Humane Community

Development:

An “Inside-out” Approach to Dog

Population Management

Kate Nattrass Atema

Director, Companion Animals Programme

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_____

Chairperson, International Companion Animal

Management Coalition (ICAM)

The International NGO Dilemma

Provide aid, materials

or capacity-building?

Develop a model

project and replicate

all over the world?

Support the best

projects and hope

others emulate them?

Challenges to sustainable, effective

DPM

Passionate

disagreement

Mistrust between

NGOs and

governments

Dependency on

external aid

Simple answers to

complex issues

Your shelter

isn’t the

answer, my

sterilization

campaign is!

We want to be

self-sufficient,

but what are

you going to

give us?If you’re

working

with that

group, we

can’t trust

you.

Humane Community

Development

Community

assessment

and

stakeholder

engagement

Building a

Humane

Community

workshop

Humane

Community

Action

Planning

workshop

{ Ist year Second yearFirst year

Data

Collection

Community

plan

refinement

and

finalization

Startup grants

and HCD

project launch

Share and

Learn

Monitoring and

Adapting

workshop

{ Ist year Third YearSecond Year

Project in action

“That’s neat. So when do you

start sterilizing the dogs?”

“That’s neat. So when do you

start sterilizing the dogs?”

Stakeholder meetings to present our own

views and solutions

“That’s neat. So when do you

start sterilizing the dogs?”

Stakeholder meetings to present our own views

and solutions

Capacity building of skills we identified in

advance

“That’s neat. So when do you

start sterilizing the dogs?”

Stakeholder meetings to present our own views

and solutions

Capacity building of skills we identified in

advance

A really complicated granting scheme

“That’s neat. So when do you

start sterilizing the dogs?”

Stakeholder meetings to present our own views and

solutions

Capacity building of skills we identified in advance

A really complicated granting scheme

A framework that builds the understanding,

interpersonal relationships and commitment

in the community necessary to maintain a

humane dog management strategy

Community members

Farmers

Wildlife/ conservationists

Animal rights Veterinarians

Local partner for:

Coordination

Community

mentoring

Communication

and local tailoring

Pilot testing

Chile

Puerto Natales

Bosnia

Lopare

Sanski Most

Jajce

Gradacac

Native America

Sagamok

Building A Humane Community

Workshop

Being heard, sharing

perspectives

Root cause

exploration

Test assumptions

and dispel myths

Commitment to

proceed

Stakeholder groups

Stakeholders

Participants arrived

with an agenda -

their own!

Highly charged:

conflict, anger,

blame

Personal opinion

or position not up

for debate

Breaking cultural hierarchy

Please click the following link to view the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cji6LJ8CSWw&feature=youtu.be

Compared to before the workshop,

have your ideas changed about the

problems with dogs? (n=83)

Compared to before the workshop,

have your ideas changed about what

needs to be done? (n=83)

Community Data Collection

Action Planning Workshop

Review group

accomplishments

Share community

data

Prioritize problems

Identify practical

solutions

Learning to plan

Understand

planning process

Objectives,

timelines,

responsibilities

Monitoring against

goals

Action Planning Workshop

Results: Values

Results: Strategies

The plan: Puerto Natales

Goals

• Get the dogs off the streets

• Improve concerns about dogs: fear, bites,

hygiene

• Improve animal welfare

Actions

• Public outreach campaign

• Microchipping

• Enforcement (warnings and fines)

The plan: Lopare

Goals

• Reduce dog

attacks

• Improve care for

dogs

Actions

• Creating the ‘hygiene

service’: Firefighters!

• Community dog

sterilization

• Education and

outreach

• Formation of “Happy

Dogs” citizens’ group

How much confidence do you have

that that the community will be able to

improve the situation with dogs? (n=108)

Community project launch

Please click the following link to view the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nj_kZSKjiQ

• Emergence of local

leadership

• Emphasis on animal welfare

• Citizen groups pushing back

on leadership to make the

right decisions

• Originality & creativity:

“Natales con Garras”

You get what you wish for…

Pleasant surprises

• Willingness to take political

risks

• Humane values

• Enthusiasm for unexpected

solutions

• Reliance on the “same old”

solutions, too

• Peacebuilding through

dogs!

Challenges

Keeping group momentum amidst

normal life

Local skill-sets do not always

include project management or

effective communication

Providing guidance and expertise,

while letting the community lead in

their own pace and style

Highlights from our partners

Recognizing it’s a human

problem, not a dog

problem

Less blaming of the

government, more

community accountability

Different viewpoints no

no longer a stumbling

block for finding solutions

What have we learned?

Learning to be truly participatory is difficult – it

requires time, practice and a lot of patience

Learning to be truly participatory is difficult – it

requires time, practice and a lot of patience

“Sustainability” requires many important skills –

most have nothing to do with dogs!

What have we learned?

Learning to be truly participatory is difficult – it

requires time, practice and a lot of patience

“Sustainability” requires many important skills –

most have nothing to do with dogs!

Success lies in the energy and relationships

between people. Ensure that the relationships are

within the community, not with the mentoring

agency.

What have we learned?

Learning to be truly participatory is difficult – it

requires time, practice and a lot of patience

“Sustainability” is a long process – there are many

important skills that go into successful projects

Success lies in the energy and relationships

between people. Ensure that the relationships are

within the community, not with the mentoring

agency.

We can be empowering without lowering our

standards (e.g. veterinary standards)

What have we learned?

It’s all about the people

Special thanks to:

Elena Garde and Guillermo Perez of the Global

Alliance for Animals and People (GAAP)

Elzemina Bojicic and the UNDP Bosnia and

Herzegovina team

Dogs Trust International for support in veterinary

and dog handling training in Bosnia