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Since 2016, our commitment in Portugal has been limited to the island of Madeira, where we support local animal lovers in rescuing and neutering stray animals and also in protecting other animals. Since there is a local program that usually offers free castrations, we only finance castrations in exceptional cases, but help with further treatment and regularly support with relief supplies such as anti-parasites, milk powder, special food and other essential items.
In September 2013, the government of Malta invited us to carry out a neutering operation on the island. In collaboration with NetAP and the German animal welfare organization ETN e.V., around 600 dogs and cats were neutered during this operation. Our vets worked together with the ETN vets in a specially allocated veterinary practice. The campaign was supported by the government and announced in advance. Animal welfare organizations as well as private individuals were allowed to bring their animals to the clinic for free neutering and registration during this week.
Thailand is the number one dream destination for many tourists because of its fantastic landscape: pristine jungles, impressive mountains, beautiful beaches and magnificent wildlife. No wonder the country is a favourite destination for many.
However, anyone with a heart for animals will soon be confronted with the darker side of Thailand.
Everywhere you go, you see begging, sick, injured or dead dogs and cats, stray animals with whom fate is not particularly kind. Following their instinct, these animals reproduce uncontrollably despite their history of suffering, thus multiplying the misery. Many puppies die from disease or accidents, and those that make it through somehow have to fend for themselves and continue to reproduce if this is not prevented.
We have been working with local animal welfare organizations for many years. Our partners include Soi Dog Foundation and Lanta Animal Welfare. The most effective way to fight the suffering of strays is to neuter them!
On the one hand, we finance neutering and medicine every year, and on the other, we also provide vets for assignments on site. For some European vets, an assignment in Thailand is extremely fascinating, because the situations they encounter in the field are something they would never experience in their day-to-day work at home. In addition to castrations, wound care plays a particularly important role, as even a small scratch is sufficient for flies to lay their eggs there. The maggots that develop from this then quickly eat large holes in the flesh, and if no help is given, the animal will eventually die miserably from blood poisoning.
Of course, education plays a major role as well. On the one hand, tourists should be made aware of the animals’ problems, because if anyone donates anything at all in Thailand, it is usually the tourists. On the other hand, the locals are also involved and educated. Time and time again, it is possible to convince a Thai that his dog is better off with castration and professional wound care. Hotels are also informed that they should not only just tolerate cats, but actively take care of their health and of course make sure that they are all neutered.
Countless street dogs live in Palestine, mostly in poor conditions. The country has no animal protection law and the castration of animals is largely unknown there. Most dogs in Palestine are used as guard dogs (e.g. in the olive groves of the West Bank) or as working animals (e.g. as draught animals in Gaza). According to a study by the Palestinian Animal League (PAL), the dogs live in very precarious conditions: They are often malnourished and sick and are generally driven away, poisoned or shot by the population and the police.
In 2015, the Palestinian Animal League (PAL) became the only animal welfare organization in the country to successfully launch a pilot project in Tulkarm – a village in the northwest of the West Bank – and neuter, vaccinate and provide medical care for around 450 dogs. However, neutering and vaccinations alone are not enough to improve the situation of street dogs long-term. As long as the population’s attitude towards dogs does not improve, it will be difficult to change anything sustainably. However, this is not easy in Islamic societies, as dogs are considered “unclean”.
For this reason, in addition to its valuable hands-on animal welfare work, the animal welfare organization PAL wanted to focus more on educational campaigns to raise awareness of the need for a change in the relationship between humans and dogs. For this purpose, PAL needed a professional education and awareness-raising campaign with sufficient image and video material. We financed this campaign for PAL. It is unique in content and form, as there has never been anything like it in Palestine before. In addition to the hands-on animal welfare work of castrating and providing medical care for dogs, it aims to encourage Palestinian society to have a new and positive relationship with their dogs – an understanding that no longer sees dogs as “unclean” animals that can be driven away and killed, but as living beings that have their rightful place with and alongside humans.
