Tawhidul Islam, Cox’s Bazar
Over 4,000 stray dogs are estimated to live on the coral island of Saint Martin’s, where food shortages, diseases and a lack of medical care have increased their suffering.

Against this backdrop, the country’s first permanent dog shelter has been established on the island at a cost of several crore taka to provide safe accommodation, medical treatment and care for the animals.

Built through an initiative by Bidyanondo Foundation, the shelter provides treatment for sick dogs and conducts sterilisation programmes. Two young women from Germany and Peru have also joined the initiative.

Driven by compassion, Jalpía travelled from Germany to Saint Martin’s Island. She is accompanied by Jessica Maria from Peru.

According to local residents, more than 4,000 stray dogs are believed to live on Saint Martin’s Island. However, there are insufficient arrangements to provide food and medical care for such a large number of animals. As a result, many dogs suffer from malnutrition and various diseases. Some also die due to a lack of treatment. Given their limited resources, local residents find it difficult to take responsibility for such a large number of animals.

To address the situation, the shelter is providing food and medical treatment for the dogs, alongside sterilisation programmes. The organisers believe that systematic sterilisation will help control the dogs’ uncontrolled breeding. This, in turn, will help ease the shortage of food and medical care in the future.

Jessica Maria from Peru said a female dog can give birth multiple times a year, causing the dog population to increase significantly within a short period. Therefore, sterilisation is extremely important. She added that many dogs are suffering from tumours and skin diseases, causing them severe pain. Providing proper medical treatment is essential to reduce their suffering.

Jalpía from Germany said sick dogs are being rescued from the streets and brought to the shelter, where efforts are being made to help them recover. Sterilisation is also being carried out on some dogs to gradually control their population. In her view, reducing the number of dogs would also help minimise their difficulties in accessing food, medical treatment and other necessities.

Jalpía further said she had heard that the island previously had an even larger population of stray dogs. Due to their large numbers, the animals had to endure various forms of suffering. Efforts are now underway to improve the situation gradually through sterilisation and medical treatment. However, she feels saddened by the number of sick dogs. Although it is not possible to solve all the problems at once, efforts must continue to help the animals recover one by one.

The shelter was formally inaugurated by Kishore Kumar Das, chairman of Bidyanondo Foundation. He said he was deeply saddened after witnessing the neglected condition of dogs on Saint Martin’s Island and learning about incidents in which several dogs had been brutally killed. These experiences made him realise the need to establish a safe shelter for the island’s dogs.

Kishore Kumar Das said many people talk about dogs, and some even conduct business around the issue. However, very few initiatives are taken to provide long-term and effective solutions for the animals. Providing temporary food or medical treatment alone will not solve the problem. Their goal is to establish a permanent and humane support system for the dogs.

He further said that maintaining a balance between the island’s natural environment, its people and its animals is another key objective of the initiative. Alongside ensuring safe shelter for the dogs, they want to work towards reducing their suffering in the long run.

The shelter has 20 individual enclosures, each with a capacity to accommodate 12 dogs. Two veterinarians are responsible for the medical treatment and overall care of the animals.

The organisers hope that the shelter will help reduce the suffering of stray dogs on Saint Martin’s Island. They also expect that systematic medical treatment and sterilisation programmes will establish a humane example of coexistence between humans and animals.