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RSP MartiniqueR S P -Respecter - Soigner - Proteger (Respect - Care - Protect)
The RSP Martinique was founded 2005 in Martinique by Chantal Richoux. From 2005 til 2011 dogs were transferred to Germany for adoption. From 2008 til 2013 we ran a food sponsorship program for stray bitches to enable the RSP to take in additional females. Since 2011 the RSP has developed very positively so that currently we call for donations only in emergencies.  When you think about Martinique you imagine a tropical paradise. In reality this Caribbean island is only too often hell for our fourlegged friends. Animals here are only valued according to their usefulness. They are not considered to be sensitive beings capable of suffering. Cruelty towards animals takes place in every imaginable
form: uncontrolled mating, uncountable stray dogs and cats, agonized animals fighting for their lives without food, water and without help. Carcasses litter the roads…
 All this takes place in an atmosphere of general indifference. That's a long way from the idyllic scenes one finds on postcards and in tourist brochures.  Fortunately there is hope for the animals on Martinique. The association RSP (Respecter-Soigner-Proteger - Respect-Care-Protect) whose concern is the battle for the welfare of animals because "they also have rights". Residing on Martinique and in accordance with the laws of 1901, the association has the following objectives: 
 The RSP is constantly trying to find new means to offer rescued animals a better future.
On Martinique, governed by French law, the straying of animals is prohibited and animals met alone may be taken to the pound by anyone where they have to be kept alive only for a few days ( 8 days in France, 4 days in the French overseas departments, a rule that is not always observed!) before they can be legally killed if the owner can't be found because the animals aren't chipped or tattooed as required by the law. The communities on Martinique are financing the killing of thousands of stray dogs or dogs thought to be stray every year. The dogs are lured with food, stunned, thrown onto trucks and carried away to the dog pound for their destruction. Often the dogs are kept alive for only a few hours. The killing capacity of the pound on Martinique amounts to over a hundred animals per day. Many more dogs die from poisoned meat balls that are laid out everywhere Among the victims are often dogs taken for a walk by their owners. The slow and cruel dying can take days. And yet the number of dogs is increasing steadily. Despite these terrible conditions we can't spay and neuter animals on Martinique because according to the French law Code rural L 214-6 we need a permanent spay and neuter clinic to obtain a permit, temporary or mobile clinics are nor allowed. For years we have tried to find sponsors for such a clinic - without success. Almost annually a spay and neuter campaign is supported by French animal welfare organisations such as Foundation Brigitte Bardot or SPA France. During these campaigns pet keepers may visit a vet of their choice with their animal and proof of their income: Poor people have to pay 1/3 and middle class families 2/3 of the price for the surgery, the rest is paid by the sponsor of the campaign. Over 300 dogs and cats have been sterilized thanks to the campaign in 2006, "Sterilization at Reduced Prices." The campaign was successfully covered by newspapers and radio. Fall 2010 150 dogs and cats were castrated in cooperation of the SPA France and the RSP-Martinique. 150 dogs and cats were spayed and neutered 2012 during the 6th campaign since the founding of RSP with the help of French organisations. According to informations from 2012 the vets charge between 160 and 280 Euros to spay and chip a bitch, depending on size and weight and if the bitch is pregnant or not.
In this situation the RSP has therefore chosen a different course of action as we have and devotes all energies to the sheltering and placing of homeless animals. August 2011 the RSP-Martinique had severe financial problems. There was not enough money for dog food, dogs already listed to be taken into the shelter had to stay in the streets. The shelter was in danger to be closed all together. The Association for Aid and Support of the Creole dogs organized a dog tournament for the benefit of the RSP and was able to provide some assistance to solve the problems. 2012 the RSP took in 123 animals, 115 of them could be placed on Martinique and in France via the SPA d'Hermeray and the SPA Compiègne. We hope that many more campaigns and adoptions will follow. Since June 2014 the RSP has a cat sanctuary!
The RSP will continue to need help in the battle to improve life's quality for the animals on Martinique and to rescue as many animals as possible. Donations can be made by paypal. Our homepage www.rspmartinique.org Visit us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rsp.martinique?fref=ts |
Since the founding of RSP 2005 countless dogs have been placed; on Martinique, in France and some also in Germany.
