AMRRIC CEO Julia Hardaker explains why they do what they do
“Over the past 10 years we have worked with almost 400 remote Indigenous communities across Australia. We have witnessed the immense diversity that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities offer, in their environments, languages, and traditions. Yet in so many communities we continue to see similar challenges that lead to dire conditions in dog health and welfare: geographic isolation; widespread poverty; and lack of animal welfare education.
“Some 320km north-east of Alice Springs lies a little known desert community called Ampilatwatja (pronounced um-bludder-witch). The drive to Alice Springs takes about four hours when the road is in reasonable condition but in heavy rain the road is closed to all vehicles. Approximately 300 Indigenous people live there, mostly Alyawarr people. When we first arrived in 2011, dogs seemed to outnumber people, and the residents could not recall when they had last seen a vet on their land.
“Uncontrolled dog breeding in this community led to large numbers of malnourished and unwanted dogs competing for food and limited spaces in family homes. Infectious skin diseases such as scabies, ringworm, fleas, ticks and lice were common, spreading easily from animal to animal and sometimes to humans. Internal parasites such as worms were endemic. People struggled with these conditions and suffered with their dogs.
“There was some resistance to us at first, people were wary that we would hurt their dogs. We visited each home with the AMRRIC trained Indigenous Animal Management Worker, who spoke in local language about animal health and the services we offered. Trust and understanding soon built a demand that tested our capacity. Over the last three years we have returned to the community and desexed more than 230 dogs and given 500+ parasitic treatments. Visiting Ampilatwatja now, it is clear the community has undergone a major transformation. There are fewer dogs and all are in much better condition; the norm is now well-socialised dogs with shiny healthy coats. The atmosphere of sickness stemming from the poor condition of so many dogs has also lifted and there is greater contentment among the people.”