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Tsunami Recovery Relief Continues – Caring for Kirinda’s Canines
25 September 2005
Sri Lanka
Background
The medieval period saw the establishment of relations between Sri Lanka and many foreign lands such as the East Indies, the Malay Peninsula, China, South India and Arabia.
Hambantota grew in importance as a seaport towards the latter part of the medieval period. From the 14th century onwards, Islam spread in the Malay Peninsula and the Malays who inhabited these islands became the leading explorers of the sea as well as the ablest sailors in the eastern Indian Ocean. From this time, the Malays began to visit Sri Lanka frequently and closer relations were developed.
Kirinda is now a large Malay settlement located in the Hambantota District in the south about 170 miles from Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. Today Kirinda is a village where 375 Malay families live. Seventy five percent of the Malay population are fishermen. Kirinda is the only settlement where the Malay language is spoken in the homes, in the schools, in the market place and on the road. Even non-Malays speak Malay when negotiating with the fishermen. The village also has a Muslim high school. The majority of the teachers including the principal and his deputy are Malay. They speak to their students in Malay but the medium of instruction is Tamil. Economically, the Malays of Kirinda have been just above the poverty level.
Tsunami Impact
The tsunami of 26 December 2004 had a devastating impact on the settlement at Kirinda. Thirty three Malays lost their lives, 86 Malay families were displaced (one in four), and 90% of the fishermen lost their only livelihood. Kirinda needs help.
On a reconnaissance visit to Kirinda on 12 May 2005, HSI and the Tsunami Memorial Animal Welfare Trust (TMAWT) found the coastal area still destroyed and badly scarred by the tsunami damage. Temporary camps have been established further away from the coast, where the displaced families are living while they wait for new houses to be built.
Animal Situation
There are an estimated 300 dogs in Kirinda and many dogs live around the temporary camps – a certain food source. “Dogs are fighting over food, and the people are scared. They fear that the dogs are carrying rabies. The dogs are also in poor condition with severe skin diseases and parasites. We can help to address this and improve the living environment of the people and animals", said Dr Dananjaya of TMAWT.
In other situations along the tsunami affected areas HSI/TMAWT clinics have averted mass-killing by the authorities who feared an outbreak of rabies. Up to 95% of dogs in these areas have been caught, neutered/spayed, vaccinated and released. The dogs are also treated for skin diseases and parasites, given vitamins and antibiotics. A stable population of healthy dogs replaces a volatile and potentially dangerous out of control situation. The authorities are happy and pleased to welcome the field clinic to return tthree months later for early age neutering.
Kirinda is an ideal place for the TMAWT field clinic to operate. The location is isolated – tucked between Yala National Park territories – making the dog population manageable once the puppy cycle is addressed. The village head, the Grama Officer, and the High School Principal have all welcomed the TMAWT field team, as they recognize the dog situation is out of control. “There are too many dogs here, we want to reduce the number actually. The only way we know how is to kill, but more and more come. Please help", said a n official.
The Job
The TMAWT team arrived in Kirinda on the 15th July 2005 and are scheduled to leave the program complete on September 9th. So far over 700 dogs have been treated. After treatment, each dog receives a tattoo and red collar. One of the team doctors said, “We have worked in the harbour area, and the two main refugee camps. We have found many dogs here. We have encountered many diseased dogs here – many we have been able to treat, this includes for TVT (Transmissible Venereal Tumours), Mange and Pyometra.”
Due to Kirinda’s secluded location it is hoped that the population control will be hugely effective and they will to be able to measure the impact of TMAWT’s work. In six months they will return to confirm the results. The team will next move to the neighboring village, called Bundala
Added Value
Sherry Grant, Co-Founder of TMAWT and Director for HSI ASIA, remarked, “The support HSI has been able to offer TMAWT is a driect result of all the people who cared enough to do something more than just watch the news. These people are part of our team and part of our success. We say thank you to them every day. HSI supporters around the world should know that their support has made a tremendous difference in this society that is so desperately trying to rebuild."
The work here in Sri Lanka is not over, has not gone away and the people need to be able to keep the animals who are part of the community and family life. In some cases, it is all they have left. The dogs treated by the field clinic are all individually tattooed – this tattoo brings safety – safety to the people from rabies, and safety to the dogs from being killed.
The TMAWT work is preventing rabies, addressing dog population control, promoting welfare of animals and enhancing the human-animal bond and status. We aim to be a humane, long-term solution to Sri Lanka’s over population of dogs problem.
The Tsunami Memorial Animal Welfare Trust (TMAWT) is Sponsored by Humane Society International (HSI)
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