4 comments to “What’s your Christmas donation paying for really?”

  1. Luke | November 27, 2012 | Permalink

    Could you please provide evidence of these costs for each individual animal rights organisation, or did you just pull these numbers from your head?

  2. savingpets | November 27, 2012 | Permalink

    Okies – firstly, they’re not animal rights organisations – in fact they’re kinda the opposite to animal rights.

    Secondly, when you say ‘each individual… organisation’ – do you mean each organisation in Australia, or do you just want a couple of examples, or do you have a particular organisation in mind?

  3. Luke | November 27, 2012 | Permalink

    I would just like to know where you pulled these number from.

  4. savingpets | November 27, 2012 | Permalink

    Okies – well Lethabarb runs about $70 a bottle. So $20 would be about a days worth of pets in most ‘high-kill’ environments.

    $100 is a perfectly reasonable amount to get a PR company to copy write and release a media release. In fact, it would likely be more unless you had a good working relationship with someone.

    Transport and euthanasia is billed out to local councils at a rate of about $20-$40 for transport, $60 for cremation. If you were to cremate your own pet, your bill would likely be above $200 – but you would be getting the retail rate.

    Cat traps run about $40-$60 each.

    The interaction between a high-kill shelter and a local council will be for a tender worth from the region of $100k – through to several million dollars. $500 for a sales pitch lunch is chicken feed.

    Pet ‘ambulances’ are the rebrand of the old ‘dog catchers van’ – for high-kill shelters with numerous pound contracts, these vehicles can bring in up to 90% of intakes. Each one will need a full time driver/A/C officer. While the vehicles sometimes donated, upkeep would absolutely be an overhead.

    $5,000 for a primary school class would pay for the ‘education department’ resources and the staff member to visit on site.

    Often bequests – left by people who wanted their money to be used to save pets – are invested in building ‘education centres’. There has never been a study in Australia to demonstrate that educating children in these settings results in more pet-capable kids, but ask any kid who the RSPCA is, and you’ll find they get some pretty good brand recognition by targeting the young.