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General report from inspectorate team
Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA)
August 23, 2007

The last few months have been a test of endurance for our small team. With our personal lives being affected through the shortages of basic food stuffs, we have pulled together as a unit and shopped around to ensure that our families (including our pets) have sufficient food in order for us not to worry about our loved ones whilst we focus on our jobs.

The Inspectorate team have travelled extensively despite three major breakdowns within our vehicle fleet. Our National fleet has covered 9,118 kms in the month of July. Every month we try to reach new areas, but the current situation in the country has shifted our operations once again from proactive to primarily reactive.

A significant amount of time has been spent working with our Member Societies around the country. ZNSPCA has directed all its Member Societies to suspend any rehoming activities due to the unstable situation in Zimbabwe.

Our National Rehoming Policy is very strict in order to ensure the stability and comfort of new homes and the provision of lifelong care for any animal adopted. We cannot perform this task at present as the current shortages of food (human, as well as animal), water and the unstable climate will result in animals being starved or abandoned.

Unfortunately, this means that all surrended animals and animals past their pound time will have to be euthanised. ZNSPCA have seven Branches that we look after in the country. These Societies have fallen under our care due to lack of committees and staff and no available resources.

The Inspectorate team has spent time at all of these Branches ensuring that the National directive is carried out and creating public awareness of the plight of all animals in the present crisis.

Time has also been spent liaising with the six other Societies ensuring that the staff have sufficient drug stocks and resources to enable them to deal with the inevitable increase in surrendered and abandoned animals.

All animals in the country share the peril faced by domestic pets in Zimbabwe. ZNSPCA is concerned for the future of livestock animals and wildlife in captivity. The vast shortages of stockfeed for livestock has serious repercussions and huge losses have already been incurred by various industries, poultry being the first to be affected due to the daily demand for proprietary food by the birds. With the temporary revocation of all licences from private abattoirs and the controlled price of meat, it is no longer a viable option to slaughter farming stock, leaving the farmer with scant compensation for destocking his herd in order to cope with the shortage of food. The lack of rain last season has only compounded the problem as available grazing around the country is very limited, so all animals should be receiving supplementary feed. ZNSPCA is monitoring farming activities in order to intervene where necessary to prevent cruelty.

At the majority of captive wildlife facilities around the country, the preponderance of animals being kept are carnivores, most of which are lions. With the scarcity of fresh meat, ZNSPCA is uncertain as to how the daily requirements of the carnivores are going to be met. We are currently working closely with Parks and Wildlife Management in order to map out a way forward that is both viable and humane. Our concerns are that owners are going to look towards hunting the already depleting natural wildlife in order to feed the animals in their care, and elephants are not being excluded from the list of animals being targeted to convert into a food source for, in our opinion, an already unmanageable number of carnivores in captivity.

With the population getting hungrier and no food on the shelves to alleviate the situation, the inevitable result has been the first incident of a companion animal being eaten. ZNSPCA has initiated an awareness campaign in order to educate the relative authorities as well as the public on the ethical and moral issues regarding the killing and consumption of our trusted companion animals. In terms of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act we may press charges for killing any animal inhumanely but in the face of starvation and the burgeoning number of stray and abandoned animals the moral issues become far more complex and we should not be too hasty in our condemnations when animals and people are suffering equally.

Draught animals have also joined the list of meat sources for humans, with the theft and slaughter of donkeys, which some unscrupulous individuals are selling as 'beef' to desperate consumers. This also deprives the owners of what is usually their only means of generating an income. And once again, the natural wildlife is now being hunted and poached all the more, to satisfy the hunger of our people.

Besides dealing with the abovementioned issues, we still manage to check animals wherever we travel. In the month of July, with the assistance of the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, we confiscated and released 754 crocodiles. The owner is facing prosecution under the Cruelty Act. We also confiscated a number of security dogs, which are now under veterinary care and the companies are facing charges of cruelty.

To illustrate to you all, the number of animals whose lives have been improved by a visit from a National Inspector, hereunder is a list of animals attended to in the month of July: Donkeys: 1,379 Dogs: 322 Cats: 102 Horses: 25 Cattle: 465 Sheep: 24 Goats: 104 Chickens: 1,004 Ducks: 30 Geese: 8 Turkeys: 4 Snakes: 78 Crocodiles: 754 Exotic Fish: 15 Guinea Pigs: 13 Parrots: 14 Rabbits: 12 Other reptiles: 39 Pigs: 5 Lions: 79 Other wildlife: 48

These numbers do not include inspections where we find no conditions that need improvement. We are proud to have been able to help these animals when the majority of our time in July was diverted to issues detailed earlier in this report.

July did bring great news in general for the donkeys of Zimbabwe with Lotto granting us the finances to purchase 500 harnesses to launch a new Donkey Harness project. The project is aimed at enhancing our existing Outreach program which promotes the welfare of donkeys throughout Zimbabwe by ensuring that all draught donkeys have comfortable, properly fitted harnesses whilst they work.

The National Inspectors will issue the 500 harnesses as they travel the country, replacing old and badly designed ones (or yokes) that are causing pain and suffering to the donkeys. We will now be appealing to members of the public to sponsor a harness in order to achieve our ultimate aim. Each month we will publicise the number of donkeys that have benefiting from having correct harnessing fitted.

The National team are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the 500 Lotto harnesses, expected in the next week, as the cruelty we see due to bad harnessing has always affected us because although we treat the wounds and try to pad the harnesses, we are aware that our work only offers short-term relief for the animals. We will now be able to drive away knowing that we have made a long-term difference in each donkey's life! If anyone is interested in "adopting" a donkey through the provision of a new harness, please contact our HQ for details.

Good news like the Donkey Harness project, motivates and inspires us to keep going and achieve our objective of preventing cruelty. We recently held an Inspectors' training course that will see the National Team being increased by two Inspectors that, once they have completed the field assignments tasked to them, will be proposed for certification by the Minister of Environment and Tourism. We look forward to the training of further relevant personnel in order to strengthen our team and improve animal welfare throughout the country.

The National Inspectors are constantly appreciative of the support that we receive from the National Board, with special acknowledgment to our hard working Chairperson, which enables us to perform our duties regardless of the situation in the country. We also respectfully acknowledge NSPCA South Africa and its member Societies for their continuous unwavering support as well as other stakeholders and members of the public. Take away this framework of people that care and the animals of our country would face a bleak future without the protection that ZNSPCA provides for them at present.

Glynis Vaughan Chief Inspector ZNSPCA

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