The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has launched its first-ever national lottery.
The lottery, which has only 10,000 tickets available, will give people across the country the chance to win prizes worth over NZ$85,000 (£37,000). It will also help to support over 55,000 animals in need per year across Aotearoa.
Tickets cost $25 and prizes include a 2026 Subaru as well as a $5,000 Harvey Norman gift card, as the SPCA looks to make the lottery an annual occurrence.
“Every ticket purchased directly helps an animal who needs us,” said SPCA Palmerston North Centre Manager, Jody Lockwood.
“Whether it’s a frightened kitten, an injured dog, or a neglected farm animal, your support ensures they receive the care, treatment and compassion they deserve.
“Every day, we see animals arrive frightened, injured, sick, or severely neglected. It is very rare for an animal that comes into our care to not require some kind of medical intervention.
“The cases we’re seeing now are more complex and require more time and veterinary treatment than ever before.
“It can take weeks or even months of dedicated and sometimes intensive care to help these animals recover from injury or illness, and that’s why this lottery is so incredibly important.
“It provides an invaluable resource that allows our teams on the ground to not only respond to these cases, but also be proactive and work to reduce the number of animals requiring care in the future.”
A boost for the SPCA
The news comes as a boost to the SPCA, whose centres are now “seeing more animals needing help than ever before”, meaning the draw may provide some much needed funding.
The SPCA was also vocal about New Zealand’s ban on greyhound racing. The organisation had spent several years working with the greyhound racing industry to improve welfare outcomes, but concluded that ending the practice was “the only way to prevent the inherent welfare harms associated with commercial greyhound racing”.