Seychelles prison to provide safe home for stray animals |05 July 2018
The prison department in the Ministry of Internal Affairs has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Seychelles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) for the caring of animals at the prison.
The MoU was signed during a small ceremony yesterday morning at the prison at Montage Posée by the superintendent of the Seychelles prison, Raymond St Ange and the chairperson of SSPCA, Judith Strashoon.
The MoU entails the establishment of a solid framework for cooperation between the two institutions with the intension of providing a safe home-like environment for stray animals with the intention of preparing them for adoption, to move towards introducing a small scale Prison-SSPCA no-kill shelter at the prison and developing an inmate rehabilitation programme using the dogs and cats that venture on the prison compound, looking for shelter and care.
SSPCA shall assist the prison in developing a comprehensive inmate-animal rehabilitation programme and shall also provide basic animal care and handling training and support to the prison as needed.
SSPCA will also provide the prison with a mobile van service for neutering and spaying of the prison’s dogs and the only cat at the moment.
Also under the one year MoU, the prison shall ensure that the Prison-SSPCA animal care is enclosed under its rehabilitation programme (Phoenix Rehabilitation programme), shall provide no less than two inmates to help at the SSPCA centre at Providence, provide a safe and secure area to keep the animals, follow safe and humane practices in handling the animals in its care and to make it possible for qualifying members of the public to adopt the animals in its care.
The animals venturing in the prison compound have created a bond with inmates, who harbour and feed them. There are around thirty stray dogs being harboured by inmates at the prison with twenty making the prison as their permanent home. They were neutered and spayed by SSPCA. The increase in stray dogs at the prison in recent years is due to them being abandoned by the roadside at Montage Posée.
“The dogs are good friends to us. We feed them from left overs, we bathe them, clean their kennels and I can say we look after them the way our mothers used to look after us,” said inmate Darren Arissol who noted that he would try to get his favourite dog, who bears his nickname ‘Toto’, home with him when he leaves prison.
Addressing the gathering at the signing ceremony, comprising inmates, prison staff and representatives of SSPCA, Dr Maria Tirant from SSPCA said the institution was happy to be in partnership with the prison as the partnership will secure the care and safety of the animals that will further help in the rehabilitation of the inmates through the Phoenix programme.
“We have seen it happen, how animals can change people’s heart and the change that they make to somebody’s life,” Dr Tirant added.
For his part, Superintendent St Ange thanked SSPCA for the partnership and said that this will surely change the behaviour and lives of the inmates, to a more caring approach.
“The many positives which are happening at the prison will drown out all the negatives that also happen at the prison,” he said.
There are three rehabilitation promotion based programmes in the prison. The Phoenix Programme One entails work within the prison compound and its various daily programme. Based on good behaviour, Programme Two entails work from outside the prison by inmates at various private companies. Having gone through these two programmes, the inmates then move on Programme Three where they can be considered for a license to go home till the duration of sentences or for a pardon.
Since being established at Montage Posée in 2006, the prison has always been the home for stray dogs and cats and the past and present management have always adopted an open policy regarding these animals which have turned the prison into their own foster homes. The inmates have thus turned these animals into their own furry friends and with the help of the prison staff, they have taken the hand into caring for the animals. Many inmates’ families, staff and other visitors have been drawn by the friendliness and loyalty of these animals at the prison and many have been adopted.
The accompanying photos show highlights of the ceremony yesterday.
