FIJI
Free Veterinary Programme Targets Stray Dog Population In Labasa
Free desexing and microchipping are being provided in Labasa as part of efforts to reduce the number of dogs living on the streets.
The programme, run jointly by Animals Fiji and Fiji’s Ministry of Agriculture, offered free desexing alongside microchipping and flea and tick treatment during the National Agriculture Show.
Veterinarian Dr Divesh Prasad said preventing reproduction is an important part of breaking the cycle contributing to the stray dog population.
The approach is significant because it tackles the population before another generation of dogs is born onto the streets.
UNITED KINGDOM
More Than 1,200 Dog Rehoming Requests Made To One Centre This Year
Dogs Trust Kenilworth says it has received 1,284 enquiries from people wanting to give up their dogs so far this year.
With kennels and foster homes consistently full, the Warwickshire centre is highlighting an alternative approach which allows dogs to remain with their existing owners while a new home is found.
Its Homestay programme means a dog does not have to enter the kennel system simply because an owner can no longer keep them.
The figures offer another indication of the pressure being experienced by both pet owners and organisations expected to take animals when keeping them is no longer possible.
UNITED STATES
Financial Pressure Is Driving More Vermont Owners To Give Up Their Animals
Animal shelters in Vermont are reporting growing pressure as people struggling financially seek to surrender pets they can no longer afford to keep.
Veterinary costs, housing difficulties and wider financial pressures are among the factors contributing to animals being relinquished.
At the same time, organisations are struggling to find homes quickly enough for the animals already entering their care.
The result is a problem at both ends of the shelter system: more people needing help to keep or relinquish animals and insufficient homes available for those already waiting.
PHILIPPINES
Three Dogs From Viral Abuse Video Taken Into Animal-Welfare Care
Three dogs shown being mistreated in a video posted online have been removed and taken into the care of the Animal Kingdom Foundation in the Philippines.
The dogs were transferred from Lemery, Batangas, to the organisation’s rescue centre in Capas, Tarlac, where they are receiving veterinary care and rehabilitation.
Animal Kingdom Foundation says the dogs are now safe. One of them is pregnant.
The incident has also resulted in possible proceedings under the country’s Animal Welfare Act.
UNITED STATES
More Than 80 Dogs And Cats Removed From Kentucky Property
More than 80 animals have been removed from a property in Lincoln County, Kentucky, following an investigation into an alleged animal cruelty and hoarding situation.
Court records cited in local reporting say approximately 39 dogs were found outside, while another 32 dogs and more than ten cats were discovered inside the home.
Two people have been charged with second-degree cruelty to animals. The charges have not yet been proven in court.
The sudden arrival of so many animals placed immediate pressure on the Lincoln County Animal Shelter, which temporarily stopped taking further animals.
Rescue organisations have since stepped in, with dozens of animals already moved into foster care.
ROMANIA
Mass Sterilisation Programme Offers Alternative To Killing Stray Dogs
A large-scale sterilisation programme in Romania is attempting to demonstrate that reducing reproduction can provide an alternative to repeatedly capturing and euthanising stray dogs.
Eight veterinary vans operate from the Smeura shelter and travel into surrounding villages providing free sterilisation.
Almost 40,000 sterilisations of owned and stray dogs have been carried out through the programme and shelter so far this year.
Romania authorised the capture and euthanasia of stray dogs in 2013, yet animal-welfare organisations estimate that hundreds of thousands of dogs remain free-roaming.
The programme’s longer-term approach combines identification, vaccination, registration and sterilisation.
End Of Bulletin