Stray dogs in Mauritius: mass euthanasia avoided

Is it out of compassion for these animals or because the photo of hundreds of dead bodies of these abandoned animals would not have been very glamorous on a tourist flyer?

The bottom line is that One Voice's fight for the respect of animal rights and the protests from animal welfare associations have meant that the Mauritian government has abandoned its plan to fight against stray of dogs. Moreover, the conception of the plan did not shine: "catch and kill", you catch, you shoot. In other words, a massive euthanasia program of stray dogs in often unscrupulous conditions of animal welfare.

With this announcement on June 13 to abandon its macabre plan, Mauritius has decided on common sense, says Muriel Arnal, president of One Voice and she invites the French authorities especially in the neighbouring overseas departments such as Reunion and Mayotte, to take this example. Especially since the regulation already exists. Moreover, One Voice has brought an action against the prefect of the Reunion. The trial is still ongoing.

Anxious not to be content only with protests as vehement as they are, One Voice offers alternatives and durable solutions. Contained in the correspondence that our association had sent to the Prime Minister of Mauritius on May 15, we denounce the planned slaughter of stray dogs, reminding them of its inability to reduce the nuisance associated with them. "More effective and more humane solutions exist that tackle the real cause of stray animals. They are part of the recommendations from the World Organization for Animal Health and have proven themselves in other countries”.

One Voice advocates education and awareness campaigns, associating them with effective and efficient suppression of abandonment by the owners. Widespread use of identification and sterilization and making this mandatory for any dog older than 6 months that is owned by an individual. For stray animals, once identified and sterilized, either to welcome them into a shelter or to release them under the control of district animal protection associations.

As we were in a letter-writing relationship with the Mauritian government, we reminded them that the island was risking a second stain to its image of paradise with the planned opening of an animal testing laboratory and that it could count on us to let them know that we would denounce this.

And, for a better protection of dogs and cats in France, please sign and share our petition online: "Dogs and cats: our family"