The story of the Seychelles Animal Welfare Society |04 August 2017
Formed in 2014, the Seychelles Animal Welfare Society (SAWS), which is based at Barbarons, is a small group of seven young, dynamic individuals, chaired by Ms Ella Rene. The main aim of the Society is to help rescue, process (treat, deworm, sterilise and socialise) and rehome animals. SAWS also conducts sterilisation campaigns and try to sensitise the public on how to be responsible owners.
At the beginning, members of the group did everything from home but realising that they could not rely solely on donations, they decided to start offering services that they felt were missing in Seychelles and hold fund raising events to help sustain their activities.
This year they have managed to set up a small, temporary shelter which holds 40 – 50 animals at any given time, with a full-time shelter manager.
The chairperson gave an overview of the main services provided by SAWS. “We provide boarding for both cats and dogs, accommodation for owners who cannot temporarily care for their animals. During sterilisation campaigns, we also provide cheap sterilisation for dogs and cats and sometimes even transport for those that cannot transport their animals to us.”
Ms Rene adds however, that the dog facilities are currently overwhelmed so they are not taking in new dogs at this time.
The process entailed from the time an animal is taken in up until its adoption begins when animals are brought to the shelter by people due to their being surrendered or straight from the streets.
“Each animal gets looked over and treated accordingly, either medically or socially. Some of the animals that come in are terrified and need a lot of socialisation. Some also come in very bad condition, emaciated, hurt or full of mange. Once they have recovered enough and have been dewormed, they get their vaccinations and are sterilised. They are then put up for adoption, mainly through Facebook and word of mouth, as we are still working on our website.”
The first step in the adoption process is questioning of any potential adopters. Ms Rene explains that thereafter “depending on the circumstance and the animal in question, either they can pick up the animal (especially if they have adopted from us before) or we bring the animal to conduct a house visit at the same time or we conduct a house visit beforehand.” The adopter then fills out a form which states that the animal now belongs to them, that it must be cared for appropriately and that if the animal is under 6 months, SAWS will organise for sterilisation once it reaches 6 months.
For the future, SAWS is hoping to have a larger facility to be able to take in many more animals. They also hope to open a small clinic, shelter, boarding facility and pet shop on La Digue - facilities which they believe the island desperately needs.
To help raise awareness and raise more funds for the animals, SAWS intends to organise a dog sponsored walk which will be open to a limited number of people. They have also been doing an annual Pet Funfair and are planning their next sterilization programme on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue for January 2018, however this activity could be scheduled earlier.
SAWS have many pieces of advice to offer on the caring of animals but to sum up Ms Rene advises “cultivate empathy in our children to all beings. Help us help them by just starting at home. Care for your animals because they are your responsibility. Love them or do not have them. And if you need them then you should at least appreciate them for what they do for you. And remember this, every stray dog out there, every emaciated puppy, every cowering kitten originated from someone's home. Do not let that someone be you”.
For more information, SAWS can be contacted on Facebook or seyanimalwelfaresociety@hotmail.comor 2 82 61 38.