The third quarter 2022 Dear friends of the DCC,
difficult months are behind us and the crisis in the country is far from over. In the western countries one hardly hears anything from Sri Lanka anymore, but the problems are not solved. I am desperate because we can no longer afford many products. Compared to the previous year, the price of chicken alone has risen from 450 to max. 600 rupees to 1,350 rupees per kilo! Electricity prices have also almost quadrupled. It is a disaster! I had to take further austerity measures so that we can continue to care for the animals. We now only add 2/3 of the normal amount of meat to the feed, we hardly add any food supplements and vitamins, we no longer buy coconuts, but only use those that we can harvest on the premises and we have switched from branded to cheap products wherever possible. If things continue like this, I will unfortunately have to lay off employees.
After a long struggle, we are at least finally recognized as a hospital and are therefore allowed to buy 150 liters of petrol and diesel per week and no longer have to queue for hours at the gas stations. Unfortunately, it often happens that we only receive a fraction of the amount allocated to us. The electricity is switched off for several hours every day and so we have to use our diesel for the generator. The rest is just enough for our daily feeding tours.
In addition, due to the high costs, we have to weigh up very carefully what items we can send to Sri Lanka by container. Unfortunately, customs officials do not believe that the goods are only intended for the charity, but rather assume that we want to sell it for profit. As a result, the punitive tariffs on feed and food supplements are so high that we can no longer afford to import them.
A terrible trend has also continued in the last three months: huge numbers of owner dogs and puppies are being thrown onto the streets. At the same time, hardly anyone is willing to adopt a dog. It's a real vicious circle.
We continue to fight for survival and, despite the difficulties, we have been able to achieve the following numbers in the past three months: | 
