Latest news with #Vaccinate
Arab Times
18-05-2025
- Health
- Arab Times
Morocco unveils policies it hopes bolster the care and management of stray dogs
EL AARJATE, Morocco, May 18, (AP): A mutt with a blue tag clipped to her ear whimpers as she's lifted from a cage and carried to a surgery table for a spay and a rabies vaccine, two critical steps before she's released back onto the streets of Morocco's capital. The "Beldi,' as Moroccan street dogs are called, is among the hundreds taken from Rabat to a dog pound in a nearby forest. As part of an expanded "Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return' program, dogs like her are examined, treated and ultimately released with tags that make clear they pose no danger. "We have a problem: That's stray dogs. So we have to solve it, but in a way that respects animals,' said Mohamed Roudani, the director of the Public Health and Green Spaces Department in Morocco's Interior Ministry. Morocco adopted "Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return,' or TVNR, in 2019. One facility has opened in Rabat and more are set to be launched in at least 14 other cities, aligning Morocco with recommendations from the World Organization for Animal Health. The government has spent roughly $23 million over the past five years on animal control centers and programs. Roudani said Morocco's updated approach balanced public safety, health and animal well-being. Local officials, he added, were eager to expand TVNR centers throughout the country. Though population estimates are challenging, based on samples of marked and tagged stray dogs, Moroccan officials believe they number between 1.2 to 1.5 million. Some neighborhoods welcome and care for them collectively. However, others decry their presence as a scourge and note that more than 100,000 Moroccans have needed rabies vaccinations after attacks. A draft law is in the works that would require owners to vaccinate pets and impose penalties for animal abuse. On a visit organized for journalists to a TNVR center in El Aarjate, enclosures for dogs appear spacious and orderly, with clean floors and the scent of disinfectant. Food and water bowls are refreshed regularly by staff who move between spaces, offering gentle words and careful handling. Some staff members say they grow so attached to the dogs that they miss them when they're released to make space to treat incoming strays.
Borneo Post
27-04-2025
- General
- Borneo Post
Unimas, SSPCA, SOS unite to tackle campus stray issues
Dona (third right) presents a token of appreciation to Wee (centre) during the Pet Walk 2025 event, witnessed by Jee (third left) and other invited guests. – Photo by Jude Toyat KUCHING (April 27): The Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) and Save Our Strays (SOS) will partner with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) in May to address the issue of stray animals on its campus through an awareness and control initiative. SSPCA president Datin Dona Drury-Wee said that the initiative will focus on raising awareness about the proper care of campus strays. A key component of the collaboration is the implementation of a Capture, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return (CNVR) programme aimed at managing and curbing the stray animal population within Unimas grounds. 'In the next month SSPCA and SOS will also start our work with Unimas to create greater awareness about the care for their campus strays, as well as a Capture, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return programme (CNVR) to curb the growth of the stray population there,' she said in her speech during the Pet Walk 2025 event at the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) foyer here today. Dona emphasised that events like The Pet Walk are not only fun and memorable, but also highlight the importance of responsible pet ownership, compassion, and community engagement. 'We are holding this in the month of April to commemorate World Stray Animal Day, and we would like to remind members of the public that stray animals do not ask to be abandoned and left on the streets, it is our human responsibility to ensure that all animals are taken care of. 'If you do not wish to have an uncontrollable number of pets, then you must neuter or spay your animals to prevent unwanted litters,' she stressed. She also highlighted SSPCA's ongoing efforts in supporting the 'One Health' approach, which focuses on the interconnected health of people, animals, and the environment, especially in combating rabies. 'We all work together on the principal of One Health, to eradicate rabies and achieve the global target of zero human deaths by 2030. 'Remember, by protecting your pets through vaccination, you are also protecting your family and neighbours from rabies,' she said. The Pet Walk 2025 saw more than 800 participants and over 150 pets joining the event, which was co-organised with Pertubuhan Komuniti Progresif Kuching (PKPK). Dona expressed her gratitude to all participants, volunteers, sponsors, and supporters who contributed to the event's success. 'Together, we are making a difference — one pawprint at a time,' she added. The event was officiated by Kuching South Mayor Datuk Wee Hong and attended by PKPK chairman and organising chairman Ryan Jee, DVSS deputy director Dr Nicholas Jenek and Boehringer Ingelheim Malaysia technical manager Dr Eddie Tan, as well as local media fraternity and other pet lovers.
BBC News
05-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Chesterfield woman's relief as Morocco street dogs scheme starts
A woman campaigning to save street dogs in part of Morocco says she is relieved after a programme to vaccinate and sterilise them began. Saffron Dixon, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, decided she wanted to help after learning millions of dogs were to be killed in a clean-up of streets ahead of the Fifa World Cup in 2030, which Morocco will jointly host. The Embassy of Morocco in London previously told the BBC that dogs that were neutered and vaccinated should be protected - while harmful practices for controlling stray animals were Dixon said the programme she was supporting started last week with the first six dogs treated. Ms Dixon's campaign began after she went to Taghazout in November 2023 and a pack of stray dogs would visit her hotel where she would feed returned the following year and met a woman who runs an organisation helping stray dogs called Al-Nour Animal Help. Ms Dixon is now supporting the group in a programme to vaccinate, sterilise, microchip and tag street dogs. The 24-year-old has raised more than £6,000 towards the Dixon said, after the programme began last week, she "cried all day because I have worked so hard on it"."It has taken a lot to do it so I feel like quite relieved now... I'm just hoping that these ones [dogs] will be left alone," she is also planning to do a skydive in April for the campaign. Les Ward, chairman of the International Animal Coalition (IAWPC) said: "If we think things are bad, as in the case in Morocco, then we activate the international animal welfare coalition."We have offered to use our expertise and experience to introduce a humane, comprehensive animal dog management programme in conjunction with the veterinary authorities and government in Morocco."He said the government and Fifa have not Ward claimed dogs in Morocco were being "shot, poisoned, caught and killed" and it was barbaric and brutal with "no place in a civilised society". A spokesperson from the Embassy of Morocco previously told the BBC the country had "implemented comprehensive" schemes like the Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Release program which was rolled out in 2019 as a "humane and effective solution".They added they have published a number of circulars to local authorities to tell them that harmful practices, such as the use of firearms or the poison strychnine, for controlling stray animals were BBC has approached Fifa for a response.
