VERITAS completes their humane population control project

VERITAS received a grant from AKI's Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program for their project, "Humane population control of dogs and cats at Western Tanzania in Kasulu-Kigoma." Specifically, VERITAS worked in:

• Muzye village

• Bugaga village

• Nkundusi village

• Nyansha village

• Nyumbigwa village

For their grant project, VERITAS:

• Vaccinated 965 cats and dogs against rabies;

• Dewormed 965 cats and dogs;

• Sterilized 54 cats and dogs;

• Trained 145 animal health technicians who provide animal health services to the communities where the TNVR project was undertaken; and

• Provided humane education to more than 900 dog and cat guardians about best pet care practices.

Mr Mbise, VERITAS Animal Health Technician, vaccinates a dog against rabies in Kasulu-Tanzania in September.

Mr Rukaka, an Animal Health Technician, is prepping a dog to be spayed during a VERITAS event in September.

Heading home after receiving services at the VERITAS event in September, where dogs and cats were vaccinated, de-wormed, and sterilized.

Community members with their dogs waiting for free rabies vaccinations and other services during a VERITAS event in October.

Getting a rabies jab (October TNVR)

VERITAS in November-promoting humane population control

In December, VERITAS trained animal health technicians in humane population control.

One of the kitties treated during the VERITAS program in January

VERITAS told us that during implementation of their grant project, they learned the following lessons:

"We have learned many things that have built us as an organization, one of the things we learned is that a good collaboration between animal welfare organization and the community is very important because it makes it easier to introduce the project to the community and also the community to receive the project well and provide good cooperation because without the community providing good cooperation, the project cannot go well as it should.

Another thing we have learned is that having clear objectives or goals and narrate them well also benefits the community as a whole because it makes it very easy for the relevant community and its leaders to understand the project and be at the forefront of providing good support throughout the project period."

It's important to collaborate with the local community.