On May 16, 2024

Meeting with Dr. Mohamed Gharib, Director of the Veterinary Chamber in Sharm El Sheikh, and Dr. Albert, a veterinarian who also served as a translator for the meeting.

Thank you in advance, Dr. Mohamed and Dr. Albert, for the positive meeting.
I could now simply post the last sentence of our conversation – which was – we agree with everything…

Vaccination – sterilization – feeding stations
The conversation began with me explaining to the gentlemen that our organization is mainly focused on vaccinations, sterilizations for males and females, and feeding of street animals, region by region.

Hotels and residential compounds
We want to target the hotels and compounds… Many of them have stray animals because there is food available, but unfortunately, it’s only food from their waste.
The waste must go!! We vaccinate and sterilize and want to set up feeding stations, away from the hotels, which will then be fed by them with their food waste. For this, they receive a label – with “we help the street animals in Sharm El Sheikh”. Which will certainly be well received by tourists.
This is where the government’s support begins – hotels will be officially requested to work with us and dispose of the waste accessible to animals directly. Additionally, permission is needed for hotels to provide their food waste, which is currently prohibited.

Feeding stations around Sharm El Sheikh
We have signs for feeding stations, both for cats and dogs. And this proves to be a good idea. People living here fill bowls with food and water without being asked. Again, a circle that closes by itself. However, the police have intervened before and prohibited us from putting up these signs. Here, too, we need an official permit, which will be deposited with the police.

Catcher
We need a regional catcher – we were also in full agreement on this.

Sharm El Sheikh, leader in animal and environmental protection
Dogs and cats from other cities in Egypt are only allowed to enter Sharm if they have a certificate from a veterinarian confirming they are vaccinated and sterilized.

Animal shelters
We need 2 shelters for the animals because of the remote locations in Sharm El Sheikh. These shelters would provide a place for dogs and cats to stay and recover after sterilizations, freeing up more space in clinics and veterinary practices. They would also serve as a shelter for aggressive dogs that endanger the rest of their pack. Here, too, we need the government’s help to provide us with two such buildings.

Poisoning
It was once again confirmed that this is against Egyptian law and will result in prosecution.

Local solutions
As mentioned before, we will not be sending any animals to Europe. Europe is already flooded with animals from various countries. We are addressing the problem locally.

We have agreed that I will be invited to the next meeting, in a few days, with Director Rehab from the Veterinary Chamber of Sinai, to present our work that we want to do in Sharm El Sheikh and to obtain the necessary approvals from the authorities.

If actions now follow, we can achieve something unprecedented in Egypt – and this to the benefit of people, stray animals, the environment, and tourism.

Let’s do it!