The landlocked South American nation has been severely affected by extreme cold, floods and landslides in the central parts of the country since February, leaving local animals in need of our help.
A WSPA assessment team from our South American office was dispatched to the worst affected areas last month where we identified that thousands of camelids (llama, alpaca and vicuña), cattle and companion animals were in need of veterinary treatment.
At present, our team is on the ground around the capital, La Paz, and the Department of Bení, in an operation that will provide medical care to as many as 9,700 animals over the coming critical weeks.
In the largest operation, in Bení, we are working alongside the governmental agency, SENASAG, to provide dewormers and mineral salts for 5,000 cattle in the most severely affected municipalities of the area.
High on the plateau of La Paz Department, the municipality of Charazani has been affected by a cold wave, endangering the lives of the camelids which local people depend on for their livelihoods. Again, with the help of SENASAG, we are dispatching essential dewormers, antibiotics and mineral salts for approximately 3,500 animals.
Meanwhile, in the capital itself, together with local vets and students, we are providing veterinary aid to 1,200 companion animals which remain in human rescue centres following the recent disasters.
In the coming days, we hope to receive more information from the team on the ground.
