French Polynesia French Polynesia is an Overseas French Territory (TOM) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
These 120 Islands are brang together in 48 communes of various size, Tahiti being - from far - the most populated: 180 000 inhab. on 260 000 in 2007.
Population is made of Maohis, Europeans and Chineses. A quite important fringe of the population is made with "demis" ("half", half-blooded). Each ethnic group brang its culture and its traditions.
Since ever Polynesians have had Pets, some of them devoting them their whole life to the detriment of their personnal comfort, others considering them just as food resource. These two clashing attitudes contribute to complicate the situation management, it is difficult to find a management politic which don't inflame immediately opinions.
Legislation on the subject is either old and obsolete, or maladjusted because conceived by and for the mother country, or lacking.
Today, there is no statistical element on Pets, either in the ISTAT (Institute of Statistics) (numbers, distributions, etc.), the Police Dept. (accidents, poisonnings, etc.), the "Caisse de Prévoyance Sociale" (Social security) (injuries, diseases, etc.), or from the Tourism Service, as for private Insurance compagnies. This well shows at which point are local indifference and/or confusion.
There is, thus, up to this day, no real account taken for dog and cat populations, by the whole society. It leads a disastrous overpopulation which endure since numerous decades, with its attenant sufferings: epidemics, accidents, starvations.
Many efforts, even so, have been leaded sporadically since long and by all the Polynesian actors, in the aim to attempt to manage the Pets impact in social life. Today, of these meritorious efforts nothing is left, and actions presently taken by one or other are locked out or without real effect on long-lasting.
The Polynesian population global number increasing continuously (human population increased of 16% between 1988 and 1996, and nothing let think this progress had decreased), irresponsible behaviours aren't sharply targetted against, people have no reason to change their attitude toward animals, their impact thus can only grow, the situation to deteriorate with time.
This question embarrass everyone, from individuals who don't know how solve their problems, to public institutions which don't know how to help, organise and coordinate their own efforts (Ministries, Town municipality, Police, Gendarmerie, Social Services), including associations trying to alleviate the problem, the wideness of which overflooding considerably as is, without means and recognised competences.
The corrolary of this collective resignation is that the human population, including good-willings are all caught unaware when facing the problem, by lack of information and basic know-how.
The situation is so hurting that any normally constituted being can't psychically stay in close contact with the fields for long without suffering consequencies. Most good-willing ones give up after few months.
This situation seems to us to be due today to a lack of general will, because good-willing are numerous enough in all parts, to work out solutions.
The elements we have are comming from our action and our contacts with the others intervening (vets, associations, police, firemen, individuals).
Dogs and cats can be ordered into categories:
These categories are arbitrary, animal population splitting continuously from an edge to the other.
It would be a serious political and cultural error to not take in account the very Polynesian notion of "District Pets". This specificity is shared with only few other countries and is rarely integrated in the classic shemes comming from outside.
The number of Pets by home can take immoderate proportions, including good-willing ones, compared to the space the home can offer (we met up to more than thirty within 45 square meters).
Fenced houses are not the general case, and seems more devoted to the well-to-do population, but, here too, statistical data are missing.
Today, in French Polynesia, the sterilization of a bitch costs 40.000 F cfp (# US$320.00), a she-cat is 17.000 F cfp (# US$136,00). The brut mensual Index-linked Garanteed Minimum Wage is of 130.000 F cfp (# US$1040.00) in 2007. The average number of Pets by family is upper than one and there is not a pay for all in each home.
These too expensive costs are the first complain that we receive from field works: Betwwenn to sterilize dogs and/or cats females, and to purchase something to feed the childrens, the question is irrelevant.
People is aware, but feels powerless.
Educational lack is flagrant about basical hygiene, contagious (parasitical or viral) diseases watch out, Civil Liability, Feeding, minimum Health cares, and mistreatments. This being worth as much for those who love their Pets as much for those who use (guarding, hunting, struggle against rodents, etc...) or eat them (some local vets estimate that, in the Tuamotu Archipelago, a dog on two is maintained for this purpose). The general education work is of a wide scope.