Beyond Numbers: Rethinking the Impact of Animal Welfare Work

As we begin a new year, today is the day I would typically post about how many animals Dogstar Foundation sterilised in 2024. But I now believe that reducing our work to a single number does Dogstar and the animals we help a disservice.

Recently, I’ve seriously reflected on how the sector and I often promote spay/neuter programmes by the number of animals sterilised. Yes, Dogstar has sterilised tens of thousands of animals, but the real story lies with the people and the impact behind those numbers.

Counting procedures isn’t enough. Focusing solely on numbers risks overlooking critical elements like animal welfare, quality of care and long-term sustainability. Worse, it can foster competition for funds, lead to dangerous shortcuts that compromise welfare standards and contribute to the ever-growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

That’s why the Dogstar way focuses on:

• Animal welfare: Every animal we treat receives compassionate, high-standard care from our expertly trained, 100% Sri Lankan veterinary team.
• Team development: Our dedication to continuous learning ensures team members’ skills remain sharp, ethical and practical. We challenge ourselves and each other to do better every day.
• Systemic service delivery: We focus on providing services in a defined area with pre and post-surveying, ensuring that we can measure the true impact of our work. By targeting specific communities and assessing outcomes over time, we create sustainable change that is rooted in data and evidence.
• Self-management: We empower our teams to take ownership of their projects and animal welfare solutions.
• Sustainability: We invest in and nurture local talent to create equitable change.
• Quality over quantity: We focus on positive patient outcomes over numerical targets.

Donors can and do expect “big wow factor” numbers, but this mindset can inadvertently harm the very animals we aim to protect. True impact comes from creating systems that prioritise welfare, build local capacity and address root causes, ensuring every life is treated with dignity and respect.

So, while numbers will always have their place, it’s the street dogs and cats and the dedicated humans behind these statistics that define our mission.