Kuwaiti PAWS Team: Have you ever seen an animal in need of compassion?
"When the group was established in 2003, rates of animal abuse were negligible, but today we are witnessing terrifying levels of violence against animals," said Rula Ahmed, head of the Kuwaiti Paws animal welfare group, in her interview with Al Jazeera Net.
She added that the team rescues dozens of people every day who have been burned, buried alive, strangled, poisoned, shot, or run over by cars. She noted that the team has found some cats and dogs whose eyes had been gouged out for fun, stressing that "the situation is extremely bad."
Rula attributes the increasing rates of animal violence to the lack of a culture of animal welfare in Arab society in general, despite the teachings of the true Islamic religion. She notes that some people say, for example, that dogs are impure, that black cats should be killed, and that animals are insensitive. She explains that all of these statements have contributed to the worsening crisis of animal violence.
PAWS Animal Shelter is the largest animal welfare group in Kuwait. It was founded 16 years ago by American and British girls, but now only includes young Kuwaiti volunteers who have taken it upon themselves to search for and rescue distressed animals on the streets of Kuwait, putting an end to their suffering that is overlooked by the relevant authorities in the country, according to Rula.
The head of Paws confirmed that their shelter is the largest in Kuwait, housing 900 animals rescued at various times and stages. Some are adopted by families and individuals within Kuwait, while the team is forced to keep those for whom they have not yet found adopters for fear of returning them to the streets.
The shelter houses all kinds of animals, including dogs, cats, monkeys, rabbits, ducks, and chickens, some of which the shelter hands over to the relevant government authorities after they have been treated.
The PAWS team faces a major dilemma in trying to reach stray dogs and cats first before other culling teams and agencies reach them, who justify their work by reducing the number of stray animals on the streets and thus avoiding their danger.
These teams prefer to euthanize the animals rather than sterilize them. Rula says, "The poison used is not enough to kill the dogs and cats, so they remain in pain and writhe until they die or we reach them and rescue them."
She called for awareness-raising lessons to be allowed into homes, for government cooperation to mitigate the scale of the disaster, and for Kuwait's ranking on animal welfare to be slightly raised, describing the current situation as "below zero."
High costs
in Kuwait. There is no government-run veterinary hospital except for livestock. Everything is left to expensive private hospitals and clinics. Rula says that the number of private veterinary hospitals is limited, and their prices are extremely high, similar to what is common in private hospitals for humans.
She adds that performing delicate operations on animals costs the team enormous sums, with prices ranging from hundreds to thousands, depending on the type of analysis, vaccination, or operation the animal's condition requires.
Rula complains of her helplessness in the face of these "exorbitant prices." She explains that the team relies on donations to treat, vaccinate, and medicate the animals. She points out that they pay the rent for the shelter where they place the rescued animals, as well as the cost of their food, cleaning supplies, and sterilization out of their own pockets.
scrolling page, zero receipts of donations and costs of operations, zero post recovery animals. Seem totally legit
