IDA India has been struggling for several years to reach out to dogs & cats living on the island of Elephanta Caves, 10 km off the coast of Mumbai, and a major tourist attraction for its amazing caves. There is a small community of local inhabitants living and the only way to reach is by sea boats and ferries.
We were unable to do so, due to tremendous hurdles, and our desire to undertake spay / neuter program for these dogs & cats and render treatment to ill / injured ones, remained unfulfilled. It was extremely agonizing situation knowing that despite being so close, we were unable to help these suffering animals.
In December 2014, we decided to give one more try, so under the stewardship of Fizzah Shah and Goodicia Vaidya, a few committed animal lovers went to visit the Elephanta Caves. Their survey found 150 dogs on the island, mostly starved and malnourished, most females pregnant with wounds and puppies all around. Most tourists were not friendly as the dogs followed them around in search of scraps to eat. A project was thus planned, to be executed before the onset of rains June 2015, after which visits to the island are impossible.
Now we have taken the first step towards setting up our first camp at the Elephanta Caves between 6th and 8th March 2015. We propose to undertake at least 60 spay / neuter surgeries, vaccinate as many of them as possible against rabies, and render treatment to the ill / injured ones. After the first camp, we will get some idea of how things progress and we will be able to undertake more camps thereafter.
Considering the distance, difficult commute with complete set up for the camp, arrangement for power generator, use of expensive soluble sutures to help post-op recovery, we expect the cost of spay / neuter per dog to be around Rs. 2,000/- or USD 35/-. Please support this project, as every contribution will help these animals!!
Donate by credit card or Bank transfer. Details on our website: www.idaindia.org
Here are a couple of pictures taken during the visit of IDA India team.