Tunisia – stray animals find safe haven at Tunisian lady’s home.

Location: Tunis – Tunisia

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:05:36

Sound: Natural

Source: A24 Tunisia

Restrictions: A24 subscribers

Date: 03/06/2022

Storyline

Stray animals can enjoy a safe haven after a Tunisian young lady has turned her home into a shelter to help them in need.

Rahma Haddad, an engineer, told A24 News Agency that she spent many hours a day treating and feeding dozens of stray animals from her own pocket sometimes.

The animal-lover woman said she keep stray animals in her home until she find people who are interested in adopting them.           

Rahma said she also focuses on raising peoples’ awareness about animal protection and welfare, aiming to spread the message of mercy and compassion towards them.

She called for finding a law for animal protection in Tunisia as authorities there have carried out campaigns to kill stray animals, stating that their aim was to reduce their number.

Shotlist:

-Soundbite (Rahma Haddad – Animal rights activist):

“I have loved animals since I was young. When I was a child, I had a cat but I lost it. When I went out to look for it, I noticed a new animal every time, a dog or a cat. I began to see the suffering of animals, I found out that there are sick and hungry animals, disabled animals living on the street. I felt sad to see them suffering so from then on I have tried my best to help the animals as much as I could.”

-Soundbite (Rahma Haddad – Animal rights activist):

“I cook the food and take it to them. If I don’t have time to cook, I buy the food and I go out to look for the animals. I do this once every two days on average, sometimes everyday. If an animal needs help like a small animal, I take it with me. If there is a sick animal, I take it to the veterinarian and I keep it with me until it recovers, then I try to find a family to adopt him in Tunisia or abroad. I work with foreign associations outside Tunisia. Some from Sousse governorate and other areas in Tunisia call me if a dog or cat is injured, so my activity has expanded to all governorates of the country.”

-Soundbite (Faten Omari – Animal lover):

“It is a very good initiative. I feel happy to see people like Rahma helping and feeding the animals, especially now with the hot weather. I hope that other people will follow in her footsteps. Street animals in Tunisia suffer a lot, as there are no free shelters for them to stay in. There are also constant killing campaigns led by the municipalities that do not differentiate between dangerous stray dogs and domestic dogs that have left their homes. I hope such individual initiatives continue.”

-Soundbite (Rahma Haddad – Animal rights activist):

“At first people thought it was strange that I care for stray animals as in Tunisia they believe stray dogs will infect you with rabies, and stray cats will infect you with fungi. People believe it strange to touch a cat or a dog in the street, they thought was I was doing trivial and mocked me. Thankfully, people’s thoughts on this matter are positively changing.”

-Soundbite (Rahma Haddad – Animal rights activist):

“Our goals include having an animal protection law to criminalize abuse, as well as vaccination and sterilization campaigns to reduce the number of stray animals. We hope to have in the future shelters and places that protect stray animals and keep them safe because the streets are dangerous. I feel very proud that my work is paying off. I believe in this cause, for which I have made many sacrifices. I am always prepared to make sacrifices for the sake of these animals.”