Sierra Leone Animal Welfare Society (SLAWS) was formed by Dr Abdul Gudush Jalloh, the only practising vet in Sierra Leone, in 1988. It is a not-for-profit organisation based in Freetown, dedicated to the humane care of animals and advocacy for their welfare throughout Sierra Leone and Africa.

Dr Jalloh became a vet in response to the tragic death of his brother from rabies - a disease which is usually spread by dogs, yet can be prevented by vaccination.

 

SLAWS was set up by Dr Jalloh with the specific objectives:

-To reduce the incidence of dog bites and human deaths from rabies

-To encourage responsible pet ownership

-To vaccinate all owned pets and treat them for ticks, fleas and worms

-To register all pets and provide a means of identification

-To conduct humane education programmes for livestock and pet owners and implementing partners of livestock programmes.

 

So far, the small team at SLAWS have vaccinated 50,000 dogs against rabies and sterilised 45,000, as well as carrying out public education on rabies risk reduction and humane treatment of animals through school 'Kindness Clubs'