Kevin Keen, who was appointed to help the charity get out of serious financial difficulty, has told the JEP that he has a matter of months to save the shelter from possible closure. He was appointed to the role for six months and has offered his services on a voluntary basis.
Mr Keen, who has a track record in helping local businesses going through difficult times, described his new role as ‘one of the most challenging to date’.
‘The immediate and key challenge that we face is that we do not raise enough money to cover the costs of running the shelter. And because the time we have to save the shelter is so tight, none of the decisions we are going to have to make are particularly easy. We need people to know how urgently the JSPCA needs their help and we won’t save the shelter without Jersey’s help,’ said Mr Keen.
According to Mr Keen, there are a lot of costly services that the JSPCA offers which people may not be aware of.
‘Currently the charity provides heavily subsidised veterinary services to as many as 400 people who struggle to afford standard veterinary bills. This isn’t something we would want to stop outright, but as this service amounts to 25 per cent of what our vets spend their time doing, it is one of the many things we are having to look at.’
Mr Keen, who has previously been the managing director of Jersey Dairy and the interim chief executive of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, said: ‘If every animal lover or pet owner on the Island donated £1 a week the shelter would be saved.
‘Hopefully, the fact that I am now working for the charity – and on a voluntary basis – will offer some consolation to Islanders who may have been affected by events over the previous year. It has been a very difficult time for both the charity and the Islanders who have supported the shelter over the years but I am determined that we will get through this.’
Local businesses including Voisins and the Channel Islands Co-op have supported the shelter by donating money as part of its ‘save the shelter’ campaign.
Last November the JEP revealed that Stephen Coleman, who had been the chief executive of the JSPCA for more than a decade, had been sacked and a States police investigation launched into his conduct in connection with financial activities within the charity. Mr Coleman’s dismissal came after he was suspended for months amid an internal investigation into the company’s finances which involved forensic accountants and lawyers. A States police spokeswoman said yesterday that the investigation was ongoing.
