By Hassan G. Koroma
Campaign Against Cruelty to Animals in Sierra Leone (CCA-SL), a community led animal welfare advocacy group, last Saturday launched a campaign program which seeks to change the way people treat animals particularly in Kailahun District and the country as a whole.
The Community and School Level Humane Education will help to positively change the mind-set of human beings towards animals in that part of the country.
During the launching ceremony, the Town Chief of Kailahun, Alpha Maada Ndoleh lauded CCA- SL team and its partner civil society organisations for the initiative and added, highlighting that the bold step will help to eradicate the widely practiced animal cruelties, particularly the eating of dogs and cats in Kailahun District.”
He commended the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) for their timely support to CCA-SL and appealed for its continued support. He condemned the eating of dogs and animal cruelty and strongly warned all to desist from such practice as perpetrators will be punished.
The Campaign Against Cruelty to Animals in Sierra Leone and its CSO partner, including community members, volunteer humane educators and children, also marched through the streets of Kailahun to campaign against the eating of dogs and cats.
The event was also used the event to raise awareness on the roles these animals play in the communities by distributing of teaching and learning materials including registers, chalks, and training packages, was given to the volunteers’ humane educators for 500 children from 10 selected schools in Kailahun.
Mega phones were also handed over to enable the volunteers reach out to other children and the public during assembly and community outreach programs and mounted billboard depicting anti-animal cruelty messages.
