9 Jul 2018
Biannual mission aims to create sustainable, healthy street cat and dog population by sterilising, treating and vaccinating them against disease.
David Woodmansey
Job Title
A video still of a street cat being treated in Essaouira, Morocco. Image © Help the Street Animals of Morocco and Scarsdale Veterinary Group.
A team of veterinary professionals and animal handlers have returned from a biannual trip to Morocco volunteering to provide free care for street cats and dogs.
Five VNs and one vet from Scarsdale Veterinary Group in Derby teamed up with charity Help the Street Animals of Morocco (HSAM) and spent two weeks volunteering in Essaouira – a port city on the country’s west coast.
Throughout the fortnight, the team treated 647 animals – ranging from veterinary procedures, such as neutering, to more basic health care, such as wound cleaning and rehydration.
Keyly Hutchinson, HSAM trustee and VN at Scarsdale Vets, said: “The aim of these trips, and the ethos of HSAM, is to create a sustainable, healthy street cat and dog population in and around Essaouira.”
Miss Hutchinson added: ”By sterilising, treating and vaccinating against diseases such as rabies, we not only give the animals a better quality of life, but also offer peace of mind to the local community where the threat of rabies is very real.
”It’s fantastic to be able to use our skills for something good and we’re in our 11th year of visiting – we can see our work is making a huge difference, which is extremely rewarding.”
To find out more, visit the HSAM website.
