Animal rescue volunteers launch Gaza’s first spay-and-neuter scheme

In the impoverished Gaza Strip, where most people struggle to make ends meet amid a crippling blockade, the suffering of stray dogs and cats often goes unnoticed.

Said el-Er, who founded the territory’s only animal rescue organisation in 2006, has been trying to change that. He and other volunteers rescue dogs and cats that have been struck by cars or abused and nurse them back to health – but there are too many.

So in recent weeks they have launched Gaza’s first spay-and-neuter programme. It goes against taboos in the conservative Palestinian territory, where feral dogs and cats are widely seen as pests and many view spaying and neutering as forbidden by Islam.

“Because the society is Muslim, they talk about halal (allowed) and haram (forbidden),” Mr El-Er said. “We know what halal is and what haram is, and it’s haram (for the animals) to be widespread in the streets where they can be run over, shot or poisoned.”

Islam teaches kindness towards animals, but Muslim scholars are divided on whether spaying and neutering causes harm. Across the Arab world, dogs are widely shunned as unclean and potentially dangerous, and cats do not fare much better.

Mr El-Er and other advocates for the humane treatment of animals face an added challenge in Gaza, which has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized power in 2007. Gaza’s two million residents suffer from nearly 50 per cent unemployment, frequent power outages and heavy travel restrictions.

With many struggling to meet basic needs, animal care is seen as a waste of precious resources or a luxury at best. Mr El-Er’s group, Sulala for Animal Care, relies on private donations, which can be hard to come by.

Mr El-Er says his team can no longer keep up with the number of injured animals that they find or that are brought to the clinic. “The large number of daily injuries is beyond our capacity,” he said. “That’s why we resorted to neutering.”

On a recent day, volunteers neutered a street dog and two cats that had been brought in. There are few veterinary clinics and no animal hospitals in Gaza, so they performed the operations in a section of a pet store that had been cleaned and disinfected.

“We have shortages in capabilities, tools, especially those needed for orthopaedic surgeries,” said Bashar Shehada, a local veterinarian. “There is no suitable place for operations.”

Mr El-Er has spent years trying to organise a spay and neutering campaign but met with resistance from local authorities and vets, who said it was forbidden. He eventually secured a fatwa, or religious ruling, stating that it is more humane to spay and neuter animals than to consign an ever-growing population to misery and abuse.

Once the fatwa was issued, Mr El-Er said local authorities did not object to the campaign as a way of promoting public health and safety. The Hamas-run health and agriculture ministries allowed veterinarians to carry out operations and purchase supplies and medicine, he said.

The Gaza City municipality provided land for a shelter earlier this year. Before that, Mr El-Er kept the rescued animals at his home and on two small tracts of land that he leased.

The new shelter currently houses around 200 dogs, many of them blind, bearing scars from abuse or missing limbs from being hit by cars. At least one was adjusting to walking with a prosthetic limb. A separate section holds cats in similar shape.

The group tries to find homes for the animals, but here too it faces both economic and cultural challenges. Very few Gazans would keep a dog as a pet, and there’s little demand for cats. Some people adopt the animals from abroad, sending money for their food and care.

Over the past decade, international animal welfare groups have carried out numerous missions to evacuate anguished animals from makeshift zoos in Gaza and relocate them to sanctuaries in the West Bank, Jordan and Africa.

But there are no similar campaigns for dogs and cats, and Gaza has been sealed off from all but returning residents since March to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.

Mr El-Er’s phone rang recently and the caller said a dog had been hit by a car. Volunteers from Sulala brought it back to the shelter on the back of a three-wheeled motorbike and began treating it. Mr El-Er says they receive around five such calls every day.

Dedicated Father: Golden Retriever Displays Remarkable Commitment in Caring for His Pregnant Mate.

For dads, do you recall how you took care of your wife while she was pregnant?

Of course, you do. You could have recalled those moments when you conducted errands while being the only one who was in charge of the house and all the chores. Well, you’re not alone.

While some spouses will say that they weren’t as lucky, they can always display this viral film of how a golden retriever took care of his mate while in delivery.

These Goldens went viral. At first, they were seen sleeping next each other. Then, the instant the wife woke up, the dog rushed for the AC switch and upped the temperature.

Next, he snatches a tiny basin with his mouth and trots to the kitchen. He set the basin down in the sink and stretched his paw to turn on the faucet. He then gladly marched to his mate, quite happy with himself.

Once she finished her drink, he went to retrieve her leash. As a pregnant dog, exercise is still vital so she may keep fit. But instead of their owner taking both of them to the park, the dog chewed on the leash and joined his mate.

This provided the daddy dog an opportunity to conduct other errands. Throughout this section of the day, he went into the kitchen to assist prepare his mate’s dinner.

Chicken, fish, shrimp, and some veggies seem excellent. Daddy dog assisted his human with cleaning. He even took out the garbage.

He’s even a gentleman during dinner. He could be incredibly hungry with all his effort, but he lets his mate get her fill first. After all, she’s also eating for their pups.

Later, when he invited her for a post-dinner run, something occurred. His wife urged to remain home.

Then, the labor began. As their fur parents sensed what was about to happen, they swiftly prepared up a nest for her. What was a room only for the two of them became a home for a loving family.

One by one, the puppies emerged from their mother. The owners cleaned them well before leaving them to breastfeed on their mother.

All the while, they were feeding her readily digested meals to aid her through the procedure.

The adorable retriever eventually became daddy. They ended up with seven healthy pups. They all have their unique colorful collars that nearly resemble a rainbow.

And just like that, the daddy dog is on the chores again. But this time, he wasn’t simply taking care of one dog. He’s watching over his mate and their children.