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Maun Animal Welfare Society
Maun, Botswana
Maun Animal Welfare Society (MAWS) is a non-profit organisation which aims to protect Botswana’s wildlife through domestic animal care.
MAWS is based in Maun on the fringes of the Okavango Delta, the world’s largest inland delta and one of Africa’s most wildlife-rich areas. The economy in Maun, and indeed most of northern Botswana, is dependent on the region’s safari industry.
MAWS’ mission is to promote the health and welfare of domestic animals to protect people and wildlife from rabies and other zoonotic diseases.
MAWS’ primary objectives are to:
- Sterilise and vaccinate dogs and cats to reduce the disease risk posed to human and wildlife populations
- Provide free/subsidised veterinary services to domestic animals belonging to indigent people in Botswana
- Encourage responsible domestic animal and livestock ownership through education initiatives
MAWS welcomes vets and vet nurses year-round who travel to Maun to volunteer with the charity. From their purpose-built veterinary clinic in Maun, MAWS utilises locally-raised funds to undertake routine sterilisations and administer vaccinations to indigent villagers’ dogs and cats. MAWS also provides life-saving emergency treatment or humane euthanasia to animals beyond help. Furthermore, the charity reunites, rehomes and rehabilitates lost, found and stray animals and provides an emergency first-response service to injured livestock.
MAWS’ international funding allows them to conduct outreach clinics, specifically targeting rural areas where villagers live side-by-side with wildlife. Their outreach work brings vital veterinary care to remote locations and helps to prevent the transmission of rabies and canine distemper: diseases which can decimate wildlife including the endangered African Wild Dog as well as lions, leopards and cheetahs.
MAWS outreach work is endorsed by two internationally-recognised wildlife charities: Botswana Predator Conservation Trust and Cheetah Conservation Botswana. Both organisations share MAWS’ goal of controlling the health and welfare of domestic animals so they do not encroach on or infect wildlife populations.
For more information about MAWS please visit their website at: maunanimalwelfare.com
You can also follow them on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/4MAWS
