Polishing Up Animal Welfare
I can't believe how fast time has gone! It is hard to believe that it was 18 months go when I found myself at the International Animal Welfare Conference in Prague – the first one I had ever been to. It was certainly an eye opener. I went to Prague anticipating animal welfare charities battling it out on the Charles Bridge at dawn, but instead all I discovered was a somewhat reassuring feeling of co-operation and solidarity that left me feel that international animal welfare was certainly on the right lines. I had a wonderful time at the conference, and left somewhat inspired.
And so last week found me in Warsaw. It was time for another International Companion Animal Welfare Conference and there was no way I was going to miss it. What was more, I was very excited the venue was to be Poland. Not only could I venture deep into the world of international companion animal welfare, but I could also do some searching for my dog's roots. For those of you are not usually Dogs Today readers, my dog is a Polish Lowland Sheepdog – a rare breed even in his native Poland, and so a venture to his homeland seemed to be in order.
Apart from an unhealthy interest in the diet of rural Poles (I have been trying to formulate the ultimate biologically appropriate raw food diet for my rural Polish dog), I had little knowledge of Poland and its history and so my first move when I arrived in Warsaw was to explore a little of the city. It quickly became clear that whatever Warsaw had once been, WWII had left it utterly devastated. The main square is still without doubt very pretty and not unlike many old Eastern European capitals, but it is only when you look closer that you realise that it has been totally rebuilt. A venture into the Museum of Warsaw gives you an idea of the unbelievable scale of the destruction and the rebuilding of a city in which only nine walls (not buildings – walls) stood after the war. For those of you who have seen The Pianist, which is based in Warsaw (and if you haven't, it is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking that should be compulsory viewing), will recognise in the museum the reality of scenes of utter devastation that looked so overly dramatic in the film. I was then compelled to wander around the site of the Jewish Ghetto, a small area in which Warsaw's 450,000 Jews were forced to live, crammed together, before being transported to death camps like Treblinka (it is estimated that only 6,000 survived the war). Today apart from a memorial, and the boundaries of its area being marked on the pavement corners in black, all remnants of this most unspeakable of times has almost totally vanished. I also walked past the awesome monument to the ill-fated but remarkably brave Warsaw Uprising which reminds all who pass of just how many ordinary citizens of this city lost their lives fighting in vain against the might of the Nazis.
Just as I was getting unbearably depressed and ready to head for that other of Polish institutions, vodka, I spotted something that lifted my spirits. A real Polish Polish Lowland Sheepdog! The poor owner was most bewildered by some crazy woman who wanted to take a photo of her dog but just smiled – and no doubt thought that this is what comes of joining the EU! I really wished she had been able to speak English, as I would love to have quizzed her about her dog (and what she fed it) – but I had to content myself with just being pleased I had seen a Polish Lowland in its own country. Feeling buoyed by the encounter, it seemed time to go back to the conference and to remember why I was there.
The International Companion Animal Welfare Conference was the joint dream of Clarissa Baldwin from the Dogs Trust, and Roger Weeks from North Shore Animal League International (NSALI).
Both Clarissa and Roger had independently been thinking about setting up a regular conference that would bring animal charities together, and a chance meeting nine years ago led them to put their plans into action together.
Clarissa and Roger's idea behind ICAWC is that there is a lot of acquired knowledge out there in the animal welfare world, and all organisations have a lot to learn from others. Many have successfully overcome problems that others are now facing, some seem to be battling insurmountable odds that others have found a way to beat, and some just need to know that there are other people out there doing the same thing and that they are not alone in their ideals and hopes. By bringing them together, they are able to learn from each other and offer hope to those who need it. Plus with the help of the world's leading speakers, delegates can be brought up to date with the latest in the welfare world. The ICAWC was set with up with the aim of passing on information and advice to anybody wanting to help improve the lives of companion animals.
From the very first ICAWC, it was clear this was a winning formula – and each successive year has seen the conference go from strength to strength.
One of the first decisions made about the conference was that is should always be held somewhere easily accessible and affordable to the maximum number of delegates from the maximum number of countries. Eastern Europe seemed to be by far the best answer being easily accessible and relatively cheap once you are there. So far conferences have been held every 18 months, first in Budapest, then Bratislava, Sofia, Istanbul, Prague – and now Warsaw.
The following two days were once again a roller coaster ride of excellent talks from speakers who are leaders in their field – all interspersed with just a little vodka and some extensive networking – both in the conference, but also in restaurants, bars and even in the hotel lift!
In the middle of all that was a visit to a local shelter to remind us all just why we were there. Anyone who took the tour will without doubt remember probably the worst smell they have ever endured (which seemed to cling to our clothing long after we had left) and a somewhat interesting attitude to shelter management. The dogs seemed to be largely free range and many came and went as they liked (and some even shared living spaces with the cats). That they stayed seemed to indicate that life for them was better there than taking their chances on the streets, but after being used to our excellent centres in the UK, it all seemed somewhat basic (and to see shelter dogs fighting over a dead rat was somehow strangely shocking). It is easy to forget that in Eastern Europe, animal welfare is only just beginning and this is what ICAWC is all about – helping shelters who really care about their animals and geuinely want to do the best for them against staggering odds such as this, improve and grow.
It was still a relief to get back to our comfortable hotel but a good reminder of why we were there. During the few days of the conference, smaller charities took the chance to pick the brains of larger ones and all were united under the joint cause of improving international animal welfare. There were delegates from 70 different charities coming from an extraordinary 35 countries so the topics were wide and varied. This is a very special conference and I doubt anyone left it without feeling they had learnt something that would benefit them, their charities and the animals who come into their care in the future.
For European pet owners however, perhaps the most interesting talk happened near the end of a packed conference. Legal expert Mike Radford gave a rousing talk about the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, and voiced his disgust that while most European countries have signed and ratified the convention, the UK isn't one of them. This gave rise to a discussion as to why this was, what could be done to change this, and also how other countries who have ratified the Convention should be kept within its terms – as many blatantly disregard its guidelines. It seemed that all the charities who could make a difference to the workings of the Convention were all in the one room, and almost without exception, all promised to do so. Without doubt a force to be reckoned with.
Yet again, the fallout from the International Companion Animal Welfare Conference is set to make a huge difference to the lives of millions of animals – and amazing tribute to Clarissa Baldwin and Roger Weeks. I can hardly wait till the next one.