Care for our dogs towards a rabies-free Sri Lanka
ABOUT US
KACPAW (Kandy Association for Community Protection through Animal Welfare) is all about making the lives of dogs in Sri Lanka better. KACPAW is a non-profit-making, registered NGO, formally established in January 1999, having started work on caring for destitute dogs in November 1998.
KACPAW’s vision is to eradicate rabies from Sri Lanka using humane methods and our mission is to ensure dog welfare primarily through sterilization (spay/neuter) of dogs to prevent the emergence of unwanted dogs, which together have enabled us to address and contribute to substantially and continuously for over 16 years national level wider issues concerning stray dogs (macro-level) and ensure dog welfare at local level (micro-level).
Sri Lanka’s no-kill policy on dogs shaped our primary work to be spaying and neutering, both unowned (stray/community-cared dogs) and owned dogs (also owned cats). So in KACPAW’s work sterilization is what takes the first place as we see this as the only method that permanently ensures arresting of unwanted litters from being born and left to suffer and die.
We sterilize both owned dogs and stray/community dogs at field clinics. In 2015, we have sterilized and vaccinated 2,500 dogs. Over the years since 1999 we have spayed/neutered over 20,000 dogs. In addition, we treat mostly stray/community dogs for mange and other illnesses, close to 1,000+ each year. And we also rescue stray/abandoned dogs who have horrific injuries or are neglected and left to die.
OUR TEAM
Patron: Dr. Eileen Petiyagoda
President: Dr. Piyaseeli Wedisinghe
Secretary: Ms. Champa Fernando
Coordinating Secretary (United Kingdom): Ms. Sue Marsh – Contact: Tel: 00 44 (0) 1903 882755 ; Email: jands.marsh@virgin.net
Treasurer: Ms. PT (Pat) Jayatilleke
Vice President: Mr. Mohan Samarakoon
Assistant Treasurer/Secretary: Ms. Chandrika de Silva
Committee Members:
Mr. Haleem Deen
Mr. Lakshman Wijekoon
Ms. Niranjala Dematapitiya
AWARDS & NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
Awards
KACPAW was selected as one of the two runners up in the World Animal Day 2014 grant event organized by Naturewatch Foundation of the UK from applications from across the world. See at: http://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/news/index/page:5#World%20Animal%20Day%20Grant%20Runners-up
We feel proud of our work to be internationally appreciated, especially the dog sterilization work we do in Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council (MC) area since August 2014, to keep the dog population under control. See at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153680446284357.1073742382.76793989356&type=3
The MC opted to adopt our humane programme and shelved a plan to incarcerate the dogs in a dog holding facility!! See at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152665353549357.1073742101.76793989356&type=3
More on the Nuwara Eliya Clinics can be seen at the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153709653524357.1073742390.76793989356&type=3
Achievements
♦ KACPAW held the country’s first ever International Conference on Rabies Eradication in 2002, involving all crucial stakeholders, at the conclusion of which KACPAW presented to the Government a Five-Year Action Plan to Eradicate Rabies from Sri Lanka. The contents of the Action Plan were based on suggestions and ideas that emerged at interactive discussion sessions by the conference participants.
♦ KACPAW introduced to Sri Lanka in 2002 Early-Age Neutering and Humane Dog Catching Techniques.
♦ When a No-Kill Policy on dogs was declared in mid 2006, and plans were being discussed for humane control of the dog population, by early 2007, KACPAW provided to the State a model via a pilot project it did in late 2006 to do effective countrywide spaying of dogs, which is the model that is being used by the State’s National Spay Programme, providing free spaying of female dogs across the country since 2008.
