SPCA's Mobile Desexing Unit makes change on the East Cape

The 'p' in our name is all about Prevention—and our Mobile Desexing Clinic (otherwise known as Snippy) is a huge part of our work in that area!

Snippy brings services directly to remote communities where access to veterinary care can be challenging, helping to prevent unwanted litters, supporting responsible pet ownership and reducing future animal welfare issues before they occur. Increasing access to desexing is a key part of SPCA's Community Services strategy, with a goal of increasing desexing by 20% and delivering 50% of our desexing work directly in communities.

Our recent East Cape Mobile Desexing Campaign, which ran from 12 to 30 October 2026, demonstrated this approach in action. Our teams brought preventative veterinary care—including free cat and dog desexing, microchipping, vaccinations and parasite treatments—directly to Te Karaka, Tolaga Bay and Ruatoria.

Our services were available to any residents who were struggling and finding it difficult to access veterinary services. There are significant distances from East Cape communities the nearest vet clinics in Gisborne; Te Karaka is half an hour away, Tolaga Bay is 50 minutes’ drive and Ruatoria is two hours’ drive from Gisborne. The Tairāwhiti/Gisborne Region has also been hit hard in recent years by severe weather events and the cost-of-living crisis.

SPCA’s previous Mobile Desexing Clinic campaigns in the area, in 2021 and in 2022, provided impactful community support. Making change in regards to high companion animal populations requires sustained, consistent work that builds on the successes of the previous years. Another mobile desexing campaign in Tairāwhiti was therefore essential.

Community uptake was enthusiastic once bookings opened, with spots selling out quickly. We're proud to share that during our East Cape campaign:

• 137 cats and dogs were desexed
• 121 cats and dogs were microchipped
• 122 cats and dogs were vaccinated
• 324 parasite treatments were administered
• 396 cats and 95 dogs were prevented from being born

We are especially grateful to the Rangatira Tavern in Te Karaka, Radio Ngāti Porou in Ruatoria, and the Top Ten Holiday Park in Tolaga Bay for hosting Snippy on their premises.

Once Snippy was onsite, each town’s community were welcoming and hugely supportive of our teams and their kaupapa. We were touched to receive many positive responses from them throughout the campaign. "It was awesome for the community to have this service to get their pets desexed, being a low socio-economic demographic," one Te Karaka resident told us. "[It] helps to prevent other things from happening to the pets and their babies."

The owner of Ruatoria cats Winston and Peepee even wrote a lovely thank you note—and Winston himself passed on a donation to the team!

Our East Cape campaign highlights the difference that sustained, community-based desexing programmes can make. By improving access to veterinary services, building trusted local relationships and helping animals stay healthy and cared for, we're supporting communities while preventing future animal welfare challenges.

Every animal desexed through programmes like this represents an opportunity to reduce future pressure on owners, communities, SPCA Centres and the animal welfare system. Snippy is a practical example of prevention in action, and of the impact we can achieve when we bring services directly to the communities that need them most.