From March 1 through 3, the MENAW (Middle East Network for Animal Welfare) Conference met in Cairo, bringing together around 200 delegates from twenty-five countries for some lively, relevant, and intense discussions — focusing on the three major areas of companion animals, wildlife and farm animals.
One of the key events was the panel discussion, “Is TNR effective?” moderated by Kim Bartlett, of Animal People. The topic of TNR for dogs in Cairo has been and continues to be a major focus for animal groups working there.
Extremely inhumane culling of dogs by the municipalities takes place from time to time in Egypt, as it does in many developing countries. None of the animal welfare groups wants the animals to suffer.
The Egyptian groups who are engaged in spaying, neutering, vaccinating, treating any medical problems, and then returning community dogs to their neighborhoods want to see the dogs, who are surviving and in many cases being fed by caring people, be able to continue to live out their natural lives without being killed.
The experience in India
Dr. Chinny Krishna, of Blue Cross of India, who has run highly successful TNR programs for dogs for the past 45 years, longer than anyone else in the world, spoke simply and eloquently, “Killing is not an option. Killing has never worked and never will work.”
Explaining the consequences of killing street animals, in addition to the basic inhumanity of killing animals, he said, “The rule is that nature abhors a vacuum, if dogs are killed, then other animals will move in.” It has been observed over the years that when street dogs are killed, they are soon replaced by new dogs moving in from surrounding areas — and by other species, including rodents, so that nothing is solved, and new problems are created.
Another perspective
Dr. Nick de Souza, of WSPA, from Kenya, expressed a different perspective, stating that “Every area is different … what we are trying to achieve…the overarching goal … is to improve the status of the maximum number of roaming dogs as quickly as possible. … The root cause is us: human beings. We have to take into consideration what the majority of the public wants. … In Cairo the limiting factor is the public’s intolerance of roaming dogs. Releasing dogs back to an area where suffering is likely is irresponsible. Where the public doesn’t want the dogs back, authorities will continue to remove the dogs by shooting or poisoning them. We must ensure that dogs that have to be destroyed are killed humanely.”
Italy — the law that was supposed to work
Dr. Dorothea Friz, a veterinarian, originally from Germany, has been doing an extraordinary job spaying and neutering animals in Italy. Her organization, Lega Pro Animala, founded in 1986, has so far spayed and neutered 40,000 animals. Dr. Friz talked about the overcrowding in many of the shelters in Italy — overcrowding that means the animals in shelters are not well cared for. She stated, “Ideally, the dogs need homes, but with 100,000 dogs on the streets, homes can’t be found for them all.”
The situation of the dogs in Italy is tied to the passing of a law that was originally well-intended, requiring communities to house dogs in shelters until they can be re-homed. The law has not worked well in practice because of a failure to implement several of its provisions. (Look for a future Network article on the complexities of the situation in Italy and the work of Dr. Friz.)
Cats in the U.S.
Nikki Sharp, the manager of Best Friends Campaigns, gave a clarifying description of the circumstances of companion animals in the U.S., focusing especially on cats, who sometimes take a backseat to dogs in discussions of street animals.
Those in other countries are not always aware that there are still around five million animals being killed every year in U.S. shelters. (Though thanks to the no-kill movement in the U.S. over the past twenty-five years or so, this number is now only a fraction of what it used to be.)
Many of these five million animals are homeless, feral cats. The Best Friends Focus on Felines campaign is working to keep these cats out of shelters, where they may be euthanized, and instead allow them to live out their natural lives.
Nikki Sharp explained, “Cats can have up to three litters per year. There are millions of feral cats; no one really knows how many. Estimates can run up to 100 million in the U.S. … Holly Seizmore, the Executive Director of No More Homeless Pets, has often said that people either love cats or loathe cats. We can’t just ignore the people who loathe cats. … Reasons given include the deaths of birds and endangered species, and possible spread of diseases.”
“A successful TNR program needs to be realistic, and needs to aim to reach nearly 100 percent of the cats in an area. There need to be educational components, vaccinations, community involvement, and continued monitoring.”
“A plan is needed for what to do if a cat cannot be returned to his or her colony” — for example, provision needs to be made for “a blind cat or a 3-week-old kitten.” For this, community involvement is essential.
Nikki Sharp went on to talk about a few of the successes of the nationwide Focus on Felines campaign. Now throughout the city of Jacksonville, Florida, no cats are ending up in shelters (where they were frequently euthanized). Instead every cat is spayed/neutered and returned. To let people know what is happening, door hangers are put up, saying that the cats are being spayed/neutered — and that they’ll soon be back in their neighborhoods.
In the town of Randolph, Iowa, where the mayor had originally set a bounty on the heads of feral cats, he reversed his decision and has for some time now been doing a TNR program instead!
In the deserts around Las Vegas where casinos used to target cats as “pests,” there are now well-monitored feeding stations set up, with TNR cats — no longer reproducing — who are happily carrying on with their lives.
TNR for cats is being carried out all across Utah, and the euthanasia rate for cats in the state has plummeted.
While circumstances vary from country to country, cats are always cats, and many of the same means and policies can be found to be useful in many countries.
Different challenges
There are differing situations though. Dr. Hassan Shafik, of the Egyptian Veterinary Services, shared his expertise on some of the obstacles and complications that may be faced while doing TNR in Egypt and in other developing countries. There are issues with garbage and with the spread of diseases. After spaying, dogs need to be kept for at least one or two days to prevent infections, and kennels may not be available for this purpose. So all these factors need to be thought through.
"TNR is possible!"
Mona Khalil, one of the founders of the animal welfare organization ESMA, who run a shelter in Cairo, and a vocal advocate for animals, stated, “As a Moslem, we do not accept euthanasia either for people or for animals.” She stressed that human populations, even those in poorer areas where there is sometimes a high rate of illiteracy, can quickly change their perceptions and their awareness of animals. “People may complain a lot, but if they learn that there is an option, then they can adapt. … Egypt can have a very successful TNR policy. … We are still spending huge amounts of money on poison … but TNR is possible in Egypt.”
The TNR panel discussion felt like a very useful conversation to have. One of the strongest features of the MENAW Conference was allowing varying, and differing, views to be expressed openly.
As one of the leading no-kill animal welfare organizations, Best Friends is opposed to killing neighborhood dogs and cats in any country. Best Friends has, with coalition partners, conducted TNR training programs for vets in Mexico, Peru, and Ethiopia, (and soon in Haiti) as well as providing support for TNR programs in Asia and Central America. It has been our experience that there are people in every country in the world who love animals and who can be brought together and empowered to work to protect and care for neighborhood dogs and cats.
Look for several stories soon to follow on the MENAW Conference, on the many aspects of animal welfare covered during the conference, and on the people who are helping animals throughout the Middle East.
For more on the viewpoints expressed above, and the groups represented, please visit these sites:
Photos: Sharon St Joan
Top photo: Dr. Chinny Krishna speaking at the Conference
Second photo: street dogs at Sakkara
Third photo: a street dog at Sakkara
Fourth photo: Nikki Sharp, visiting the Egyptian Society of Animal Friends
Fifth photo: One of the kittens at ESMA, with a friend
Sixth photo: Mona Khalil, with one of the cats at ESMA
Seventh photo: A moment at the Conference