Vietnam has been ravaged by tropical storms, with typhoon Ketsana (which caused major damage to the coastal regions) compounded by tropical cyclone Mirinae last week. The central and southern highlands are experiencing terrible flooding that has, to date, caused tens of thousands of animals to die. Many of those affected are working animals like cattle, which has an enormous impact on the community’s ability to weather the situation and recover. A WSPA response team was deployed earlier this week from their base in Thailand, flying in to Ha Noi and then on to the south.
The team of specialist veterinary staff, trained in disaster management field techniques, is being led by Dr Ian Dacre. They will be travelling around the affected areas by car next week, assessing the scale of harm caused to the animals during the storms. Carrying a supply of emergency feed and medical materials, the team will help as many animals as possible as soon as they come across cases of need. Ian and his team are very concerned about the possibility of animals having been trapped by the flooding and their access to food; there is also a significant chance that diseases are spreading among those animals that have survived the initial disasters.
