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On Wednesday 14th February 2017, VegSoc had the honour to welcome in Oxford two leaders of international animal welfare NGOs for a talk on the theme Helping Animals around the Globe.
Our two speakers Nicky Stevens and Manoj Gautam. Photo credits: Laure Boissat
Nicky Stevens is the Founder and Director of the International Aid for the Protection & Welfare of Animals (IAPWA), a UK-registered charity dedicated to creating a better future for animals in need. I got the chance to meet Nicky earlier this year and was fascinated by the impressive expansion of her NGO IAPWA.
Photo credits: Isabel Barber
The IAPWA’s adventure started off after Nicky went to Borneo and was appalled by the number and situation of street dogs there. Upon her return to the UK, she decided to take action and founded IAPWA: she built long-lasting relationships with the local government that eventually led to an agreement which ended the inhumane methods of population control. Today IAPWA’s Borneo team neuters, vaccinates and treats thousands of stray dogs every year to reduce the number of puppies born into a life on the streets.
Photo credits: Nicky Stevens
Through this project IAPWA was awarded ‘Charity of the Year’ at the Ceva Awards and Nicky was honoured with a British Citizen Medal for international achievement. IAPWA’s missions have largely expanded since then, as they nowadays include not only cats and dogs’ welfare but also wild animals!
Our second speaker was Manoj Gautam, Executive Director of The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) Nepal and current Master’s student in Biodiversity Conservation and Management here at Oxford.
Photo credits: JGI Nepal
As a classmate and friend, Manoj truly impresses me by his ability to balance both his academic and professional work. As I got the incredible opportunity to go visit him in Nepal last December to attend the Asia for Animals Conference, I have seen the achievements of JGI Nepal on the ground, taking care of street dog populations in Kathmandu through the Manu Mitra project, which constitutes the first dog management programme in Kathmandu!
Manoj with Jane Goodall. Photo credits: Says.com
Both speakers delivered strong messages for anyone who would like to be an advocate for animals. Nicky emphasised that patience and determination are key for any change to happen, relying on her own lobbying experience with the Malaysian government to better protect street dogs in Borneo. Manoj highlighted that the potential tension existing between conservation and animal welfare organisations, the latter focusing more on the well-being of individual animals. Manoj importantly underscored the stigma sometimes associated with being an animal welfarist, labelled as ‘animal lovers’ and not taken seriously by authorities. Yet, he rightly stated that “you don’t have to be emotionally vulnerable but ultimately, we all have emotions”: it is essential to appeal to these basic human feelings to advocate for change, instead of attempting to rationalise and commodify any solution to environmental issues.
Jane Goodall Institute’s Manu Mitra project in Nepal, translating into ‘friend of human’. Photo credits: Manoj Gautam
Nicky and Manoj also stressed the importance of education at various levels: kids at schools are being taught how to react in case of a dog bite in Nepal, whilst IAPWA works closely with municipalities and adults on responsible pet ownership.
This evening was uplifting as both Nicky and Manoj demonstrated that we can ALL contribute to a better world for animals. Nicky showed that it was feasible on a realistic student budget: a 3£ donation enables a dog to get vaccinated and a 10£ donation allows a dog to be neutered, hence preventing hundreds of puppies from being born to suffer on the streets. You can support IAPWA here! IAPWA and JGI are working jointly on the Manu Mitra project and they are offering very exciting volunteering opportunities: this is your chance to climb Mount Everest for free while supporting their cause!
A dog in the streets of Kathmandu. Photo credit: Manoj Gautam.
It was a real pleasure and honour for VegSoc to be hosting two passionate and driven animal advocates like Nicky and Manoj.
Thank you to everyone who came along as well as to our fantastic speakers ! Photo credits: Michaela Tomchek.