The Male’ City Council has officially handed over the Olhuhiyaa cat shelter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare.
Olhuhiyaa is a government-established shelter set up to care for stray cats on the streets of Male’ City. The shelter was developed on a 5,000-square-foot plot in Hulhumale’. The state-of-the-art facility was inaugurated by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu in November 2024.
The development of the pet care facility was initiated by the Animal Welfare Ministry and contracted to the Male’ City Council. However, in December 2024, the Ministry sent a letter to the Council, demanding the handover of the facility, citing the Council's failure to fulfil its responsibilities as outlined in the contract.
The Ministry confirmed that the handover has now been finalised, following the transfer of all official documents and legal assets. The handover agreement was signed by Male’ City Council’s Secretary General Ibrahim Rasheed and State Minister for Agriculture and Animal Welfare Ali Safwan Ibrahim.
State Minister Safwan said the Ministry is preparing to start operations at the pet care facility at the earliest.
"In alignment with the President's promise, we wish to start operations at the facility as soon as possible. We have now brought the facility under the control of the Ministry. The agreement reached today cancels the previous agreement with the Male’ City Council and fully transfers the facility to the Ministry,” he said.
The Olhuhiyaa facility is equipped with a quarantine area, a veterinary clinic and a laboratory, as well as a pharmacy stocked with medicines for cats and designated living spaces for animals.