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SOFA and HSI hold off dog killings - December

 

 

12 Dec 2005

 

SOFA court hearing was once again postponed on Monday 5 Dec 2005.  This saga is expected to continue well into the future, and SOFA will continue to dutifully turn up and attend every hearing until this case comes to fruition.  The good news is that for now the killing of dogs has stopped, halted by the legal action taken.  The next court date is for 14 Dec 2005.  Updates will be published. 

 

 

In the meantime the usual catch-neuter-(shelter)-release program usually operated by SOFA is halted, pending the case and future of the group, operations are still happening on a smaller scale, with a larger focus on rabies vaccinating owned and community dogs in Kandy area. 

 

 

The downhearted group were given a boost this week by their friends in animal welfare the TMAWT team.  Three of the TMAWT team members came on their week-off break to help SOFA’s efforts in catching dogs with nets for rabies vaccination and other treatments.  Following the refocus of SOFA’s work the TMAWT expertise in catching community dogs with nets is an art form and SOFA needs this kind of technical training to enable them to be further capable and effective. 

 

 

 

The response from the public within Kandy to the dog catching was overwhelmingly for animal welfare and any killing was strongly opposed by all, the community were very interactive with the SOFA/TMAWT team and further dialogue put the public’s mind at rest that these dogs were not being caught to be killed, but instead being caught to rabies vaccinated and treated for skin diseases etc.  The public awareness of the cruelty, suffering and killing of dogs was uplifting – and their consequential support for SOFA is also encouraging.  This once again enforces the human-animal bond in Sri Lanka that is so strongly felt. 

 

 

Once the public realised SOFA were working in the village the community members brought their dogs – or dogs living nearby to the SOFA van for vaccinations.  The response to the team was huge. 

 

 

Kandy is located in the centre of Sri Lanka – far from any tsunami damage, therefore usually the TMAWT team would not work here, however the TMAWT team still see the value of helping other animal welfare groups who are doing their best on a similar project.  The TMAWT team were also concerned for their sister group when the killing of dogs started in September.  This is a small token effort to give support and a morale boost to SOFA. 

 

Sharing knowledge and experiences is a key to realising a vision for animal welfare nationally.  The TMAWT’s team ability to adapt to any situation and their generous nature to help one another – and especially those in distress is priceless.

 

 

This short training and assisting in Kandy will set the TMAWT team catchers up and begin their development and capacity as trainers, this will be especially important when two of the TMAWT team catchers are to train and participate in a Dog Catching Workshop in March 2006 in Malaysia for Animal Welfare NGO’s and Government catchers there.  This was also a time for the TMAWT team to see how the ‘grasper’ or ‘dog pole’ is used for catching and handling dogs.  This technique is also widely used in Malaysia so the TMAWT team begin to gather their thoughts and opinions and alternatives/advantages to this method. 

 

 

Rohini De Silva of SOFA has worked tirelessly to provide a safe environment for dogs and humans within the community, rabies vaccinating and sterilising over 5000 dogs in the last 3 years, each one wearing a red collar and tattoo to signify that he or she is safe to humans and safe from being killed.  Over 300 of these ‘safe’ dogs were killed by the government in September, undoing SOFA’s work and wasting precious energy and resources.  Rohini thanked TMAWT for their time and energy in Kandy and expressed a warm feeling that there are friends in animal welfare close by to lend a hand. 

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UPDATE from SOFA

May 2006

Following a grueling schedule of postponed and cancelled court dates since September 2005 – May 2006 – that SOFA have religiously attended, the Court has finally given the municipality an opportunity to open communication and settle the dispute with SOFA.  This has given SOFA the right footing to start off discussions on how to move the situation forward and build a constructive program without losing the Government’s participation.  The SOFA shelter is currently on Government land therefore SOFA have to make the relationship positive and cannot afford to work alone.  SOFA have long realized that they must have the Government support to make their program successful and enable it to continue long term.  SOFA have also become very organized and have accurate records on their work CNVR, locations and rabies incidence – this has been the key to their case so far. 

Not quite a victorious situation however, this is a step in the right direction and with SOFA’s diplomacy and formidable animal welfare experience they can make a success of this situation – without loosing support from the Government or the public. 

SOFA’s professional front and accurate records and statistics have proved invaluable during this process and they have championed the cause of the Kandy-dogs.  We hope to see there program resume and continue in the future.  We will keep you posted on future developments.