iN NUMBERS: Animal rescuers of the Thompson-Okanagan

No one thinks about numbers when it comes to rescuing animals — they do it for other reasons.

Here’s a few numbers about the Okanagan Humane Society and BC SPCA.

• 1: Mission of the Okanagan Humane Society: spay and neuter companion animals, including feral cats, from Osoyoos to the Shuswap.
• 4,150: That’s how many animals the Okanagan Humane Society cared for in 2024.
• 3,300: That’s how many animals in the Southern Interior they helped so far this year with spay/neuter and ID services, perhaps a record breaking year. 
• 47,500: That’s how many animals the humane society spayed or neutered since 1996. That’s a lot.
• 200: That’s how many active volunteers keep the organization going, many of those — 150 — are foster families for animals throughout the Okanagan.
• 687: That’s how many adoptions so far this year. That includes cats, kittens, dogs and puppies, but also some guinea pigs and bunnies.
• 2: Words, I guess. Barn Cats. I don’t know how else to tell you this cool thing with numbers, but there you have it. 
• 25: That’s the date in October for the Tails of Hope fundraiser for the Okanagan Humane Society, presented by Bellamy Homes.
• 1: Great way to donate any time.
• 31: That’s how many animal centres in BC operated by BCSPCA.
• 1: Animal welfare organization with authority to enforce animal cruelty laws. That’s the SPCA and that’s its mandate — protect vulnerable animals.
• 2: That’s the number of animal hospitals operated by the SPCA. It also has two spay/neuter clinics including one in Kamloops.
• 167,890: That’s how many animals the SPCA says it helped last year across the province.
• 7,651: New animal cruelty investigations in 2024 by the SPCA.