New Zealand will move to level 3 of lockdown on Monday, April 27 at 11:59pm. Alert level 3 will be held for two weeks and then Cabinet will assess whether to move down another level.
Bay of Plenty residents were on the hunt for a furry friend just before the country entering level 4 lockdown, with the region's SPCAs experiencing a spike in adoptions.
Five days before the lockdown, 95 animals were rehomed from centres across the Bay of Plenty, a large increase on normal numbers for this period.
Nationally, the SPCA adopted out more than 1000 animals over the same time, triple its usual adoption rate, as people looked for a lockdown companion.
The SPCA was not adopting animals out during alert level 4, but is allowed to start adopting again in level 3.
Tauranga and Rotorua SPCAs had not seen an "upswing in animals being abandoned" since lockdown came in. However, there were still several animals in its care who needed homes.
Three-legged Tauranga cat Toru was in a temporary foster home while restrictions were in place, but would be ready to be adopted after he had made full recovery from his amputation.
Three-legged cat Toru would be up for adoption after he had recovered. Photo / Supplied
Toru was found a few months ago, lying in the grass and unable to move in a suburb in Tauranga.
A member of the public called the SPCA saying they thought he may have been hit by a car.
The cat was "scared and in pain" and was hissing and growling when people tried to approach him, a spokeswoman said.
He was taken to the vets where it was found he had a shattered femur and torn ligaments. The SPCA could not find his owner.
It decided to "give him a second chance at life" and amputated his severely injured leg, she said.
Toru was now thriving and adjusting to life as a tripod. The cat would be put up for adoption when he had fully recovered.
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SPCA inspectors were still performing an essential service throughout lockdown and continued to respond to emergency situations.
Meanwhile, SPCAs across the country were facing close to $1m in losses as a result of the Covid-19 alert level 4 restrictions and no fundraisers being done.
The SPCA had teamed up with Pet Depot, an online pet store, as a way to boost funding again.
Pet Depot founder Ian Sutcliffe said he hoped his business could become a "long-term and reliable source of income" for the charity.
The shop launched in 2019 and, once it broke even, 30 per cent of all its profits would go directly to the SPCA.
The funds would be used to help with the running of SPCAs across the country and would help the organisation to rescue, care for and rehome more than 40,000 animals each year.
