Actions

Animal Population Control
Spay/Neuter Program

 

Overpopulation of dogs and cats affects most countries in different degrees. As a quick way to prevent diseases, health authorities frequently resort to mass sacrifice. Thousands of animals are killed, often in merciless ways, due to the lack of knowledge and resources to perform animal sterilization.

According to WHO (World Health Organization), animal elimination does not address the root problem: excessive procreation of cats and dogs, irresponsible owners and a careless attitude towards garbage accumulation.

Taboão da Serra - a first-time experience in Brazil

Arca Brasil started, in 1996, the Animal Population Control program for cats and dogs in Taboão da Serra, SP. In this project, medication is donated to veterinarians by the Zoonosis Control Center of the city. Veterinarians then perform spay/neuter operations on pets at affordable prices. By aiming at the root of the problem, the program is an efficient alternative to uncontrolled procreation and animal elimination by official agencies.

The project has won recognition in Brazil and abroad; set the standard for similar programs across Brazil; and the PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) recognized it as an important, pioneering program in South America. It was also the theme of a presentation given by Arca Brasil at the 8th International Conference on Man-Animal Interactions in Prague, 1998.

Spay/Neuter Marathons

In addition to surgeries in veterinarian offices, Arca Brasil also organized periodic group efforts in Taboão da Serra to promote free spay/neuter surgeries for pets of low-income families, with high hygiene levels and counting on the voluntary participation of experienced veterinarians - including scholars from Brazilian universities (USP and UNIP). Each edition yielded about 180 sterilized cats and dogs.

Stationary clinic for free sterilization surgeries

Following the marathons (which ended in January, 2000), a permanent office that offers free spay/neuter services was created. Once a week, it performs surgeries on about 25 animals of proven low-income families, totaling approximately 1,300 animals a year.

Registration and Identification

Twenty five thousand dogs and cats are registered and identified every year in the Anti-Rabies Vaccination Campaign and at the Vaccination and Registration Office. Animals receive a collar with an identification tag attached. Thanks to animal registration, five to ten stray animals are returned to their owners every month.

Therapy with animals

In 1997, once again the program pioneered the Animal Assisted Therapy under the coordination of Dr. Hannelore Fuchs, psychologist and animal behavior specialist. The project was first put into practice in public schools for children who need special care, with highly positive results.

"Pelucinha" Educational Project

The Pelucinha team visits first grade kids from public schools at least once a year. During age-specific group activities, kids and teenagers learn about responsible pet ownership. Pelucinha, a female dog that was abandoned along with her puppies, is often a participant in the meetings. Her story had a happy ending: she and her puppies were sterilized, vaccinated and donated to new owners, serving as a live example of the practice of responsible ownership.

"De Volta Pra Casa" Project (Coming back home)

The purpose of this project is to assist in the collection of pregnant dogs from the streets. The dogs are sterilized, wormed and donated. Owners who can show proof of low income don't need to pay for their pets' surgery. Thanks to this project, since January 1999, several healthy puppies were adopted instead of being killed.

Results

From April 1996 to April 1999, 2,740 cats and dogs were sterilized (about 8% of the estimated animal population of the city); 1,222 by the marathons and 1,511 at private veterinary clinics, which joined the program performing surgeries at reduced prices. A simple calculation shows that these animals and their offspring could have generated over 50 thousand animals in 2 years.

One of the most positive outcomes of this initiative is the increasing interest of other cities which, based on Taboão da Serra's example, have already initiated similar actions.

This is the case of the following Brazilian cities: Guarulhos, Jundiaí, Osasco, Vargem Grande Paulista, Carapicuiba, Sorocaba, Atibaia, Cotia, Votorantin, Piedade, Ibiúna, São João da Vista, Bragança Paulista, São Sebastião and Cerquilho in the state of São Paulo, besides Niterói (ES), Rio de Janeiro and Teresópolis (RJ), Curitibanos (SC), Porto Alegre and Santa Maria (RS), Juiz de Fora and Poços de Caldas (MG), Mossoró (RN), Boa Vista (RR) and Teresina (PI), where the Federal Veterinary School showed interest in the project. This initiative inspired law 12.327/97, which created the Population Control of Dogs and Cats Campaign in São Paulo, approved in 1997 and officially implemented in January 2000.

International recognition

The actions implemented in Taboão da Serra, Brazil, with the assistance of ARCA BRASIL, proved to be a viable model for developing countries as shown during the 8th Human-Animal Interactions Conference in Prague, on a working group headed by WHO - World Health Organization. ARCA is also the national representative of IAHAIO - International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations.

Jundiaí, SP

The work of Arca Brasil has set the standard for similar initiatives in other locations such as Jundiaí, SP, where, since 1999, all 23 local veterinary clinics took part in a public campaign to perform spay/neuter surgeries at reduced prices. 1,172 cats and dogs were sterilized during the first year.