30 Years of Helping Animals Help us raise £30,000 to refurbish our kennels for the next 30 years.

£1,102 of £30,000
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RSPCA Cornwall, celebrating 30 years
Cornwall Branch Registered Charity No: 1024808
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30 Years of Helping Animals — RSPCA Cornwall
Celebrating 1996 – 2026

30 Years of Helping Animals

Built by Cornwall. The next 30 starts here.

In 1996, the first animals arrived at the William and Patricia Venton Centre. Thirty years on, we're still here because Cornwall came together to make it happen. Now we're raising £30,000 to refurbish our kennels for the animals who will need us next.

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Our 30 year story
Built by Cornwall

The centre Cornwall built together

In 1993, Cornwall's four RSPCA branches came together with an ambitious idea: to give the county its first dedicated animal centre, on a six-acre site at Higher Quoit Farm near St Columb Major. The local papers carried the appeal that would help make it real.

Then came an extraordinary gift. In 1995, Patricia Venton donated more than £1 million in memory of her husband, William Sydney John Venton, securing the centre's future and the phases still to come. It is why our home today carries their name: the William and Patricia Venton Cornwall Branch Animal Centre.

The best news ever for animal welfare in Cornwall.
West Briton, 1995
West Briton headline from 1995: One million pound gift
Why Cornwall needed Venton

The answer was in two numbers

233
Dogs
638
Cats

came into the care of the Cornish RSPCA in 1994, with no dedicated centre of their own. Two years later, the Venton Centre opened its doors.

The journey so far

Thirty years in the making

1993
Cornwall's four RSPCA branches unite behind a single vision: the county's first dedicated animal centre, at Higher Quoit Farm. The need was, in one inspector's words, "something we need now more than ever."
1994
The six-acre site is bought. That same year, 233 dogs and 638 cats come into the Cornish RSPCA's care, with nowhere of their own to go.
1995
A public appeal raises the final £200,000, and Patricia Venton's gift of more than £1 million secures the centre's future.
1996
The William and Patricia Venton Centre opens its doors and welcomes its first animals.
2026
Thirty years of helping animals, and the start of building the next thirty.
The appeal

£30,000 to refurbish our kennels

Our goal will help refurbish three of our original kennel blocks and fund future improvements to the centre. After 30 years of constant use, refurbished kennels mean warmer, calmer, safer spaces, room for dogs to rest and recover, and better facilities for the animals who need extra care.

  • Rehoming block — comfortable spaces where dogs wait for their new families.
  • Isolation block — a safe place for animals who arrive poorly to recover.
  • Quarantine block — secure, dedicated facilities that keep every animal protected.
The refurbished kennel bed area
Illustration of the William and Patricia Venton Cornwall Branch Animal Centre
The William & Patricia Venton Cornwall Branch Animal Centre
Leave your mark

Add your leaf to The Tree That Cornwall Grew

Add your name, a loved one or a beloved pet to our donor tree and become part of Venton's story. Just as the centre was built by the generosity of Cornwall, its future will be too.

The Tree That Cornwall Grew, our donor tree
Leaf Supporter
£3

Every leaf helps grow the future.

Branch Supporter
£30

Celebrating 30 years of helping animals.

Trunk Supporter
£300

At the heart of the future of Venton.

Add your leaf

Together, we built the last 30 years.

Together, we'll build what comes next.

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RSPCA Cornwall Branch · Registered charity no. 1024808