To advocate for animal welfare in the society and to deal with the lingering issue of strays in Mauritius, ELI Wooff launched its awareness campaign on the importance of spaying and neutering of our animals on Wednesday, July 22 in Cite Mangalkhan Floreal. On that day, we went door to door to meet the local residents in order to encourage them to resort to sterilization to help solve the problem of stray dogs in Mauritius.
People have been very welcoming and they realize that the problem of strays is indeed a blatant reality in Mauritius. Many of those whom we met acknowledge that spay and neuter is the only effective way to curb the number of strays but they fear that sterilization may have adverse effects on their pets. However this is not the case. Spaying or neutering does not only ensure that the pet lives a healthy lifestyle but also increases its lifespan. A report published in ‘USA Today’ stated that neutered male dogs live 18% longer than un-neutered male dogs and spayed female dogs live 23% longer than unspayed female dogs. This longevity may be due because spay and neuter surgeries reduce the risk of cancers. Besides, a sterilized pet will feel less need to roam about and thus the risk that it meets with an accident or is attacked by another pet is reduced.
On that day,around 15 people have signified their intention to have their pets sterilized and those who have registered themselves with ELI Wooff will be eligible to have their pet sterilized, for free, by veterinarians of the Ministry of the Agro Industry in the coming days.
This awareness campaign is one of the key measures undertaken by ELI Wooff to promote and advocate for animal welfare in Mauritius. At ELI we believe that it’s through education that we can make a difference in our society and aim for a better Mauritius.
The inhabitants looked like they definitely learnt a lot on the day! Well done guys!