A new animal welfare programme launched in Abu Dhabi promises renewed hope of improved care for thousands of stray cats that roam the desert areas of the city.
Prompted by an investigation by Abu Dhabi's Department of Municipalities and Transport into why more than 150 cats were dumped in Al Falah in October, volunteers have stepped up support for strays.
The Community Animal Care Programme calls on volunteers to sign up online to help at feeding stations at designated areas across the emirate.
Community-driven projects like the Ma’an-funded animal care programme are much-needed right now
Dr Rachel Shaw,
Animal Welfare Abu Dhabi
The project has won financial support from Ma’an, the authority of social contribution in the capital that focuses on community programmes and volunteering programmes.
David Appleby was one of the rescuers involved in co-ordinating the recovery of cats in Al Falah and hopes the programme can be extended nationwide.
“Although this is Abu Dhabi-focused, hopefully this initiative can spread elsewhere in the UAE,” said Mr Appleby, who founded pet tracking site microchipped.ae.
“Many animals are going in for treatments and more volunteers want to help, so it is hugely positive.
“We are covering most areas – from the port to the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.
“There has been a complete change in direction in animal welfare in Abu Dhabi. It is leading the way.”
Call to volunteer
Volunteers and vets estimate there are tens of thousands of community cats roaming freely across Abu Dhabi, with vast areas being combed by volunteers to collect and treat strays.
The focus is in Al Rawdah, Khalifa City, Bahia and Mafraq, Al Raha, Rabdan and Abu Dhabi Gate City, Mina Zayed and Al Reem.
Under the Community Animal Care Programme, volunteers aim to conduct a three-phase approach of trap, neuter and return (TNR), as well as hold educational workshops and a series of pet adoption days.
Volunteers can sign up at the official government online portal at volunteers.ae, or via the mobile app.
The four-month programme began in December 2023 and will be operated by Microchipped FZ, as part of Ma'an's Community Volunteering Activation Programme (CVAP).
“Running under the 'We Volunteer' initiative, the project aligns with Ma'an's overarching mission to nurture an engaged and collaborative community in Abu Dhabi,” said Maysa Alnuwais, Ma'an's community engagement and volunteering division director.
“By investing in initiatives such as this, Ma'an aims to promote a culture of social responsibility and empower volunteers to actively participate in programmes that deliver sustainable solutions aimed at addressing pressing social priorities in the capital.”
Two non-profit websites are already up and running to help pet owners track their animals, microchipped.ae, and another where food can be gifted to top up feeding stations, foodtostrays.ae.
Mr Appleby and his wife Jacqueline also plan to establish the Animal Respite Centre to focus on the treatment and rehabilitation of sick and stray animals.
“The programme is designed to relieve the financial burden of genuine rescuers to help stabilise stray animal colonies,” said Mr Appleby.
“We are working towards a no-cost veterinary facility and premises which will provide free treatment for sick and stray animals of the UAE.
“We can only achieve this by working with the community volunteers, where rescuers come to us for help.”
The project aims to reduce cat numbers over time, as neutered cats can no longer reproduce. Neutering a large number of cats would also reduce nuisance behaviour, as fighting and noise associated with mating stops almost entirely after sterilisation.
What's more, the foul odour caused by unaltered males marking their territory also disappears and cats are no longer driven to mate, so roam less and become less visible.
Treated cats are also healthier and less likely to spread feline diseases, while rodent control in communities is maintained by the cats' continued presence.
Hardship fund
Dr Rachel Shaw, a UK trained vet who has lived in Abu Dhabi for 18 years, is chief executive of Animal Welfare Abu Dhabi and working alongside community groups.
While welcoming the Ma'an funding, she says the financial implications on private donors can be crippling and this has resulted in leading rescue shelters facing closure in the past.
“Community-driven projects like the Ma’an-funded animal care programme are much-needed right now,” she said.
“There are multiple other communities managing and helping community cats and dogs, all funded from their own pockets.
“Currently the system is not keeping up with demand.”
Under the UAE National Invasive Species Strategy and Action Plan 2022-2026, TNR is only used on loose cats that are captured, sterilised and vaccinated before being returned to the area in which they were found.
“People in Abu Dhabi care about animals,” said Dr Shaw.
“They want to help, they will physically step up and give their time and get an animal the help it needs but, in the process, are being financially crippled.
“A hardship fund for strays has been proposed, and government funded vet clinics for community animals would also be great.
“The UAE government has a great funded vet care for farm livestock. It would be wonderful to see the same support for all other animals.”
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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FA Cup semi-finals
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
Matches on Bein Sports
THE SPECS
BMW X7 xDrive 50i
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic transmission
Power: 462hp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh600,000
Company%20Profile
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Engine: 3.5-litre V6
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Labour dispute
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Emergency
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Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
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The Sand Castle
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Squid Game season two
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Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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