Awareness raising: HSI will sterilise 10,000 stray dogs! oh oh :/

"They are not wandering. Basically, they have masters. But the latter leave them dragging, " deplores Carla Prayag. She is the Project Manager Africa Program of the Humane Society International (HSI). This non-governmental organization (NGO), expert in animal protection, comes to lend a hand to the government of Mauritius to manage the proliferation of stray dogs. It appears that 10,000 will be sterilized.

On November 2, the Department of Agri-Industries will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with HSI in this regard. The sterilization project will begin in January.

Initially, the region of Flacq will be targeted. "We targeted eleven locations in the Eastern Region for our pilot project , " says Carla Prayag. These locations are Ecroignard, Poste-de-Flacq, Queen Victoria, Quatre-Cocos, Mare-la-Chaux, Camp-Ithier, Bel-Air, Trou-d'Eau-Douce, Olivia, Clemencia and Grande- South East.

Prior to sterilization, the project initiators will conduct an awareness campaign among dog owners. According to studies done by the HSI, the vast majority of stray dogs have a master. Carla Prayag highlights the importance of educating people. "They should realize how important they are in the lives of their animals. But it's all about education. "

Foreign experts from HSI will arrive in Mauritius at the end of October to conduct the education campaign. They will then help sterilize the dogs.

On the other hand, while the ministry is considering finding shelter to bring together the stray dogs. Carla Prayag is against this idea. "We realized that the dogs that are confined to these shelters become depressed. Some even prefer to let themselves die slowly, others also become very aggressive. "

She is of the opinion that these shelters do not work in the long term. And to conclude that the search for a suitable place to house these animals is already problematic.