PAWS - Phuket Animal Welfare Society
The Phuket Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a fully licensed and registered charity foundation with the long term objective of reducing the stray dog and cat populations here in Phuket and helping to educate the local population in effective and humane animal management.
As well as our sterilisation programme, taking care of animals in need is also critically important. Whether its a small infection, or a broken limb, PAWS vets are always on hand to help. Our vets are also hugely active in educating the local population on effective animal management and care techniques - liaising with local government, schools and villages to get maximum exposure.
By working with members of the local community, PAWS has been able to identify areas where large populations of stray animals are located and using this targeted approach, dogs and cats can be sterilised, treated for any diseases and re-released back to their local area.
PAWS is very well known in the local community here in Phuket as a fully licensed and recognised animal welfare charity on the island and is well equipped to deal with the stray dog and cat populations. All vets are registered and licensed with the Phuket Town Municipal Government and with the Department of Agriculture and Livestock.
At present, PAWS operations revolve around a fixed clinic with on-site, fully qualified veterinary surgeons and equipment and mobile clinics which can travel round the island, sterilise and care for animals in their locality. We operate all over Phuket island, as well as venturing north into Phang Nga province and conducting field clinics on a number of the outlying islands.
Education is also a huge part of our work and we make special efforts to introduce the concept of animal welfare and animal management practices to ensure to the longer term success of our programme. Our vets are frequently going to local schools to give talks and answer questions to young children to help them understand more about animal welfare and how to care for their pets.
Our field clinics are planned in advance after consultation with local officials and well advertised which makes things that much more effective when we actually get there. The field clinics can be set up in and around various temples, on the beaches or outlying islands.
We have a fully equipped mobile clinic, complete with air-conditioner, generator and running water. However, when we are conducting off island clinics we simply transport the equipment via boat to where it’s needed and setup at a pre-arranged base.
The field clinics operate with between 2 and 4 vets, 2 technicians and animal catchers. Usually, local villagers will bring animals to us and help us to catch others and we also have a host of volunteers who may help us here as well. Many of the locations we work in are quite poor and the general sanitary conditions are minimal. However, we pride ourselves on providing quality, humane care to the animals and our field clinics are constructed and organised to provide this.
The technicians assist vets by preparing animals for surgery and performing after care. They also administer vaccinations, provide treatment for, fleas, ticks, worms and mange. In the event of more serious surgical requirements or medical conditions, animals are transported to our static clinic for further treatment.
Our longer term objective is to sterilise as many of the animals as possible – however, this is not a race and our primary objective is to provide quality care for the animals with a focus on animal welfare. The animals are generally released back to their own environment a day after surgery so it is imperative that safe and secure procedures are adhered to.
Since 2004, PAWS has sterilised, vaccinated and treated tens of thousands of dogs and cats in Phuket and surrounding islands and areas.
The PAWS static clinic is open for business from 9am to 7pm from Monday to Saturday and at least one veterinary staff is on-site at all times. The hours of operation are designed to ensure that all domestic and stray animals are properly and humanely cared for and that the public has adequate and ample opportunity to reach us.
We also aim to respond to animal emergencies, either those that are brought to us, or to go and retrieve animals from their location.
Community members and PAWS volunteers will often bring stray and unwanted pets to the PAWS. Whilst we don’t want to turn animals away, our principle rule is to Treat, Sterilise and Return the animal to its original location as we simply do not have the space, nor facilities to operate an animal shelter.
Animals that are delivered with young litters are usually kept on-site until the young are able to be separated from the mother - either for adoption or replacement. We also make sure that all animals being adopted or replaced back into their home environment are sterilised and vaccinated.
With strong links with international organisations such as WSPA and the RSPCA, the Phuket Animal Welfare Society is also able to welcome a number of volunteer veterinarians from across the globe and thus benefit from further experience and new practices. Each year we welcome a number of veterinary students from various universities from Glasgow, Scotland to Sydney, Australia. From London Veterinary College and Liverpool University to the Colleges across South East Asia.
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