other rescues and expand this important work. Our gratitude to Louise Nebbs and family for this incredible act of love.

3. Advocating on behalf of all animals

The Winnipeg Humane Society is Manitoba’s largest non-profit, non-government animal welfare organization. We are here to advocate on behalf of all animals to ensure they are treated humanely.  And right now, we have highly intelligent sentient beings being confined to small cages without any possibility to express their natural behaviours.

Farm animals deserve a better life. We do not judge what people choose to eat, and we do not seek an adversarial relationship with farmers and their industry representatives. We do take exception to factory farming and to the inhumane and lengthy transportation of animals.

Your expectations – our expectation – is to provide the public with research-based information about the importance of farm animal welfare and the impacts.

We need to engage government and industry representatives to take steps to support local small and medium sized farmers and explore how we can make humanely certified farms more prevalent. To achieve this, we plan to start discussions with elected officials and industry about these important issues.

And of course, we will continue to support VegFest, which draws thousands every year who are not vegan or vegetarian but want to learn more about plant-based nutrition and its amazing benefits.

What else?

Many of you try to reach out to us only to find a busy signal, voicemail, or being directed to the wrong department. We will be looking at creating a central call area, where callers will hear a friendly voice and will be directed to the correct department.

In conclusion

You spoke. We listened. We plan to deliver on what you think is important. And as a non-government, registered charity who is about to complete 125 years of operation, we will need your financial support, your active participation, and your encouragement.

I hope you will be satisfied with our efforts. And that you may find a little more generosity so we can continue to do what is right for all animals. Here is a helpful link to our donation page.

In service and with immense gratitude,

Javier
WHS CEO