Twinkle was one of Worldwide Veterinary Service’s first associated charities and it was brilliant to have been able to provide a veterinary team for the last three trips to the island.
Twinkle was set up in April 1995 after Jenny Billimore and her friends were holidaying on the island and were distressed by the large number of neglected feral cats that prowled the hotel complexes. The inhumane methods by which the large number animals were controlled ranged from collecting the cats together and then hitting them with a hammer one at a time, placing live animals in sacks and depositing the sacks in the sea and burying cats (alive) in pits. Rat poison and other chemical means were also employed but the complexes had difficulty due to the health risks that the poison posed to visiting tourists and the fact that the slow deaths of the cats meant that the complexes ran the risk of visitors finding the dying animals.
Jenny’s solution was to embark on a long-term mission to control the population of animals and bring an end to the cruelty that was so commonplace. The hotel complex owners realised that they could benefit from advertising the fact that they were ‘animal friendly’ and as a result in return for using the neutering projects as a marketable feature, they have provided Jenny and her team with free accommodation and assistance for the last nine years. Many of the complexes now install ‘cat cafes’ which are designated areas for the feeding the feral population and the cats not only look much better, but also are much friendlier with the tourists and their numbers have also been significantly reduced over the years.
All the volunteers on this particular week long trip had volunteered to help Twinkle on previous occasions, a tribute to the warmth and good feeling generated when working with the charity that it encourages people to keep coming back. The team was a large one totaling 16 people which comprised of 2 fully qualified PDSA nurses – Sue and Gemma, Chris and Luke as vets, Liz as post-op recovery monitor and eight catchers – Mary, Ron, Sue, Yvonne, Linda, Debbie, Mirijam and Frances. Keith and Margaret provided the essential PR with local hoteliers and tourists. Finally, Jenny had the arduous task of directing and organising all the logistics of the trip that was happily regarded as one of the most successful in the charities history
It was a very enjoyable week which started off fairly manically with over a hundred cats having been neutered by the second day, but things tailed off slightly towards the end of the week to bring our total of animals sterilised to a respectable 216 with no one feeling too overworked and the pace enabling careful aftercare and re-release of the animals. In terms of ‘out of the ordinary’ ops we had the obligatory squamous cell carcinoma ears (cancer of the ears on white cats for which the only treatment is amputation) and a fair few cryptorchid male cats (cats with a retained testicle) which seems to be a quite prevalent condition on the island.
A few road traffic victims were brought in, sadly the majority of these we were unable to help particularly without an x-ray machine or gaseous anaesthesia and it was clear that the kindest thing to do was to put them to sleep. One animal which we did try to save had suffered a chronic injury to its left fore which is shown in the picture. Unfortunately the injury and infection extended up the leg into the shoulder joint and although we attempted to surgically remove the infected bone, tissue, and cartilage the operation proved too much for the cat and it didn’t recover from the anaesthetic. Thankfully the animal didn’t suffer because it was unconscious throughout the procedure but it was a sobering reminder of what should and should not be attempted without the proper facilities and equipment.
The long term objective with Twinkles neutering programmes is to start monitoring the disease prevalence of endemic diseases such as FeLV and FIV in some of the areas on the island that Twinkle has yet to target. Over a 5 to 10 year period the aim is to demonstrate the benefit of neutering projects in terms of not only absolute numbers but also as a means of disease control. By subjectively assessing the benefit of the work, the awareness, profile and sponsorship of such projects will be greatly enhanced and it will encourage much more support from both the professional and public arenas.
Difficulties are still encountered on the island such as the local Chinese restaurants targeting the cat cafes as a source of free meat for their menus, but on the whole Twinkle is a prime example of how a conscientious and well managed neutering charity can make a significant impact in terms of both improving the moral regard with which locals treat the feral animals and the welfare benefits to the local feral population.
Fuerteventura Report
This was a week long neutering expedition at the beginning of December. The week was well worthwhile and enjoyed by all. Although the island probably boasts one of the highest densities of burger bars this side of the equator, it is a mecca for windsurfers with fantastic waves and a nice coastline. A final mention should be that the bars are thankfully open until 4am, enabling the essential opportunity for any team to quench their thirst after a hard days graft. A recommended break for those in need of a change.
