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In years of house to house visits and inspections, KAPS has advised and educated owners on the proper care of their animals.  This of course includes advice on animal hygiene and the avoidance of diseases, such as scabies and worms, which are so often contracted by impoverished children from ill-kept animals.

But the only real hope for improved animal welfare in the deprived areas lies in educating the next generation.
Ever since its inception, KAPS has established strong links with local schools and arranges for visiting speakers, educational videos, puppet shows, etc.  School visits are organised, and child-oriented doggie shows have encouraged children to take pride in their pets.


* Speakers have come to our schools from near and far - including Cape Town PDSA, the Department of Nature Conservation, and from our local SPCAs. Talks and demonstrations are also given to prison inmates.


* KAPS works closely with Louise van der Merwe of the Humane Education Trust, who lets us have extensive educational material and videos. This includes material advocating Compassion in World Farming, whose aims we hope to inculcate into the Little Karoo's future farmers and farm-workers.

* KAPS enjoyed an unexpected bonus when we were adopted by schoolchildren calling themselves the Eco-Kids from the Herschel Preparatory School in Cape Town, under the leadership of Lynette Pullen. They touched our hearts with donations of several hundred rands from pocket-money and street collections, followed up by a kombi-load of petfood for the undernourished dogs and cats of the Little Karoo.


* Volunteers, especially Jo Usher and others from KAPS Management Committee, regularly organise educational shows and exhibitions for children during the school holidays.

In the impoverished communities, animal health is inextricably tied to human health. Especially in farming areas like the Little Karoo, the care of companion animals impinges on livestock which in turn impinges on the quality of human food.

With local municipalities either unaware or unconcerned about public health implications, many fail to enforce their own by-laws designed to control the conditions in which animals are kept, bred, cared for or disposed of. KAPS workers also battle with lack of co-operation. Thus many diseases thrive which are transmissible to humans, particularly children.

* Some local authorities, who are happy to see KAPS arrange free euthanasia of sick and injured animals for impoverished residents, fail to play their part in the safe and efficient disposal of carcases containing toxic drugs. We often experience resistance in Kannaland, where the municipality refuses to contribute a single cent towards our work, and where temperatures can easily reach 40 Celsius.

* Kannaland municipality has also dragged its feet for years in the matter of residents keeping and breeding pigs illegally in disgusting conditions on municipal wasteland where there is no water. The area is infested and refuse-strewn, the pens are ramshackle and filthy with excrement, and the pigs are thin, dehydrated and unhealthy. They are kept, of course, for one purpose: human consumption.

In the Little Karoo, KAPS is the one agency providing free assistance with animals in the poor communities where there are no veterinary services. We improve public health by mass dipping and deworming, we control animal overpopulation by mass sterilising, and we raise the health-consciousness of children and adults by mass educating.

DISEASES TRANSMISSIBLE TO HUMANS

The following are diseases found in pets and livestock in the rural areas of the Western Cape.  Children are especially at risk.

* Mange, which transmits to humans as scabies.
* Tuberculosis
* Zoonotic dermatoses (an estimated 15%-35% of all human dermatitis originates from infected animals)
* Worms - especially tapeworm, hookworm, ringworm and whipworm (a study of a West Coast town found 75% of children aged 6-7 were infested)
* Enteritis
* Leptospirosis (can cause meningitis or pneumonia)
* Toxoplasmosis (affects the foetus of a pregnant woman)
* Rabies

Animals live in squalid conditions	Filthy surroundings produce sick dogs	Pigs roam amid litter and faeces

Q:  How is KAPS organised?
A:  KAPS is a non-profit organisation with a constitution and a management committee which meets monthly. It is a mobile service which spends no money on office premises or full-time employees. KAPS is run and managed entirely by volunteers using additional part-time paid inspectors, and with veterinary work carried out by local practices or by dedicated welfare vets who come from far away to help in the impoverished communities (ad hoc casual helpers are recruited from within the communities and receive a token payment).

Q:  How does KAPS carry out its work?
A:  Our volunteers are based in different centres in the Little Karoo.  They organise regular dipping and other assistance in their own area, and some travel to farther locations.  KAPS Chairperson, Colette Teale, regularly tours the entire catchment area to carry out inspections and identify where sterilisation clinics are needed.  People seek help from KAPS when they see our vehicles, or get word to us through neighbours in an emergency.

Q:  Does KAPS receive any income?
A:  No, we rely entirely on donations. And because we serve the deprived communities, our policy is to give our services free. KAPS applies to municipalities for contributions towards our work, but with the noble exception of Baviaans in the Eastern Cape, if we receive anything it is just a token payment. Adoptions bring in donations, or we might get a contribution towards medical costs, but such sums never cover the actual outlay. We have a loyal membership who pay membership fees - to join, visit Contact Us - and some supporters contribute monthly sums by stop order - visit Donations . We also have two charity stalls run by enthusiasts in Cape Town, each mounted once a month, selling clothing and bric-a-brac, for which donated goods are always appreciated.

Q:  What is KAPS's greatest expense?
A:  Our greatest expense is veterinary bills, averaging over R20,000 p.m., and mass sterilisation clinics, which can cost R8,000-R14,000 per day, mounted on average 25 days per year. (These figures reflect only the costs of veterinarians and medications, and do not take account of the Society's own organisational and labour costs.) Vehicle fuel and maintenance are high at around R16,000 p.m., because all our services are taken by road into the rural communities, including the remotest farms. Vehicle maintenance is particularly costly because we mostly travel on un-made-up roads and tracks.

Q:  What help does KAPS need?
A:  We are always grateful for local volunteers willing to assist in our catchment area, but what we really need are donations to enable us to keep up our work. Regular monthly bank payments are particularly valuable, as they enable us to budget in advance. If you know of a possible source of funding, please tell us by e-mail (see Contact Us)  and we will be happy to follow up your ideas. Overseas visitors to our website please remember that because of South Africa's weak currency, an amount that seems small to you is an enormous amount to us. Donations

Q:  What animals does KAPS cover?
A:  Any and all animals that need our help. Dogs take up most of our resources as the population is so huge and problematical, but cats and kittens are equally important to KAPS. There is much work to be done with horses and donkeys, and we do all we can to improve their treatment and conditions, mount healthcare clinics, and replace cruel and unacceptable equipment that causes injuries. KAPS's sanctuary looks after numbers of rescued donkeys - between 15 and 20 or more at any given time - and our rescues have included horses, goats, pigs and baby male calves unwanted by dairy farmers. We also assist and advise small/emerging farmers with livestock problems.

Q:  What happens to rescued/confiscated animals?
A:  Companion animals are fostered in the homes of our members and live as part of the family. They receive all the medical attention they need and are nursed back to health. They are sterilised, vaccinated, socialised and house-trained. We then advertise for a home, which is often found in Cape Town - very rarely is a suitable home found in our impoverished catchment areas. Potential adopters and their homes are scrutinised very carefully, and we insist on our animals coming back if at any time the adopter cannot continue to keep them. The majority of our rescues are fostered at the farm belonging to our Chairperson, and they remain in their foster-homes if adopters cannot be found.

Q:  What is KAPS's policy on euthanasia?
A:  Because of the extreme poverty in our area, large numbers of dogs handled by KAPS are very sick or badly injured. Distemper, biliary and TVT are widespread, and often tumours are discovered in animals brought to be sterilised. For these the only hope is to spare them further suffering. Owners also hand in unwanted animals to be put to sleep. In the case of abandoned or stray animals, we do not favour euthanasia if suitable placement can be found. However, some dogs with aggression problems simply cannot be fostered or rehomed, and we believe long-term housing in cages or kennels, without proper social activities, is not an acceptable life. In all cases the well-being of the animal is our first concern, so sometimes putting to sleep is the last and only resort.

Q:  What is KAPS's view on dog licensing?
A:  We strongly favour dog licensing as a means of ensuring responsible ownership. Combined with an ID system it can reunite lost dogs with their homes, and make owners accountable for letting their dogs create nuisance. We favour the lowest possible licence fee for neutered dogs, and a high loading for unspayed females. Licensing provides employment and is self-financing when operated on a commission basis. At the same time it ensures that someone is regularly aware of the health of the dog population in any given area.

Q:  What is KAPS's view on breeding?
A:  With South Africa's exploding population of dogs and cats, and its euthanasia rate of many thousands every day, KAPS feels that breeding must be strongly discouraged. As long as it cannot be prevented, breeding should be carried out only by registered breeders, whose credentials and premises should be subject to stringent scrutiny. In particular, unauthorised backyard breeding should be outlawed and offenders given heavy financial penalties.