From Michelle Johnston, creator of the latest Humane Education program featuring A Piggy’s Tale in the Galapagos:
Back in the Galapagos Islands, the month started with a wonderful demonstration of the progress seen due to the education of the next generation by the Darwin Animal Doctors. In the start of the month, the Doctors acknowledged having seen a few girls coming into the clinic repeatedly with a variety of different dogs and cats. The Doctors asked the girls if they had a large number of animals themselves, and were very surprised at their response.
The three teenagers told the doctors that they had formed the “KeMaHa Group”, a group focused on improving the lives of all animals. The girls aim to educate the community by starting the conversation over the cruelty of docking ears and tails, pushing local residents to adopt pets instead of buying from a local (illegal) breeder and starting the conversation over the importance of sterilization. Not only will the girls educate people on sterilisation, but if an owner tells the group that they would sterilize their pet but don’t have the time to make it to the clinic, the girls will go to the owner’s house, pick their pet up and bring them to the clinic themselves, just making it in time for their first class at school. The group is an inspirational example of the great strides forward that the education efforts by Darwin Animal Doctors are making in Galapagos Islands.