It’s that time of year again, where we take to the kitchen and whip up our best baking creations in the name of a good cause.

The RSPCA’s annual Cupcake Day is just around the corner, and the organisation is in desperate need of support after a tough year of running shelter operations in the face of COVID-19, with supplementary income and fundraising way down.

“It’s been really, really tough in our world,” said RSPCA ACT CEO Michelle Robertson.

“We’re always reliant on fundraising, but this year … the stakes are even higher.

“We’ve not been able to do any of our face-to-face fundraising, the way we have done [previously]. We couldn’t have the Million Paws Walk, we can’t have Cupcake Day [in the usual format]; those are our two major events that we have.”

While the official Cupcake Day this year falls on Monday 26 October, people are encouraged to hold a COVID-safe fundraiser on any day this month to support the RSPCA’s shelter operations. The RSPCA is encouraging events such as a virtual Cupcake Day or a socially-distanced event in the office.

Ms Robertson said “every single dollar that we make goes straight into running the shelter”, to support the 131 animals currently in the care of the RSPCA.

She said while the number of incoming animals is down slightly from last year, complaints to the inspectorate are “creeping up” after a steady number during the pandemic shutdowns.

“That is worrying; we don’t want people to not do the right thing by their animal. But we absolutely want people to tell us if they see somebody doing the wrong thing.”

RSPCA ACT has also seen an increase in people looking to be pet parents while spending more time at home.

“It was during the beginning period of COVID, we saw adoptions nearly triple, it was crazy,” Ms Robertson said.

“It’s settled a bit, but every week we get people asking and we don’t know when animals are going to come in or what’s going to come in.

“Across the board, in the ACT, nationally and internationally too, there certainly has been a huge increase in people wanting to adopt pets, which we think is a good thing.”

She called on Canberrans to donate and fundraise to support the animals and the shelter’s work. She said seeing some ACT teams and individuals on the Cupcake Day leaderboard would just be the icing on the cake.

“It’s been such a tough year, but hey we’ve got cupcakes!”

For more information or to register your event, visit rspcacupcakeday.com.au

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