Late in February, TEARS Animal Rescue, in collaboration with Animal Welfare South Africa (AWS), AfriPaw and TAH, undertook a sterilisation campaign called ‘Stop the cycle. Save Lives.’, to mark World Spay Day. “We are delighted to report that it was a major success,” says TEARS Operations Manager, Mandy Store.
TEARS performed 163 spays at the TEARS Animal Rescue clinic over the three days. In total, 523 animals were spayed across all the partners involved. Store says, “This is a fantastic achievement as each sterilisation doesn’t just help one animal, it prevents generations of suffering, and it keeps an uncountable number of animals out of over-populated shelters.”
TEARS and partners collected animals from families from lower-resourced communities who had agreed to have their pets spayed. Most people in these areas cannot afford veterinary care for their pets, and hence, there are many unspayed animals. “It ran very smoothly and was excellently organised,” says Store. “Everyone was tired, but it was such a rewarding few days of hard work, and we were happy to return the animals to their grateful owners,” she says.
“These sterilisations will prevent unwanted litters and reduce animal suffering in the long run. It is the best way to stop the cycle of suffering and neglect before it starts,” says Store.
Store says, “None of this would be possible without our wonderful and generous donors. We cannot thank you enough. To undertake such a large spay campaign takes a lot of planning and work and we were grateful to have such hardworking and dedicated partners. It was a fantastic team effort. Thanks to everyone who got involved.”
