Stray Animals...Would YOU Rescue?

It is indeed a good cause. I wish you all the best.

Cheers!!!
Terence

that's a great idea and a noble cause too. best of luck

Victoria

Hey JayBird,

We have two lazy cats at home and an eaven lazier dog at the office, who was a stray dog and we adopted him. I know several people who adopt stray dogs.

i would suggest that you contact PAWS, www.pawsmauritius.org, see what advice they could give you.

I guess the other place to call is the local municipality and see what plans they have for controlling this situation. i will try the municipality in Vacoas and see what responce i will get.

Best of luck

Mariam

@Mariam

Paws is great, and full of information. My whole reasoning for opening my own center is the fact thaw Paws really has their hands full! No matter how great they do, if they are swamped, it still leaves animals out on the streets. Especially in Flic en Flac where I live (I have worked 7 years at a veterinary clinic) it is unnerving to be outside after sunset and listen to the packs of dogs fighting.

Post after post is up on these boards from people wanting to move to Mauritius, but fearful of the stray animals. I had the worst time getting an import permit for my CAT because they shut down imports after a dog bit, once again, another child. Complaint after complaint of incidents of dogs biting, cats scratching, or being chased by some desperate animal.

I get the feeling that there is very little actual effort put into catching and removing the strays, or support of those that do. Which, of course, needs to change.
I just hope that somehow if enough strays are picked up, rescue centers wil get more attention and support from the people and government alike.

Hi JayBird I have spent many years rescuing dogs and cats in Mauritius.Unfortunately the situation gets no better at all. The MSPCA have cutback on picking stray dogs up and only run two vans instead of six nowadays.Paws are great, but again dont always have the resouces to deal with all the animals that need treatment and rehoming.A particular problem is the massive increase in cats. Not everybody likes them and it is really hard to find homes for kittens.When there is no alternative they have to be euthanased and its really sad and difficult to do this.An even bigger problem is picking them up as the feral cats are quite vicious. I hope you get the support you deserve.Good luck.

That is a GREAT idea! I have a large bag of dog food in my car at all times and feed strays all over the island. I am at present trying to catch a stray near Jumbo - we've been feeding her for 4 years now and want to adopt her but she is big and difficult to catch. 
Anyway, best of luck with this new project - I am sure that you will get lots of volunteers to help you care for the animals.

As for your questions:

"If you had a number to call to collect the stray animals, would you call?"
Yes definitely if I was sure that an effort would be made to get the animal adopted instead of using euthanasia as a first response.

"Do many people actually adopt or care to adopt a pet?"
We adopted our cat and dog at PAWS when we arrived in Mauritius and are bringing both with us once we move somewhere else. I know several other people who have either adopted from PAWS or directly from the 'streets'.

"How do you feel local response and support would be to buying a bag of food for the animals every other week, or other small contributions, would be? "
I think you would get a fairly good response if you make it convenient for people to donate e.g. by setting up a collection point near a super market/shopping complex and advertise well in advance or alternatively build up a strong local support network in Flic en Flac.

Thank you all so much for your replies and taking the time to think over the idea!

JayBird

I for one would be happy to have such a service. Sunday, I found maybe the 15th abandoned puppy we've rescued. I'm happy to look after any puppy until a good home can be found. That's the issue for me, I can't take any more dogs so the trick is finding that good home. We've mostly been successful so far but a way to connect dogs with potential owners would be great.

Hello Pangono and welcome to Expat.com!

It's nice to see that people take care of animals.

All the best,
Harmonie.

Hi Harmonie,

Thanks for that. I thought it was about time I joined up.

I can't do much about the strays but at least I can try and find a home for all the puppies that seem to get abandoned in our neck of the woods. What else can you do?

Right now, I cant do squat. In a year or two i should have my own kennels, and truck to catch strays and at least 2 assistants on staff. That's in the financial plan at least. In the US where I am from, veterinary services is a strong market on the uprise. Many countries, like Europe and such are following suit, which opens up a very promising field of the veterinary field. What Mauritus lacks is a strong veterinary field and professional office setup, a lot of the vets are working out of field and lucky to have at least one assistant. Safety for the Vet as well as other employees are essential to the health of the animals in the care of the shelter. When volunteers or employees lack, so do the animals in question.
What I hope to establish is ambitious, but that's the kind of person that I am. If I plan to make Mauritus my home, then I have reason to look after the country as a whole, and to help support the tourist economy, one way I seem best where I am capable, is to help get the strays off then street. Helps to make a safer and more appealing vacation spot, as well as safe for the locals and families already established.

Cheers,
JayBird

lets say, if we sterilise all strays, the problem is resolved?

Islander

While sterilization is quite necessary, strays have their purpose in the ecosystem as well. Simply sterilizing the strays is a simple fix, expensive, and not a long term solution.

Yes I would love to I have already rescued some dogs is there anyone out there staying close to souilloc in mauritius willing to help me feed or rescue an amazing male gog his still young and amazing nature very loving is anyone willing to help me out? Please let me know

Hey there u wouldn't be intrested in adopting a stray I have found and been feeding the most amazing doggie I could bring him to you u see I'm leaving back to south africa and need someone to help me as I've been feeding this doggie on the beach everyday and helping him but now don't want to just leave him as his grown attached and is just not like the other strays his amazing!

This is such a great project! I am not on the island yet, but as soon as I land I would like to contribute in any possible way, including doing some working hours.

RedJayBird wrote:

While sterilization is quite necessary, strays have their purpose in the ecosystem as well. Simply sterilizing the strays is a simple fix, expensive, and not a long term solution.

It's ironic that only in the "developing" countries stray and abandoned animals are such a problem of gigantic proportions. In developed nations where sterilization programs exist and where people are less apt to just abandon animals in the first place this problem hardly exists at all.

Regarding sterilization not being a long-term solution and being expensive, veterinarians and animal experts all over the world would flat-out disagree with you. Sterilization is the ONLY long-term resolution and it is quite an inexpensive option, so much so that many jurisdictions in developed nations offer sterilization without any charge to the animal's owner.

As far as stray dogs and feral cats are concerned, I would be extremely interested in any convincing arguement that you could put forward to them having a place in the eco-system that outweighs the extreme risk that they pose to the health and wellbeing of humans.

The only way that the developing world is going to solve this universal problem is through sterilization and heavy fines for everyone who abandons animals or simply leaves them to run wild in the streets. I find it ironic in the extreme that those individuals who complain the loudest and work hardest to save these unfortunate animals simply refuse to see the logic of sterilization and stronger regulation, which is clearly much better than the suffering that these poor animals are forced to endure.

Here in Brazil, for example, the problem is so serious that many cities are strongly considering bylaws that would impose heavy fines on residents who even feed these animals. It's clearly a controversial proposal and one that I'm not sure I'd support, but that said I think even that would be better than seeing the uncontrolled spread of these animals, the social costs that they represent and the additional costs to the healthcare system for vaccinations against and treatment of the various diseases that they spread.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Also, sterilization is much better than the present alternative which unfortunately in most cases is the euthanization of stray animals. This is something that is completely unacceptable, but sadly occurs in most countries.

great idea...ill do same if i win the loto
but im ready to help

The government must insist that all dogs are registered In Mauritius. People should pay as it has already been mentioned,  a fine for neglecting their dogs.and an even greater fine for abandoning them  I would phone my people and friends when I know that free sterilisations are being done in their area but they refused to take animals.. People like that should be banned to have animals.The law should protect our animals against such barbaric cruelty.
I fail to understand how a dog owner can hire a taxi to take a loyal pet of many years, only to leave it  in remote places like Plaine Champagne or Bassin Blanc .

I have personally kidnapped 2 dogs before the taxis came. They are now the love of my life. So grateful that they have a home and the love that they deserve. One of them had large burns caused by a hot iron.. My  brother has 10 strays!

Thank God for "Save our strays SOS. Please find out about them and offer your help

many stray dogs in mauritius!! somtiems they involved in serious accident and they are left on road..

hi has you been able to open the animal rescue

Thanks

After been here for 2 months my heart goes out for these animals I'm happy to help where I can I just can't help with been a forster house.  So give me a call & let me know what I can do

@RedJayBird  Hi, just stumbled across this site.  Did you get to open a rescue centre in Mauritius?  if so,  where?

Thanks

Hi Redjay,

Did you get to set up a rescue centre in Mauritius?  If so, where?

Thanks

sarah

@funkycat74

Hello Sarah,

Please note that this is an old thread and the OP has not logged in for the past 11 - 12 years ...

Regards

Bhavna

@Bhavna  Hello Bhavna,

Thanks for letting me know.  I’m new to this site and didn’t realise.  Was looking to see if there were any other shelters apart from Paws, who i understand are over-run with strays 😿  Thank you

Hi.

As an animal lover I think it's a great idea to open a shelter for our mauritian pawfamily. However we should also change the way of thinking of many people who prefer to buy dogs and cats of different grades instead of adopting our friends from the roads or the seaside.

I'm ashamed to say that many mauritians are irresponsible as they dump their pets as soon as these are old or sick but don't bother to take them to the vets. Also many don't sterilize their dogs and cats which eventually lead to more babies in the nature. In my village of grand gaube we have been talking to people to have their love dogs sterilized and we organized 2 campaigns so far which were successfull.

It's good to have a shelter but it's not the solution .people should change their mentality and care for the pawfriends as part of their family.

I have 8 dogs at home and they are part of my family. I can proudly say that they are my sons and daughters and all are sterilized. The last adopted one is a 3 legged pup which was thrown by a breeder as he could not earn money by selling it but now he is full of life and very happy.

In my opinion we should create awareness among people for the well being of our pawfriends and make them more responsible

I wish you best of luck in your good job and please do not hesitate to contact me for any help and foster care.

Best regards

Malini