Community & Business
12 August, 2025
Animal carers up for State award
A VOLUNTEER-run animal rescue group based in Mareeba has been nominated for a 2025 Queensland Community Achievement Award.
Animal Rescue Tablelands, which was established in 2012 and has around 40 carers that take on homeless dogs and cats until they can be adopted out or returned to their owners, has been nominated in the Community Group of the Year category.
The service also has support programs in place to assist people escaping domestic violence by taking their pets temporarily while they find alternative accommodation; the pets of older people who have to go to hospital; and pets of people who find themselves a victim of the homelessness crisis.
“Our rescue has been running since July 2012, our seconds shop has been running since April 2018, and our support programs have been running since 2020,” the award submission states.
“We have rescued over 1914 neglected, abandoned and surrendered puppies, dogs, cats and kittens and been able to give them a chance at life and match them to loving forever families and homes.
“So not only do our rescues benefit, but the 1914 families who now have a loving pet as an addition to their family.”
The organisation prides itself on its “No Kill” policy of animals and receives no government or council funding, relying instead on donations and revenue from its Seconds Shop which opened in Byrnes Street in 2018.
“This shop isn’t just a store – it’s a beacon of hope. We employ over 50-year age bracket staff and give the local community an array of affordable Bric-n-Brac items, furniture, clothing, bedding for sale that have been 100% donated,” the award submission states.
“Every purchase helps us save lives, care for animals in need, and sustain our life-changing programs.”
The shop was opened to support the Last Litter Program. This is when owners surrender the whole litter of pups and kittens to Animal Rescue Tablelands and they desex the mum for free and return her to her owners.
All the vet work and desexing of the pups/kittens are funded by the organisation who then finds forever families.
The service heavily replies upon volunteers to take the animals into their homes, given it has no boarding-type facility in which to house them.
“Our dedicated network of volunteer foster carers ensures that each rescue gets the love, training, and socialisation they need to thrive in their forever homes,” the submission states.
“They are the unsung heroes, helping these animals transform from scared and uncertain to confident and ready for a new beginning.”
The organisation works closely with The Women’s Shelter in Atherton to house pets while those escaping family violence find alternative accommodation, as well as social workers at the Mareeba and Atherton hospitals to care for pets of elderly people who are in hospital.
Animal Rescue Tablelands is a registered charity and raises funds through various activities such as dog wash events, money donation tins and fundraising online.
They also have a partnership with Woolworths Cairns, where people can donate food in a dedicated bin.
Winners of the 2025 Queensland Community Achievement Awards will be announced at a gala presentation in Brisbane on 21 November.
