WITH the credit crunch affecting everyone these days, it’s not suprising to learn this week that according to the ‘Irish Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ they and animal welfare organisations nationwide are being hit even harder right now. The sad reality is that voluntary organsiations like these are in fact facing double the problems as cases of neglect seem to increase during hard times while donations unfortunately tend to decrease causing a serious dilemma for animal charities. So it is at times like this that organisations like the ISPCA and Limerick Animal Welfare need our help more than ever as their already over stretched workloads increase and they continue to struggle to find additional funding to keep them afloat doing crucial work in combating animal cruelty and rescuing neglecting animals all over Ireland.According to the ISPCA, figures for donations nationwide are also significantly down on last year’s figures and they are urging the public to help in any way they can, if not financially then perhaps by helping out in person.  Simple acts like donating clothes, books and bric a brac to animal welfare charity shops or helping organise fundraisers from coffee mornings and sponsored walks to table quizzes or fashion shows can help these organisations enormously. Volunteering at collection days or bag packing or giving your time to an animal shelter are other ways we the public can help out animal charities in these difficult times. Also worth noting is that organisations like Limerick Animal Welfare and the ISPCA have a standing order option on their websites at www.limerickanimalwelfare.com and www.ispca.ie and they welcome any amount per month no matter how small as it all makes a difference.