An important clarification for our Team Dogstar family

You may have seen a recent article in the Telegraph, written by a UK tourist, describing their experience volunteering at a rescue organisation in Sri Lanka. After a supporter kindly reached out, concerned it might be connected to Dogstar, we felt it was important to clarify this openly.

We want to be absolutely clear: the article is not about Dogstar, and we are not connected to the organisation described in any way.

Volunteering with animals in Sri Lanka

Volunteering with animals in Sri Lanka is extremely complex. The country has strict immigration laws, and anyone working with Dogstar must have the legal right to live and work here (a topic we have discussed in detail in a recent blog post).

We do not accept volunteers on tourist visas under any circumstances.

Our feeding programme

The Telegraph article also refers to volunteers participating in a street dog feeding programme – another area where Dogstar’s approach is very different.

Our feeding programme is carefully designed to protect both animal welfare and human safety. It is carried out exclusively by our paid local team, who have the experience and training required to work safely with street dogs.

Rabies is also endemic in Sri Lanka, so all our staff are pre-vaccinated and undergo regular testing to ensure ongoing protection. You can find out more about our rabies prevention work here.

Allowing untrained and potentially unvaccinated visitors to take part in our feeding programme would risk harm to the dogs, to our staff, and to everyone involved. It’s something we simply wouldn’t compromise on.

A focus on long-term, responsible solutions

While feeding provides immediate support, Dogstar’s work is centred on long-term solutions that prevent suffering before it begins.

In the past year alone, our teams have sterilised and vaccinated more than 13,000 dogs and cats. This work helps to control population growth, prevent the spread of disease, and protect the health of both animals and the communities they live alongside.

Our commitment

At Dogstar, doing the right thing for animals sometimes means saying no. We follow the law, adhere to veterinary best practice, and hold ourselves to strict standards so that we can continue to help animals responsibly.

Thank you for standing with us as we continue to do our often challenging work with care, integrity and love at the heart of everything.

For context, the Telegraph article referenced above can be found here. Please note that it sits behind a paywall.