STIMAMI STERILISAMI PROGRAM
Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort’s island spay and neutering program, “Love me, sterilize me,” is now fully subsidizing sterilization surgeries arranged by registered foundations that work with homeless dogs and cats on the island. The program has received additional funds via generous donations from Aruba Tourism Authority and Aruba Tourism Product Enhancement Fund. With these extra funds the program has gone from paying for half of spay and neutering costs to 100 percent, until the end of 2017.
Aruba has struggled with overpopulation of dogs and cats. Several foundations on the island and their hard-working volunteers are assisting in the common goal to reduce the population and to encourage responsible pet ownership. In decreasing the animal population, there will be fewer dogs and cats that cannot be cared for and therefore die of starvation and disease or are euthanized. These foundations arrange medical assistance, find homes for the abandoned animals, or manage a Catch, Neuter and Release program.
In January 2016, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort introduced the community outreach program providing subsidies for the sterilization surgeries. In 2017 the program transitioned to only subsidizing the foundations helping with the homeless animals. At this point 4,500 island dogs and cats have been sterilized and microchipped in the program, locally called “Stimami Sterilisami”.
“We want to make faster progress in reducing the population of abandoned animals and encouraging responsible pet ownership on Aruba,” says Tisa LaSorte, director of sales, marketing and administration at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort. “With this significant contribution from the Aruba Tourism Authority and Aruba Tourism Product Enhancement Fund, we can increase our support to the foundations and get more cats and dogs sterilized in a short period of time.
Bucuti & Tara is a longstanding supporter of community initiatives and has long had a pet adoption program to help visiting guests and employees with the cost of adopting homeless dogs. The sterilization program was added as a true long term solution for the island.
