While we are being terrorised by the magnitudes of the new-year cluster, Justice for Animals Sri Lanka, headed by Tashiya Captain, concluded their third successful Animal Health Care programme in Anuradhapura this week. Conducted with the support of Vets for the Future under the supervision of Dr. Chamith Nanayakkara with a team of eight veterinarians, the healthcare clinic was conducted from 2-12 May and offered vaccinations, sterilisations, surgeries, and treatments for all diseases. 
Brunch spoke to Dr. Nanayakkara about the format of the event and he shared that they started daily at 5.30 a.m. and went on until 5.30 p.m. With the team going around the city and collecting street dogs to bring to the clinic for treatment, the medications were provided in two sessions from 6 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. and again from around 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Anuradhapura residents were allowed to bring in their pets for treatments as well.
We asked Justice for Animals Joint Secretary and Animal Health Care programme organiser, fundraiser and facilitator Tashiya Captain about the significance of maintaining animal welfare amidst the pandemic, to which she responded: “We do realise that this is a hard time for everyone, however, we have sworn to maintain the population of dogs in this country and if we take a break, the population doubles. Because a dog gives birth twice a year and each litter can range from five to seven puppies each time and so if there are 100 dogs, within six months we will have 500 puppies. And if we do not maintain a fair ratio of healthy dogs, there will be other drastic measures that may be taken to curb the population as it may pose a threat to the community”.
[caption id="attachment_136091" align="alignleft" width="393"]
Tashiya Captain and Dr.Chamith Nanayakkara[/caption]
“I have to further stress that this Animal Health Care Programme is not simply an animal welfare programme, it is a community welfare programme as we are dedicated to making lives easier for these low-income communities by making sure their pets are clean, safe, and disease-free,” Captain added.
Anuradhapura is a buzzing city and is often filled with locals and tourists throughout the year, and therefore, maintaining a healthy and clean animal population is a priority to this municipality. However, we found out that there has been an overwhelming increase of 200 puppies from the end of March up until now and these animals have been dumped around Anuradhapura and its suburbs by visitors coming into the city and causing a great inconvenience to the health authorities as this increases the overpopulation of these animals causing the risk of rabies and various other problems.
Rabies is said to be mainly transmitted through dog bites and is invariably fatal in both humans and animals. As one of the only countries that provide anti-rabies medication for free, Sri Lanka is doing its best to ensure the safety of its population from this disease. However, we were told that unnatural additions of dogs into these communities disrupts this process.
Dr. Nanayakkara shared that the police and the main religious institutions have been alerted on this issue and the Police keep a watchful eye on whoever might be suspected to be interfering with the natural balance of the animals in this area.
To help maintain stray populations around the island, the Government funds several animal healthcare programmes annually and conducts crisis management programmes when notified by respective municipalities on issues. Various organisations such as Justice for Animals Sri Lanka and Vets for the Future are working closely with the Government to ensure the lives of these innocent animals are protected.
Brunch spoke to Dr. Nanayakkara about the format of the event and he shared that they started daily at 5.30 a.m. and went on until 5.30 p.m. With the team going around the city and collecting street dogs to bring to the clinic for treatment, the medications were provided in two sessions from 6 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. and again from around 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Anuradhapura residents were allowed to bring in their pets for treatments as well.
We asked Justice for Animals Joint Secretary and Animal Health Care programme organiser, fundraiser and facilitator Tashiya Captain about the significance of maintaining animal welfare amidst the pandemic, to which she responded: “We do realise that this is a hard time for everyone, however, we have sworn to maintain the population of dogs in this country and if we take a break, the population doubles. Because a dog gives birth twice a year and each litter can range from five to seven puppies each time and so if there are 100 dogs, within six months we will have 500 puppies. And if we do not maintain a fair ratio of healthy dogs, there will be other drastic measures that may be taken to curb the population as it may pose a threat to the community”.
[caption id="attachment_136091" align="alignleft" width="393"] Tashiya Captain and Dr.Chamith Nanayakkara[/caption]
“I have to further stress that this Animal Health Care Programme is not simply an animal welfare programme, it is a community welfare programme as we are dedicated to making lives easier for these low-income communities by making sure their pets are clean, safe, and disease-free,” Captain added.
Anuradhapura is a buzzing city and is often filled with locals and tourists throughout the year, and therefore, maintaining a healthy and clean animal population is a priority to this municipality. However, we found out that there has been an overwhelming increase of 200 puppies from the end of March up until now and these animals have been dumped around Anuradhapura and its suburbs by visitors coming into the city and causing a great inconvenience to the health authorities as this increases the overpopulation of these animals causing the risk of rabies and various other problems.
Rabies is said to be mainly transmitted through dog bites and is invariably fatal in both humans and animals. As one of the only countries that provide anti-rabies medication for free, Sri Lanka is doing its best to ensure the safety of its population from this disease. However, we were told that unnatural additions of dogs into these communities disrupts this process.
Dr. Nanayakkara shared that the police and the main religious institutions have been alerted on this issue and the Police keep a watchful eye on whoever might be suspected to be interfering with the natural balance of the animals in this area.
To help maintain stray populations around the island, the Government funds several animal healthcare programmes annually and conducts crisis management programmes when notified by respective municipalities on issues. Various organisations such as Justice for Animals Sri Lanka and Vets for the Future are working closely with the Government to ensure the lives of these innocent animals are protected.