Brigadier General James Monroe Williams

Sulala Animal Rescue (سلالة), also known as Sulala Society, is an animal shelter in the Gaza Strip founded by Saeed Al-Err in 2006. In addition to operating as a stray animal shelter and vet, the organisation seeks to promote the welfare of animals through education.

History

In the early 2000s, Saeed Al-Err would spend his days feeding stray animals he saw around Gaza. He was horrified to stumble across a Facebook post from a local municipal office encouraging the killing of strays. With help from locals, journalists, and animal rights groups, Al-Err presented a case opposing this to the office and persuaded them to make a u-turn. He borrowed money and sold his car for land to house the animals, and used a combination of his own money and public donations to feed them. He almost closed the operations for financial reasons before being offered support^[1] by the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a civil servant.^[2] After a nine month dog training course in Russia,^[3] in 2006, Al-Err registered Sulala in Gaza City as an official charity to operate as a dog, cat, and donkey shelter, headquartered in Zeitoun.^[4]

By 2022, Sulala had opened a second site in North Gaza.^[1]

During the Israel–Hamas war, Sulala were forced to move and scatter operations multiple times. The cats and disabled dogs were the first to be evacuated south, first to Nuseirat.^[5] 19-year-old employee Loay Rami Al-Wadi was killed early on.^[6] Having stopped receiving shipments on 9 October, Animals Australia sent a truck of aid to the Rafah crossing on New Year's Eve, but the truck's arrival was hindered by delays.^[7][8] To One Green Planet, Al-Err called his continued efforts to help strays a "shelter for the displaced dogs".^[9]

Operations

Sulala is funded and supported by a combinations of donations, aid, and a monthly pension. The organisation feeds stray animals and brings those at risk of violence or in need of medical attention to the shelter, which has a veterinary clinic. Animals are isolated and rehabilitated upon arriving at the shelter before being permitted to mingle.^[10] All animals receive the necessary vaccinations, and healthy animals who qualify for it undergo spay neuter.^[11]

Volunteers from Sulala from visit local nurseries/kindergartens and schools to promote the welfare of animals through education.^[1]

Due to the lack of specialised veterinary prosthetic limbs in Gaza, Al-Err and his brother designed and built their own mobility aid for a dog named Lucy using scrap materials from old bicycles and toy cars, providing a basis for the shelters' care of amputees. Sulala has also arranged specialised surgeries for certain animals with clinics abroad.^[12][1][13]

References