At the end of July 2021, the team at Mayhew Afghanistan reached a significant milestone when they passed more than 20,000 dogs neutered and vaccinated in Kabul’s first city-wide TVNR programme which started in July 2019.

Despite the challenges of the last 18 months with COVID-19 lockdowns and the present security concerns, our Afghan staff have remained dedicated and committed to the task of improving the welfare of the free-roaming dogs of Kabul and making the city safer for both the four and two-legged residents.

Thanks to the backing and collaboration of Kabul Municipality, the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture and Kabul University Vet Faculty the first Animal Birth Control Centre became a reality in 2019.  Kabul Municipality provides the dog-catchers, who have been trained by Mayhew and also now some animal care assistants who look after the dogs in our pre and post-operative kennel block which we built in the Vet Faculty Hospital compound. The Ministry of Agriculture and Kabul University Vet Faculty allowed us to adapt part of the Faculty hospital into an ABC clinic, which was kitted out with pre and post-op recovery cages, operating tables, autoclaves and all the necessary equipment and supplies to deliver a high-volume TVNR programme.

Our veterinary team are all local Afghans trained up by our Country Director Dr Mohammadzai DVM and Dr Hadi Hashemi DVM and they have now become a smooth-functioning, experienced team operating on ca. 50 dogs per day.  The clinic team are supported by the dog-catching team, and our surveyors who carry out an annual dog population survey which shows the impact of our TVNR programme in the city. After the first year of the programme, there was a small reduction in the numbers of dogs on the streets and when the second annual dog population survey is completed shortly, we hope to see a further reduction.

None of this would have been able to happen without the support of Mayhew’s wonderfully generous donors, the initial set up and first year funding by Dogs Trust Worldwide and for the last two years, our partner – the Brigitte Bardot Foundation who have provided fantastically generous support and enabled Mayhew Afghanistan to fulfil its objectives.

But it doesn’t end here, our agreement with the Afghan authorities is for five years, so there are three more years of the project to run! We hope you will continue to support us and the wonderful team in Kabul as we continue on the path of improving animal welfare in Afghanistan.