Member society profile: Iran SPCA
The Iran Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) exists to preserve the environment and its animal reserves, protect the rights of abused animals and provide them with better living conditions.
Launched in 1999, the society has branches in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, Hamedan, Karaj and Mashhad as well as representatives in 12 other cities.
They have more than 3,000 members around the country.
Working with wild and domestic animals
One of the basic measures taken by the society is to create a suitable culture for protecting animals. They take part in exhibitions and conferences, print educational publications and bulletins, hold educational classes and nature tours to make members familiar with the environment.
The society also work with the Department of Environment (DOE) who confiscate wild animals from smugglers, then hand them to the SPCA for treatment and release, if they are fit to return.
Countless eagles, squirrels, turtles and other fauna are rescued every month.
Domestic animals are neutered and vaccinated before they are rehomed with people qualified to take care of them and necessary follow-up is carried out.
The society is currently running a programme, Cat Population Control, to greatly reduce the population of cats in Tehran. Last year, the Ministry of Interior planned a mass killing of cats in Tehran and the SPCA succeeded in persuading them to consider a neuter plan instead.
Funding and the future
The society is an independent body receiving no governmental contributions. Its costs are met through membership fees and material aid and donations in kind by members and interested individuals. Posters and cards of animals and handicrafts are sold on the society’s stand.
A major problem facing the society is lack of suitable grounds for protecting animals. Even where there are limited animal welfare laws in religious sources or civil laws they are not considered when making legal decisions.
In addition, the state wants to take charge of NGOs, but they must remain non-governmental to be able to take a stance against state policies.
The argument for protecting animals
Dr. Reza Javalchi, an active member of the central council of the SPCA, defends the argument that under the current economic conditions and political climate, wouldn’t it be better if resources are used for the Iranian people rather than animals?
“If we wait for all the people’s problems to be solved before attending to animals, it would be impractical because for thousands of years people have been living and the problems have been there. That is, always some people have been poor and some have been rich. At the same time, there are tens of charitable institutions that get hefty budgets to spend on the underprivileged people and fighting poverty.
More importantly, what the association does has no contradiction with attending to the peoples’ affairs. The general goal of the association is to change peoples’ attitude
toward animals. When a man is sympathetic toward animals he will have mercy on other people too.
Our main goal is not to save a single animal, but to revive a culture and line of thought which is present in society, but is largely ignored; that is, paying attention to all creatures.”
Iran Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Website: www.iranspca.com
Email: info@iranspca.com