Dear all of Dodgers Diary followers. My name is Moira van der Westhuizen. I am the president of PAWS Mauritius and have been part of PAWS for the past 5 years. I have been reading all the posts on this Group FB page, read the in-boxed messages on the PAWS Mauritius FB page, read various emails between the people concerned, spoken to Lucy (from PAWS) in depth, spoken to the Ambre Hotel management and to Denise from Thomson Tours. I would like to thank all of you for being the absolute animal lovers that you are and for showing the concern that you have over our beautiful Mauritian dogs and cats. I do ask though that all this negative publicity comes to an end. The Ambre Hotel management shares your fondness for animals and do not tolerate cruelty to animals by their staff. PAWS will be working with them to see how we can help with the problem of stray dogs in the hotel and at the same time with education into animal welfare and compassion towards animals. Although following the session that PAWS held yesterday the staff in general, do “like” animals. To keep it brief - The hotel management has informed me that due to numerous and ongoing complaints from guests about the dog barking at night, guests that are afraid of dogs and an incident of a recent dog bite they had to be responsible and have the dog removed from the hotel premises. The health and safety of the guests at the hotel, staff at the hotel and people on the public beaches was their priority. They did ask the MSAW (previously MSPCA) to assist them to come and collect the dog. The collection was scheduled and at the last minute it was cancelled by the MSAW. Unfortunately, the complaints about the dog continued and hotel management had no choice but to arrange to get the dog picked up and taken down to MSAW. On the way to MSAW the dog was barking and was very agitated and the driver stopped the vehicle to check on the safety of the dog. Unfortunately, on opening the vehicle the dog managed to escape and ran away. This was the last that was seen of Dodger. I have spoken in length to the manager at the Ambre Hotel who is very saddened at what happened to Dodger and I do understand and agree that they had no choice but to have the dog removed. PAWS spent the day at the Ambre Hotel yesterday giving an education session with about 200 employees. The feedback from Lucy was that “they had a very good and productive day, with extremely willing and responsive staff.” The hotel management have informed me that in the past they have arranged, at the hotels cost, to have various dogs treated and sterilized and that these dogs have even been adopted by staff. This shows the commitment and caring that the hotel has towards animals. The hotel management have assured me that “they will continue to sensitize, sterilize and adopt”. Living in Mauritius is not easy. I have been living here for 6 years and there is not a day that goes by that my heart is not broken. To see so many dogs and cats on the streets, to see puppies & kittens being dumped in the sugarcane and on the beaches, to see dogs and pups suffering from severe malnutrition and severe skin conditions is not easy and something that one will never get used to. PAWS, is one small NGO that relies on donations and fundraising to do what we do – which is not much in relation to the thousands and thousands of animals that we do not help. We receive no financial assistance from the government. We have 2 shelters and 2 clinics and are caring for on average about 120 dogs and cats. Sadly we cannot save every “stray and unwanted dog or cat”. Our shelters are overflowing all the time. Sadly, PAWS cannot take in dogs like Dodger as we do not have the space, or the funds and a dog cannot live its life in an overcrowded shelter. The whole ordeal that has transpired is a reflection of the situation that Mauritius is in at the moment – there is an overpopulation of dogs. I am extremely happy to announce that “there is light at the end of the tunnel”. PAWS, has been working with the Humane Society International and together we have been in discussions with the Government of Mauritius. For many decades the GoM used “catch and kill” as the solution to managing the overpopulation – this clearly has not worked. Mauritius has a culture of owned roaming dogs. A recent survey done by the Min of Agro Industry/HSI and PAWS has shown that there are about 250 000 dogs in Mauritius with only 20% of these being “true stray”. The GoM has now adopted MASS STERILIZATION as the solution to managing the overpopulation of dogs. In October 2014 we will be starting a pilot project in the Grand Baie area, where 3300 dogs will be sterilized for free. Following this, next year the project will become island-wide and the goal is that over the next 4 years 192 000 dogs will be sterilized. Over time the number of dogs on the streets will reduce as no more unwanted litters will be born. Together with MASS STERILIZATION and extensive education, Mauritius will eventually become a paradise once again. Thank you for your understanding and co-operation and please do visit our island again!
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:58:18 +0000
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