This Year

To celebrate World Animals Day on October 4 this year, the Goa SPCA launched its web site, goaspca.com. This site, as you can tell, has been specifically created to provide a network of information and sharing among young people in Goa and anywhere else in the world who want to do something, however big or small, for their feathered and four footed friends.

We announced the launch through an ad released in the Navhind Times on that day, and we put up a specially designed hoarding about street dogs at Porvorim which was taken a fortnight later to Margao.

The response to the goaspca.com website has been overwhelming. We have received over 250 individual visitors in the very first month, with as many as 158 in the first week, and more than ten thousand page views! The feedback to the layout and content has been much better than we ever hoped for, and many of you have already registered into the various sections. Thank you.

The response to the goaspca.com website continues to grow, with hits increasing post inclusion in search engines around the world. We have had over 800 visitors in the past two months, with over 30000 hits! Thank you.

Unfortunately, though we received several entries to the November contest, there were only seven all correct ones, of which four had to be disqualified being from people within the GSPCA. Congratulations to the three winners (your scarf will reach you by December 18, 2001)!

1. Audrey Rebello of Caranzalem
2. Ramesh of Secunderabad
3. Andre de Souza of Nachinola

And here are the right answers:

1. Most of the animals on the street are not actually strays, but belong to someone. True, most of the cattle we see roaming around belong to farmers, milkmen etc who let then out during the day to forage for food in the marketplaces or from garbage bins, and take them back at night. Many of the dogs too fall into this category, or are offspring of home dogs that have been left out in the garbage bins to fend for themselves, since they were unwanted pups.

2. Carrying chickens tied upside down on a cycle is an offense under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and is punishable. True, there are strict rules and regulations that cover the transportation of animals and birds, including those going for slaughter, to prevent cruelties being committed on them, just because "they are going to die anyway". For fowl, there are specificiations pertaining to dimensions of the basket or enclosure in which they must be transported, and the number of birds that can be kept in them. Certainly, tieing them upside down by their legs is completely illegal, and carries a fine of Rs 1000 per bird.

3. Trading in or keeping wild Indian birds like parrots without a license can get you a jail term. True, all wild Indian birds are scheduled animals under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1978, and cannot be kept as pets or traded without a valid license issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden of your area. Foreign birds such as lovebirds, African Greys, budgies and so on are allowed to be kept as pets. The ordinary rock pigeon is not considered wild and can be kept in captivity without a license.

4. Never muzzle a dog that has difficulty breathing or is bleeding from the mouth. True, but this one was a tricky one, because it can also be False! As a lay person, and if the dog is known to you, then muzzling should not be attempted because it will close up the airways and the dog could die. But, if the animal is ferocious, and resisting help, then a qualified person will still quickly muzzle the dog, preferably with a tubular muzzle that still allows it breathe, anesthetise the animal, and then open up the muzzle and examine more carefully.

5. All snakes are deaf. True, they don't pick up sounds through an auditory system but rather by detecting vibrations in the ground.