Documentary

Reportage and Photojournalism projects.  Documenting and reflecting.

Cuba’s dogs and cats, and TAP Animal Project

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Arriving in Cuba

When the cloud cleared, we were already low over the green and red earth of Cuba. The plane tilted left into a turn that positioned us to land in Havana’s Jose Martí airport in about three minutes. I could see that the streets were wet, rain drops now skittered across the plane window. Like a dream window to the past, I could see a few of those old cars moving down a road in the distance, and as we neared our landing, I saw two dogs drinking from a puddle on a dirt road. It’s been three years since I last visited Cuba. Many things have changed, and many have not.

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A dog wanders down a street in Centro Habana, Cuba.

When I last saw Cuba

When I last saw Cuba, I was not part of The Aniplant Project (TAP), a non-profit dedicated to helping the animals of Cuba. I had yet to publish the photo essay and article that TAP’s Les and Charlene Inglis read, that gave them the idea to contact me to join them. The last time I visited Cuba, Fidel was alive, Raul was President, and Obama had not yet visited. The place had been mobbed with USA visitors after Obama’s trip, and now, not as many. The last time I walked in Havana in March 2015, veterinary clinics were open. Many pets were receiving at least basic care, and were being spayed/neutered and vaccinated in proper clinics.

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A cat waits her turn for spaying in Havana Cuba

Fast forward to 2018

Since 2015, some big things have changed. But let’s skip the politics and talk about the ugly change that impacted the animals.

Veterinary clinics across Havana were closed in Spring 2017. Some people say it was because of improper medical waste disposal, others say it was because medicines were disappearing from people hospitals. Regardless of the reason, it has had a negative impact on the health of animals. Keep in mind, there are still no animal shelters in Cuba.

Animals are turned out to the streets when people can’t or won’t care for them. Street cat populations have swelled. Every corner in Havana that has a trash dumpster will also have at least 2-3 cats and maybe a litter of kittens living there. More visitors to Cuba are writing us to report the sad, sick state of the animals on the streets, more tourists have seen the cruel treatment of animals in Santeria rituals, and Zoonosis round-ups. Without veterinary clinics, fewer animals have been sterilized, vaccinated, and treated for fleas/ticks, mange, or parasites. And as a result of fewer sterilizations in the last year, more animals are going hungry and suffering on the streets. It is overwhelming to see.

Cuba is working on reopening veterinary clinics in Havana. It is taking a lot of time, and paperwork. It is frustrating for many and requires patience from all.

On-going care for the animals

Despite the setbacks, Aniplant continues to do sterilization campaigns around Havana. While the clinic was closed like all the others (and because ~20 dogs are sheltered there), it does not prevent Aniplant from going into neighborhoods to spay/neuter pets and area strays. Sterilization work continues because of Nora Garcia, President of Aniplant and because of the resources supplied by TAP Animal Project (formerly The Aniplant Project).

TAP Animal Project believes that the number one way to end the suffering of animals on the streets is through mass sterilization campaigns. Why? Consider this:

  • Female cats can breed three times a year, and have on average 4 kittens per litter. That’s another 12 cats in just one year from just one cat. Multiply that by the kittens having babies who have babies, etc…and in just seven years, that’s more than 400,000 new cats. Where will they go?
  • Maybe you are a dog person? Female dogs can breed twice a year and have 6-10 puppies per litter. In seven years, that’s about 97,000 new dogs. Where will they go?

Without sterilization campaigns, the population of animals will multiply and multiply and multiply, ad nauseam. More and more innocent dogs and cats will be left to fend for themselves and to suffer harsh lives and cruel deaths. The best long-term solution is spay/neuter, and Cuba needs more of it.

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A TAP Animal Project + Aniplant sterilization campaign for 12 cats on May 26. The blind 92-year-old grandma slept with kittens on her feet.

TAP Animal Project supports ANIPLANT’s spay/neuter mission

TAP recently changed names in order to expand sterilization campaigns beyond Aniplant. The Aniplant Project became TAP Animal Project in May 2018, and continues to be a 501(c)(3) non-profit, incorporated in Florida, and operating from Chicago. TAP believes that with supporters’ continued help, there is capacity to do more mass sterilizations in Cuba. It’s not going to be easy. There are many regulations around the importation of anesthesia and who in Cuba can receive it. There are issues of facilities, of veterinarians, of certifications, and of access to other needs like TNR traps, transportation, antibiotics, etc. It’s Cuba. It’s complicated. Change is rarely easy. But for healthy pets, healthy people, and the happiness of our animal-loving souls, it’s worth it.

To learn more about TAP, please visit www.TAPanimalproject.org.

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A veterinarian spays a cat in a TAP Animal Project + Aniplant small house campaign while other cats and kittens watch and wait.
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Nora Garcia cuddles a happy puppy who is temporarily staying at Aniplant in Havana Cuba
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This skittish, one-eyed dog lives in the stairwell of an apartment building near the Malecón in Havana Cuba.
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This little kitten wandered up alone in the streets of old Havana. Skin and bones, timid and hungry.

Thank you for reading

Carol Fletcher is a traveling, dog-loving, coffee-addicted, tree-hugging, Nashville born-and-raised photographer living in Chicago. To see more photo essays and projects, please visit www.carolfletcher.com. Select Cuba photos are available for purchase on Etsy.

 

Cuba’s Entrepreneurs – Cuentapropistas

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Cuba’s Entrepreneurs – Cuentapropistas

Between 2010 – 2013, in an effort to relieve some of the Cuban economy’s struggles, Raul Castro approved over 200 private sector jobs.  These self-employed entrepreneurs, or cuentapropistas, now number almost 500,000 and are learning to do business quickly despite many challenges like limited access to supplies, and lack of wholesale pricing.

Photographed over 7 visits from December 2010 – March 2015.

View this in slideshow to see captions for each photo.  Start slideshow by clicking on the first photo.

 

Thank you for reading

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Carol Fletcher is a traveling, dog-loving, coffee-addicted, tree-hugging, Nashville born-and-raised photographer living in Chicago. To see more photo essays and projects, please visit www.carolfletcher.com. Select Cuba photos are available for purchase on Etsy .

Guatemala City Bomberos Voluntarios

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Guatemala: A life of poverty under a volcano

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A life of poverty under the volcano in San Miguel Dueñas, Guatemala.  2013.  

San Miguel Dueñas sits beneath a volcano in Guatemala. It is a village of tiny corrugated tin homes amid macadamia nut and coffee bean fields.
CIA’s World Facts reports that 54% of Guatemala lives in poverty.  The elite 2% owns 72% of agricultural land and cattle ranches. Persistent problems exist with high rates of child and mother mortality and malnutrition, as well as low rates of literacy and contraceptive awareness. Approximately 50% of the population is under the age of 19.
The Coyan family represents these hard truths about Guatemala’s struggle with poverty. A large family, living in a small space, with not enough resources, they also have a child with cancer.
La Asociación Nuestros Ahijados (God’s Child Project) operates in the village to provide education, clothing, and better shelters. In 2012, La Asociacion built 100 homes in the area—the concrete floors decreasing stomach parasites by 60%. The organization also helped the Coyan family with medical costs to ensure 9-year-old Mabelin receives cancer treatments.
 Photographed March 20-22, 2013.