This week, we speak with Elliot Gold, the co-founder of The Hoppy Acre, a rabbit rescue and non-speciesist sanctuary in Essex, UK. Elliot dives deep into the world of rabbit health and well-being, laying out the reasons why these not-quite-wild/not-quite-domesticated creatures need rescue. From bunny “speed dating” to find their perfect bonded rabbit partner, to high-quality spay/neuter and veterinary care, today’s rabbits are sensitive creatures requiring top-quality care and rigorous research. Elliot describes the realities of the pet and breeding industries on rabbits and illustrates how these creatures - and all animals - will always suffer through commodification of their lives under capitalism.

EPISODE NOTES: Rescued Rabbits and Commodifying Animals Under Capitalism

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In this episode of Saaving the Streets, host Adelle welcomes April King, founder of Kotor Kitties, a groundbreaking TNVR program in Montenegro—the famed “City of Cats.” What began with a goal of sterilizing just 10 cats has grown into one of the region’s most impactful initiatives, transforming the lives of thousands of free-roaming cats. April shares her journey from community organizing in New York to spearheading spay/neuter and vaccination programs in the Balkans, overcoming cultural challenges, building partnerships with NGOs, and navigating the complexities of funding. This insightful conversation dives into the realities of TNR work abroad and the powerful ripple effects of determined individuals making change for animals and communities alike.

EPISODE NOTES: From New York Streets to Montenegro: The Kotor Kitties Story

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On this episode of Saaving The Streets, hosts Alex and Adele welcome Susan Joyce, the founder of Little Greek and Pigeon in Wales. Sue shares her inspiring journey from running a pigeon sanctuary to building a support network for pigeon rescuers across the UK. She opens up about the challenges of transitioning sanctuary birds to new homes, her campaigns to end pigeon racing, and the exciting launch of the world’s first pigeon advocacy conference. Along the way, Sue reflects on her vegan journey, her work in veterinary practice, and what first opened her eyes to the overwhelming need for avian rescue. It’s a thoughtful and passionate conversation about pigeons, purpose, and creating lasting change for animals of all species.

EPISODE NOTES: Flying Forward: Building a Future for Pigeons

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In this feather-filled episode of Saaving The Streets, hosts Alex and Adelle take flight into new territory—beyond cats and into the world of… pigeons! Meet Billie Savage, a powerhouse activist who has dedicated the last decade to animal and environmental welfare. From founding a pigeon advocacy foundation in the Netherlands to relocating 200 rescued, disabled, and non-returnable pigeons to her new sanctuary in Portugal, Billy shares her inspiring journey into feral pigeon care and urban population management. Discover what it takes to treat, rehabilitate, and hand-capture these misunderstood city birds, and why pigeons deserve a seat at the rescue table too.

EPISODE NOTES: Street Wings: Rehabilitating the City’s Most Misunderstood Birds

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This week, Samantha Suppiah joins the show once again, this time for an analytical discussion around the reality of why populations of cats, dogs, pigeons, and other animals remain neglected in mass amounts, stuck in a cycle of unrelenting reproduction and lack of access to healthcare. Their growing populations often result in governments deciding to conduct mass culling rather than support spay and neuter, from the Philippines to Morocco to Turkey to Greece to the US. We discuss the dark realities of how animal welfare laws in most countries - across both the Global North and the Global South - go unenforced, and in many cases are unenforceable by nature. This leads us to question dynamics such as development aggression, welfare-washing, lobbying and advocacy amidst political and social apathy. These elements help create a community of frustrated and traumatized animal rescuers and carers constantly struggling to do their social work for animals with little to no support, often ridiculed and ostracized from the rest of society. Rescuers in every culture and region across the world will be able to relate to this episode’s discussion.

EPISODE NOTES: An Ethical Analysis of TN(v)R vs. Mass Culling of Community Cats

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This week, we’re joined by the amazing Samantha Suppiah, a vegan stray cat carer and animal welfare organizer in Metro Manila in the Philippines. Today, Samantha talks us through each pillar of organizing mass biosecure spay and neuter events (called kapon in the Philippines), focusing on ensuring the safety of their patients via standardizing protocols and using methods such as social distancing. Samantha’s scientific approach to stray-centric cat care and neonate kitten care redefines the meaning of considerate and high-quality colony care. This ultimately led her on a journey of trying to run these events well but realizing she couldn’t guarantee their safety without the enthusiastic participation of vets and volunteers. After reflecting on her efforts, Samantha decided to end her plans to organize these kapon events and closed this episode with a take-home message of - if you can’t do it safely, don’t do it at all.

EPISODE NOTES: How To Organize Mass Spay/Neuter in The Philippines

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This week, we introduce Mini Vasudevan of the Humane Animal Society in Coimbatore, India. Mini tells us what it’s like running a spay and neuter program for Indian Desi Dogs who live on the streets and in communities throughout the country. Listen to how HAS was given the rare opportunity to take over a local municipal rescue center, and how they balance the need for rescue v. preventing the need for rescue - in the form of sterilization, vaccination, and return to the community. The phenomenon of strong women leading all fronts of the animal rescue sector globally also proves to be true across India, and Mini is a shining example of this with a professional background in engineering and a recipient of the Nari Shakti Puraskar - the highest civilian honor for women in India.

EPISODE NOTES: A Desi Dog Population Management Program in India

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This week, we are back in Mexico with Maia Rumpho, the founder of Pet Project Rescue. Since 2008, Maia has been focusing on the root of animal overpopulation by offering spay and neuter programs, especially for underserved communities, from Minnesota to Mexico! With a background as a social worker, Maia shares with us her experience in approaching deprived communities in a considerate way, offering support and access to resources, rather than centering themselves as a foreign organization and dictating what local practices should be. We discuss approaching sensitive situations where people don’t even have proper houses, and how to get them onboard with providing sterilization to help their community animals. We also discuss how to avoid white savior behavior in animal rescue, by deferring to local knowledge and individuals, which also ensures the safeguarding of their team by aligning with local allies when entering areas with tumultuous local politics. Maia’s organization successfully collaborates with other groups on TNVR projects, such as Coco’s Animal Welfare in Playa del Carmen.

EPISODE NOTES: Spay and Neuter for Underserved Communities from Minnesota to Mexico

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This week’s episode is packed with insight into running a high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter clinic in Mexico, so strap in and meet Laura, Founder of Coco’s Animal Welfare in Playa del Carmen! Today, we cover essential veterinary protocols for sterilization clinics, how to integrate pediatric spay/neuter and quick spay techniques, vaccination and disinfection protocols, and training volunteers and vets to prepare for large interventions like their November spay/neuter event, which sterilizes 1,000 animals over just three days! Laura also shares advice on how to find funding and finding it before starting this important work to ensure we have the capacity to do it well. Coco’s redefines what a “cat cafe” means with their ingenious community cat care program for local hotels and also shares strategies on how to engage visiting tourists to take responsibility for their rescue rather than leaving animals with local shelters.

EPISODE NOTES: Running a High-Volume, High-Quality, Full-Time Spay/Neuter Clinic in Mexico

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This week, we welcome Lila Gentilhomme to the show to discuss her specialist work with international rescuing and rehoming, and strategic TNR and community building! Having rehomed 70+ cats over the years after establishing her nonprofit, The 5th Cat, Lila has direct experience with the huge effort and resource it takes to rescue and provide this lifelong solution for only a minority of animals. This was one of the factors leading to her focusing on strategic TNR all over Greece, with a special focus on Syros island. Listen in as we discuss her experience and advice about optimizing our work to be effective for the maximum amount of cats, while building bridges and maintaining compassion for our fellow animal rescuers, and collaborating for greater success!

EPISODE NOTES: From France to Greece: International Rescuing, Rehoming, and TNR

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This week Adelle and Alex are joined by Alex's partner in rescue, Amber Rose Beck. Amber and Alex started Saaving Lives in a small town in Greece where they've sterilized thousands of cats. In this episode, they compare the differences and challenges between trapping in a big city versus trapping in a small Greek town.

EPISODE NOTES: Trapping Cats in Greece: Urban v. Countryside TNR

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Welcome to the first episode of Saaving the Streets, your go to source for global Trap-Neuter-Return. Adelle and Alexane talk about their background and what this podcast means to them. They want to be the allies they would have needed when they first started in the rescue world. This week they chat about TNR vs TNVR on an international level and how important managing resources is when trapping and sterilizing animals.

EPISODE NOTES: Welcome to Saaving the Streets, Let's Chat About TNR vs TNVR

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