At the start of the flooding in Thailand, WSPA assessed the needs and gaps to see who is helping animals and where, and got in touch with other animal welfare organisations (including Soi Dogs Foundation and WFFT, who received half a tonne of pet food and a number of cages to help their rescue efforts). We use this information to determine that our efforts will not be duplicating the work of others.
We always follow this process as it has been proven to ensure that our supporters’ contributions will help the greatest number of animals and the communities that depend on them.
Like others in the field, in the urgent phase, our teams rescued, fed and ferried around 6000 animals. At the same time, we continued to work with government agencies and organizations, supporting their efforts to ensure relief work is coordinated in the most effective way possible. The Thai Government Department of Livestock and Development (DLD) are the government agency responsible for responding to animal needs in these floods, so they are best placed to make change at the largest scale possible. Working with the DLD is important because it means we can ensure relief reaches the most number of animals.
In the next phase of our work in Thailand, we have just committed to improving conditions at several shelters and will continue to feed animals: we expect this second phase to help an additional 4000 pets, as well as the cattle in Phichit province.
Por Thrisadee Sahawong, a renowned actor in Thailand, who has been involved with several WSPA campaigns in the past, heard about the work that we have been doing in the aftermath of the floods. As an animal lover, he wanted to help out in any way possible. Por recently joined the WSPA team on our operation to distribute five tonnes of pet food to some very needy dogs and cats, severely affected by the current flooding.
Thailand’s Channel 3 News followed the actor as he travelled with WSPA three hours from Bangkok to the town of Wat Suankaew. There, he helped to deliver a second batch of live-saving food to 500 dogs and 300 cats in the community, as well as seeing vets treat sick animals. Take a look at their news report, subtitled by WSPA Thailand.
