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| Sunday, 28 March 2004 |
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Sathva Sevana shelters these four-legged friends, many of whom have been saved from a cruel end.
Sheltered, fed, given walks and health check-ups, our four legged friends scamper out in the sun, stretch out in the shade, have a bite, woof and mew their hearts out, play and as can be seen from that cute three cats picture, seemingly pose for the photographs as well.
The idea of having a shelter for abandoned stray dogs and cats originated in the 1960s when a group of animal lovers started the first Animal Transit Home in Dehiwala.
With time however, the neighbourhood around the home became congested and urbanised and a need for a more suitable area arose. At this junction Percy and Nalini Colonne donated an 80 perch block of land in the rural setting of Kahatuduwa, where the AWPA built their second Transit Home for Animals "Sathva Sevana".
However this system has not eliminated rabies in Sri Lanka. Ours is a more humane approach to the problem in which abandoned dogs and cats are given shelter, immunised and sterilised, with the idea of finally giving them to a loving home. Instead of just killing animals, this is a more sensible approach to controlling the stray dog problem". The Transit Home has 144 animals which are cared, protected and fed through donation. Of the animals there are 20 pups and 15 kittens. The cost of maintenance on feeding alone, for a month is Rs.30 000. "There is no foreign aid or government donation" says Malsiri. The 144 animals which are currently in Dehiwala are being transferred in stages to their new home in Kahatuduwa. Some of the animals however will remain in the Dehiwala Shelter, which will still be running and also be made the headquarters of the AWPA. The President of the AWPA which has around 700 members, is Hemantha Jayatillake. The association conducts monthly sterilisation programmes on dogs and cats of the home and the community to prevent the animals from getting pregnant, with a veterinary team from the University of Peradeniya. Says Malsiri "This programme is done free of charge as a community service". (FMM) |
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| Produced by Lake House |
You see them everywhere. In the streets, in the park, on Galle Face
Green and at times wandering through kades and outdoor restaurants. Those
age old mutual enemies. Woofy dogs and furry cats. Stray animals. In an
Animal Transit Home however both cat and dog are kept under the same roof
and seem to be the best of friends.
"Sathva Sevana" the second Transit Home for Animals, of the
Animal Welfare and Protection Association (AWPA) was opened on Wednesday
the 17th March 2004, at 16D 1/2, Diyagama Road, Kahatuduwa. Writer Anne
Ranasinghe who is the Executer of the Nora and Noel Barthalamues Trust
Fund, was the Guest of Honour, on the occasion.
This was the initial work of the Animal Welfare and Protection
Authority (AWPA), which was formed in 1965 with the objective of providing
care and protection for animals and for the prevention of animal cruelty.
The shelter was built with a donation from the Moosajee family and was
named the Zarina Moosajee Transit Home for Animals.
Sri Lanka has three types of dogs. The pet dogs, which are the pure
bred and imported animals, the community dogs which are looked after by
the community and the stray dogs which are ownerless. Malsiri Dias, the
Secretary of the AWPA says, "It is sad that the local authorities
target the everyday stray dog for inhuman destruction under an ancient law
dating back to 1905, with the intended purposes of preventing rabies.
