KNYSNA NEWS - The Elm Project, an animal welfare organisation in Tsitsikamma that runs outreach programmes in three local communities, has since February this year brought over 100 dogs to the Knysna Animal Welfare Society (KAWS) for spaying and neutering.
Tsitsikamma residents Jenny van Niekerk and Bianca Steyl, who are cow and heifer managers for a dairy company, started the project a year ago.
“The initial motivation for establishing this project was to help impoverished communities in our area sterilise their pets.
“This was primarily due to the large numbers of unwanted and neglected animals we were seeing,” Van Niekerk said.
Neutering and spaying pets helps reduce the number of unwanted litters in the communities.
Vaccinations
“Once we saw the level of need, we included affordable veterinary care, vaccinations, shelter and running lines for dogs on chains. Improving the human-pet relationship through education, especially among children, is also very important to us,” she said.
“Our main goal is to sterilise 70% of the pets in our area [dogs and cats] and then do maintenance sterilisations.”
The Elm Project has employed two people to look after the pets that are surrendered to the organisation.
“They are the go-to people in the communities in which we work. We have a number of volunteers who join us on outreach days,” Van Niekerk said.
Food provision
They provide food to pets in families that are impoverished, as well as blankets and kennels when they have the funds to do so.
Jenny van Niekerk
Services are provided in the communities of Clarkson, Woodlands and Guava Juice, and include inoculating dogs and cats against rabies and deworming them.
The project also provides care to donkeys and horses, including dipping them to rid them of fleas and ticks.
Ailments
“The main ailments we treat are mange, injuries to the skin, biliary, fly strike and sunburn, especially on the white pit bull-type dogs.”
Van Niekerk said there were about 2 500 dogs and 300 cats in these communities, and the Elm Project had to date sterilised 377 dogs and cats.
"We have been collaborating with KAWS since late February and have sterilised 113 dogs through them.
"We never had access to vets who would sterilise these kinds of numbers for us, and this has been the single most important factor in changing dogs' lives in our area."
KAWS support
KAWS has also given them much appreciated guidance in managing an animal welfare organisation, and a lot of moral support. All puppies in the care of the project that had parvovirus were treated by KAWS.
Through donations received, the Elm Project had, in addition to outreach work, taken dogs to vets for emergency treatment after they had been hit by cars, poisoned, injured in snares or burnt, and to have collars that had become embedded in their necks removed.
'Few donors'
Van Niekerk said they have provided access to veterinary care to people who would never have been able to afford it.
“As we are a new organisation, we have very few donors at this point.”
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the project can contact Van Niekerk on 082 686 6067, Steyl on 082 385 3030, or the Elm Project on 079 563 0879.
“Our dream is to eventually have our own veterinary clinic where we can sterilise and treat animals, and kennels where we can house abandoned and unwanted dogs, rehabilitate them and find them loving homes.”
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
