MÁTÉ ANIMAL WELFARE AND PROTECTION FOUNDATION

The Máté Animal Welfare and Protection Foundation, a non-profit making registered Hungarian Charity established in Nagymaros in October 2003, consists of 15 founders members (4 British, 11 Hungarian), including 2 consultants, one of whom is the local vet. The Foundation takes its name from Máté, a dog abandoned in 1991 in Visegrád and adopted by the ferrymen. Máté travelled regularly between Nagymaros and Visegrád and guarded the ticket office at night until last August when he was run over by a car on the ferry and seriously injured. Since the accident he has been in the care of the von Benkos and, for an old dog (15), has made a remarkable recovery. Máté is now in retirement but will continue to make regular trips on the ferry to see his many friends on both sides of the Danube, some of whom visited him during his convalescence.

The aims of the Foundation are:

To promote protection, care, love and respect for animals. In 2002 a monthly extra-curricular Animal Welfare Class and Pet Club were established in Nagymaros Primary School. Classes are planned in advance by two young schoolteachers, the local vet and Marian and Feri von Benko. Pets (dogs, cats, birds, ferrets etc.) are brought to the classroom and their particular needs discussed. Teaching material, provided by UK based animal welfare organisations, is adapted and translated into Hungarian. The Foundation publishes an article (Animal Welfare Corner) each month in the Nagymaros newspaper which highlights our activities and to which the vet and others contribute informative articles on animal welfare. The Foundation accepts invitations to visit other schools and participates in local events distributing, free of charge, a wide range of literature concerning animal care.

To subsidise (50%) the neutering and spaying of cats and dogs. The first programme was held in November/December 2003 and in 2004 two further programmes were held, resulting in a total of 68 subsidised operations (52 cats and 16 dogs).

To subsidise anti-rabies vaccinations for cats. In August/September 2004, 21 cats were inoculated. This project will continue in 2005.

To assist financially with operations and treatment for pets, in consultation with the local vet. The Foundation has subsidised the veterinary costs for two dogs seriously injured in car accidents. The first, a dachshund, Alex, made a full recovery from five broken bones. The second, Máté, has recovered well from extensive veterinary treatment. Total costs were met by the Foundation for the elderly owner of several cats who was unable to pay the subsidised cost for spaying and neutering her pets. The Foundation also covered the veterinary costs for putting to sleep two dogs, one of them old, ill and blind and the other young, extremely emaciated and beyond veterinary help. Both were found wandering the streets in Nagymaros having been ill-treated and abandoned by their owners.

Nagymaros has a population of 4,400 inhabitants which increases to over 12,000 during the summer months when people come to reside in their week-end houses. At the end of each summer many dogs and cats are abandoned in this small town and all over Hungary when their owners return to the city. Some of these animals are rescued by local people and the Foundation is now offering to subsidise the initial anti-rabies treatment plus the spaying or neutering of the animal, where appropriate, if the new owner so wishes. Four dogs, including a puppy of less than six weeks, were rescued in Nagymaros last autumn and all are thriving in their new homes with caring owners.

In order to try to reduce the destruction, sometimes inhumanely, of dogs and cats, the Foundation has an advertisement board in the Nagymaros animal food shop for those seeking a pet and for those with unwanted pets in need of a good home.

The Foundation is trying to ensure that, at least in Nagymaros, fewer animals suffer needlessly or are put down simply because their owners cannot afford veterinary treatment. There is no insurance available in Hungary for small animals.

The Foundation has neither the means nor the intention to provide an animal shelter.

MÁTÉ Állatvédelmi Közhasznú Alapítvány

Registered Charity No. 18700767-1-13

Address: Sziv u. 12, Nagymaros, Hungary, H-2626.

Account No. 66000114-10109375

Tel: +36 27 355 489, Fax: +36 27 356 273, e-mail: matefund@vnet.hu

THE FOUNDATION RECEIVES NO REGULAR FINANCIAL INCOME

YOUR SUPPORT WILL ENABLE US TO CONTINUE WITH OUR AIM TO PROTECT THE DEFENCELESS