'Don't dump pets'.

Byline: DANIEL MUNDEN

VOLUNTEERS are bracing themselves for the summer rush of pets dumped by heartless owners.

Pets are often dumped during the summer, by expatriates taking long holidays, or leaving Bahrain altogether. These animals usually end up at the Bahraini Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) sanctuary.

"This is what we're dealing with, in one weekend we were given seven dogs and 10 cats, in addition to a dog with nine puppies we collected from a factory," sanctuary manager Rachel Kirsopp told the GDN.

"We are prepared for a huge influx of animals because people are being forced to leave the island for whatever reason, but have not thought about whether they are taking their pets with them.

"However, we are open 24 hours a day and we ask no questions. We will never send an animal away."

One of the greatest challenges that the BSPCA is battling to deal with is the number of stray dogs in the country and Ms Kirsopp has pleaded with the public to help them.

"We have a lot of stray dogs in Bahrain and if I'm honest we need people to help us in dealing with the problem," she said.

"If these dogs form a pack when released, then there is the potential for them to kill cats, dogs and even attack humans and children."

Ms Kirsopp said the only way to deal with troublesome packs of dogs in Bahrain's built-up areas was to catch them and deal with them as humanely as possible.

"What we're telling people is they can lease a dog trap from us for a deposit of BD75 and when captured we can deal humanely with the dogs that are causing the problem.

"But it is a slow process, as we can only catch one dog at a time and with the temperatures being so high they need to be closely monitored - you can't leave a feral dog caged up like that for more than two hours."

Ms Kirsopp also revealed that a company which had a particularly high number of stray dogs on its compound has actually borrowed and copied the dog traps - but they are catching so many that the BSPCA can no longer handle the load.

"The company has made five traps but because we're unable to deal with the number of dogs they are catching; we've made a deal with the government vets to take these dogs straight to their premises in Budaiya," she added.

"But we are aware that Public Security and the police are shooting these stray dogs and we are speaking to the ministries and government about using dart guns to sedate them instead."

American animal-lover Angelina Ford was unfortunate enough to stumble across the remnants of a police shooting against a pack of stray dogs near Hamala - describing the scene as a bloodbath.

"There is a compound near Hamala which I visit regularly and there are large numbers of dogs there, upwards of 30 at least," she told the GDN.

"But a few weeks ago upon visiting the site, there was blood everywhere - it was awful; I picked up one dog and it had two bullet wounds, so I took it to the BSPCA and it was put down.

"I really couldn't believe it and I found it difficult to go back there. I was so shocked. There was one dog who always used to sit near the entrance, who was just lying there with one leg blown off."

Ms Ford, who has adopted nine dogs and six cats on her own, said she believed it was time Bahrain formulated a proper plan to deal with stray animals in the kingdom.

"There must be a more humane way to cope with what is going on," she declared.

"I know these policemen are just following orders, but in reality this is just another example of animal abuse."

Copyright 2009 Gulf Daily News

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