International animal control & shelter news

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  April 2003–

Barcelona,  Spain,  instituted
high-volume sterilization of dogs and cats in
January as cornerstone of a no-kill animal
control policy.  Since 2000 the Barcelona city
shelters have reduced their killing of stray dogs
from 72% of intake to 36%,  and have reduced
their killing of stray cats from 89% to 27%,
Agence France-Press reported.

A 2002 deficit of £3.2 million in meeting
operating costs of £8.9 million is expected to
oblige the Scottish SPCA to close nine of its 13
shelters and lay off 60 of 229 staff,  Lee MacKay
of the Edinburgh Evening Express reported on
March 22.  Plans to build a £650,000 shelter in
Aberdeen may be cancelled.  “The decisions are
blamed on the collapse of the stock market,”  and
on insurance costs which have increased by
£100,000 since September 11,  2001,  MacKay said.

Perihan Agnelli,  founder of Fethiye
Friends of Animals in Fethiye,  Turkey,  and
Robert Smith,  founder of both the Society for
the Protection of Stray Animals in Istanbul and
the Foundation for the Protection of Community
Dogs in Campina,  Romania,  are joint recipients
of the 2002 Marchig Animal Welfare Trust Award.
Nominations for the 2003 award are due at
<www.marchigawt.org> by Sept.  30.

The city of Johor Baru,  Malaysia,  has
since January 1,  2003 required residents whose
neighbors are Islamic to obtain their neighbors’
permission before renewing or applying for a dog
license.  Mohammed taught kindness toward both
dogs and cats,  but anti-dog prejudice is common
among Muslims as an apparent legacy of fear of
rabies,  a longtime scourge in central and
southern Asia.