After 18 years of negotiations with groups and individuals within and outside Mauritius, its Government has finally agreed to a pilot sterilisation project as part of a new humane way to control the street dog population.
Over the years, as part of a coalition of animal welfare groups, we have condemned the inhumane methods of catching and killing dogs in Mauritius on numerous occasions.
Led by the UK’s Daily Mail, international media have also put mounting pressure on the Mauritian government to stop the slaughter.
In October 2016 ourselves and PETA jointly released undercover footage exposing the country’s barbaric and ineffective ‘catch and kill’ methods of dog control. The harrowing scenes, posted widely on online news sites, caused international outrage, leading to more than 220,000 people signing a petition calling for an end to the killing.
Now, finally, agreement has been reached between the Mauritian Government and Humane Society International (HSI) to sterilise 10,000 dogs in a pilot project which, if successful, could be extended to the whole island.
On 20 February a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by Ms Bheenick, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Mr Rahul Sehgal on behalf of HSI.
We have agreed to contribute US$50,000 towards the cost of the project which is also being generously supported by The Marchig Trust, as well as receiving significant funding from the Mauritian government.Alan Knight OBE, our CEO, said:
“This is a massive step forward for animal welfare in Mauritius. This long-awaited agreement promises to transform the lives of dogs on the island. The year-long pilot project aims not only to sterilise 10,000 dogs, but also to raise public awareness about animal welfare in general and to establish a helpline for people seeking advice on dog-related issues.
“IAR is delighted to be supporting such an important project and we wish those involved in implementing it every success. I would also like to congratulate the many groups and individuals who have fought so hard to achieve this milestone agreement. Thousands of dogs have been brutally killed over the years but now at long last there is an end to the suffering in sight.”