FOR more than half a century it has saved thousands of animals from accidents, cruelty and neglect.

But the future of Southampton’s RSPCA veterinary care clinic is in jeopardy today, as bosses at the animal charity’s Solent branch consider plans to sell off the site.

Trustees from the branch, which oversees the Shirley Road clinic and the Stubbington Ark Animal Shelter in Fareham, have already sent out letters warning its 13 staff of possible redundancies.

But the Daily Echo understands that alternative cost-cutting measures, including pay cuts, were discussed at a secret meeting yesterday afternoon.

The clinic is the only one of its type in Hampshire. The nearest alternative is in Bournemouth.

Clinic manager Marie Nicolaou said: “Shutting the clinic would be completely ridiculous. These people really haven’t got a clue what they are doing.

Petition “My clinic has been serving the whole county for 52 years. We have been getting an average of 30 new registrations a week recently and now have over 7,000 animals on our books. Where are they all going to go without us?”

Mother-of-two Marie, 41, today started a petition to save the clinic, with representatives from another animal charity, the Blue Cross, already offering their backing to the campaign.

“I’m not going to give up,” Marie added. “This isn’t just a job for me, it’s my life.

“I take stray and injured animals home to care for them. I do this job because these animals need to be saved and given the right treatment.

“There is no point in closing us down, selling the land and pumping into the rehoming centre, because animals will not get rehomed if they are not treated by us first.”

David Pinnock, chairman of trustees for the RSPCA Solent branch, said: “Charities in general have suffered from a dip in income due to the current financial situation.

“Things are no different for us. We have had to look at everything.

“We regret that we may have to sell the clinic, but we have to run the charity like a business.

“It is just one of the options we are looking at and no decision has yet been made.”