How the Sidewalk Steri Clinic is changing pet care in SA townships

IN SOUTH Africa’s townships and informal settlements, millions of cats and dogs live side by side with people, often in poverty and largely without access to basic veterinary care. It’s here, in the heart of De Doorns, just outside Worcester, that a small but powerful intervention is changing lives.

- TRACY-LYNN RUITERS

In 2022, Sidewalk Specials opened the Sidewalk Steri Clinic, a community-based project aimed at providing accessible vet care, sterilisation, parasite control, vaccinations and pet education to township residents.

For Rachael Sylvester Van Wyk, the organisation’s founder, the idea was born from an urgent need.

“In South Africa, it’s estimated over 10 million people live in townships and informal settlements. In turn, millions of domestic dogs and cats are living alongside them, facing a daily struggle to survive and with limited or no access to basic veterinary care,” Van Wyk said.

The 40-year-old, originally from Sheffield in the UK now lives in Vredehoek, Cape Town.

“Without access to veterinary care, a domesticated dog or cat will live a short, painful, parasite infested - life while breeding the next generation of puppies and kittens to repeat the cycle.”

With over 7 857 animals sterilised to date, the Sidewalk Steri Clinic now runs every two weeks, attending to both routine and emergency cases.

The clinic has also become a model for others, offering free downloadable protocols to help charities set up their own township-based sterilisation programmes. Despite its success, the project has not been without critics.