1/19/05 Newsletter from Dr. Friz

Susan forwards this message from Dr. Friz: Here is Dr. Dorothea Friz's latest project. She is trying to jump start Spay/neuter in Southern Italy in spite of the many obstacles that are put in front of her. Hooray for Dr. Friz! SPAY AND NEUTER WEEK IN SAN GIORGIO DEL SANNIO, PROVINCE OF BENEVENTO REGION OF CAMPANIA/ITALY Hundred of cats live in and under the garbage containers, numerous dogs are straying around, some lay around in groups for a siesta. This has been the picture I saw when I came first time to San Giorgio del Sannio. Normally here in Italy the public veterinary services have to take care of the stray animal problem: the law prescribes no-cost spaying and neutering, dogs have to be identified with a microchip and registered and all parts of this fabulous law should be controlled by the public vets. Some years before they handed over to the local government a project for catching /spaying /neutering and releasing all these stray animals. The Government financed this project with Euro 200.000,00 and nearly nothing happened. Some few dogs and cats have been neutered, then the brand new public clinic was closed. The government of Campania wanted to know what happened to their money and the veterinary services answered: "there are no stray animals in the Province of Benevento"! Probably this has been the reason for the resistance of the public vets against me and the Mayor of San Giorgio, who wanted to accept our offer for free spaying and neutering of the stray animals there. This project might proof the real numbers of strays in the area. They did not approve the project and the Mayor did not want to have political implications and said no to it in the beginning. Then his own dog was bitten by other stray dogs because a female on heat was straying in the village. The day after he ordered us to come and to catch and s/n all the dogs and cats on the territory of his community. All the private dogs should be controlled, microchipped and registered. A project which should last about 2 months. I have been a speaker at a congress in Caserta about stray problems on Decembre 12th. Three public vets of the district of Benevento attacked me, threatened me, they did not want me to work in their area. A little bid nervous, after a night with not enough sleep, on Dicembre 13th in the morning earlier we built up our “spay and neuter centre” in the old slaughter house (not in use anymore!) of San Giorgio del Sannio. One of our co-workers went immediately with the second van of Lega Pro Animale (donated by AISPA like the brand new spay mobile!) to distribute traps for dogs and cats in the village. He has been accompanied by one of the members of the LEGA PER LA DIFESA DEL CANE, the local animal protection organisation which runs the public kennel with about 100 dogs. Already after 30 minutes they came back with several cats and a dog. The neutering team worked in a fabulous way: one of the vets put the animals under anaesthesia in the little bathroom we had on disposal, cats and small dogs have been fixed on a board with a warm blanket below the body, shaved, and handed in the spay mobile. During the animal was operated on, the next animal was prepared. The volunteers made sure that the right labels have been put on the right cages and traps, they took care of the animals right after surgery and did a great job in handling the visitors of the village who came to ask what we are doing and especially giving us information about other animals to be caught. Around 11 o' clock our activities have been interrupted by arrival of the Carabinieri of public Health Service (NAS) and two of the public veterinarians of the district. They did not want me to finish the surgery I have been performing at this moment! But I did! They did not talk, they had a look at the documents of our ambulance and the order of the Mayor and left. We did not know how the story would go on and started very quickly to continue the surgeries. Once in a while a message reached us from the Town Hall, some persons went backwards and forwards continuously: The Carabinieri wanted the Mayor to withdraw the Order. He has been furious and after evaluating the situation he confirmed the Order. In Italy Mayors, especially in emergency situations, have the right to take decisions, even if they are against the existing law. In any case they have to hear the competent offices. This Monday, Dicembre 13th, 2004 became a historical day: in a small village in the Province of Benevento a precedent has been established: a Mayor decides against dark machinations of the public veterinary health service, which is demonstrating over and over again that there is not intention at all in enforcing the actual animal protection law and in resolving the stray problem. BRAVO GIORGIO NARDONE, Mayor of San Giorgio del Sannio! Very busy and happy we continued our mission: catching animals, spay and neuter them, take care of them after surgery and release them back in the streets. Information of the public, often children showed up interested in seeing what we are doing. Saturday Dicembre 18th we closed our clinic. 197 animals have been neutered (66 dogs: 57 female, 9 male and 131 cats: 86 female, 45 male). The Mayor thanked us and especially the Deutscher Tierschutzbund e.V. in Germany, who financed the project, in a official way. The very important point to make him take the decision to continue has been that we resolve a severe problem in his village with no cost for the population. I hope we will be “ordered” again in February to continue. We did not manage to catch all the cats and dogs. And we should extend our services to the neighbouring villages, otherwise animals from there will migrate into San Giorgio and fill up the vacancies which are going to happen, because no puppies/kittens will be born in future. And if other communities see the success, maybe they want us to come there too. Or maybe they find the means to enforce the public veterinary services to do their job prescribed by the law. Or maybe this pilot project is the turning point for the stray problem in southern Italy. Posted 1/15/05 Home

Hundred of cats live in and under the garbage containers, numerous dogs are straying around, some lay around in groups for a siesta. This has been the picture I saw when I came first time to San Giorgio del Sannio. Normally here in Italy the public veterinary services have to take care of the stray animal problem: the law prescribes no-cost spaying and neutering, dogs have to be identified with a microchip and registered and all parts of this fabulous law should be controlled by the public vets. Some years before they handed over to the local government a project for catching /spaying /neutering and releasing all these stray animals. The Government financed this project with Euro 200.000,00 and nearly nothing happened. Some few dogs and cats have been neutered, then the brand new public clinic was closed. The government of Campania wanted to know what happened to their money and the veterinary services answered: "there are no stray animals in the Province of Benevento"!

Probably this has been the reason for the resistance of the public vets against me and the Mayor of San Giorgio, who wanted to accept our offer for free spaying and neutering of the stray animals there. This project might proof the real numbers of strays in the area. They did not approve the project and the Mayor did not want to have political implications and said no to it in the beginning. Then his own dog was bitten by other stray dogs because a female on heat was straying in the village. The day after he ordered us to come and to catch and s/n all the dogs and cats on the territory of his community. All the private dogs should be controlled, microchipped and registered. A project which should last about 2 months.

I have been a speaker at a congress in Caserta about stray problems on Decembre 12th. Three public vets of the district of Benevento attacked me, threatened me, they did not want me to work in their area.

A little bid nervous, after a night with not enough sleep, on Dicembre 13th in the morning earlier we built up our “spay and neuter centre” in the old slaughter house (not in use anymore!) of San Giorgio del Sannio. One of our co-workers went immediately with the second van of Lega Pro Animale (donated by AISPA like the brand new spay mobile!) to distribute traps for dogs and cats in the village. He has been accompanied by one of the members of the LEGA PER LA DIFESA DEL CANE, the local animal protection organisation which runs the public kennel with about 100 dogs. Already after 30 minutes they came back with several cats and a dog. The neutering team worked in a fabulous way: one of the vets put the animals under anaesthesia in the little bathroom we had on disposal, cats and small dogs have been fixed on a board with a warm blanket below the body, shaved, and handed in the spay mobile. During the animal was operated on, the next animal was prepared. The volunteers made sure that the right labels have been put on the right cages and traps, they took care of the animals right after surgery and did a great job in handling the visitors of the village who came to ask what we are doing and especially giving us information about other animals to be caught.

Around 11 o' clock our activities have been interrupted by arrival of the Carabinieri of public Health Service (NAS) and two of the public veterinarians of the district. They did not want me to finish the surgery I have been performing at this moment! But I did! They did not talk, they had a look at the documents of our ambulance and the order of the Mayor and left. We did not know how the story would go on and started very quickly to continue the surgeries. Once in a while a message reached us from the Town Hall, some persons went backwards and forwards continuously: The Carabinieri wanted the Mayor to withdraw the Order. He has been furious and after evaluating the situation he confirmed the Order. In Italy Mayors, especially in emergency situations, have the right to take decisions, even if they are against the existing law. In any case they have to hear the competent offices. This Monday, Dicembre 13th, 2004 became a historical day: in a small village in the Province of Benevento a precedent has been established: a Mayor decides against dark machinations of the public veterinary health service, which is demonstrating over and over again that there is not intention at all in enforcing the actual animal protection law and in resolving the stray problem. BRAVO GIORGIO NARDONE, Mayor of San Giorgio del Sannio!

Very busy and happy we continued our mission: catching animals, spay and neuter them, take care of them after surgery and release them back in the streets. Information of the public, often children showed up interested in seeing what we are doing. Saturday Dicembre 18th we closed our clinic. 197 animals have been neutered (66 dogs: 57 female, 9 male and 131 cats: 86 female, 45 male).

The Mayor thanked us and especially the Deutscher Tierschutzbund e.V. in Germany, who financed the project, in a official way. The very important point to make him take the decision to continue has been that we resolve a severe problem in his village with no cost for the population. I hope we will be “ordered” again in February to continue. We did not manage to catch all the cats and dogs. And we should extend our services to the neighbouring villages, otherwise animals from there will migrate into San Giorgio and fill up the vacancies which are going to happen, because no puppies/kittens will be born in future.

And if other communities see the success, maybe they want us to come there too. Or maybe they find the means to enforce the public veterinary services to do their job prescribed by the law. Or maybe this pilot project is the turning point for the stray problem in southern Italy.