WSPA - Animals in Disasters Blog

Nearly 28,000 animals in danger in Haiti

There has been extensive flooding in Haiti after Tropical Storm ‘Isaac’ passed over the southern part of the country at the weekend. Our colleagues have travelled to Haiti to assess the situation of almost 28,000 animals are believed to be at risk.

 

We will be delivering some essential veterinary care for animals. This includes teaching owners how to use medicines in order to alleviate stress in their animals and reduce outbreaks of disease which commonly spread following natural disasters such as this. Our team will also assess what further help the animals might need and provide support to people on the island who will be providing veterinary care in the days to come.

 

We went to Haiti in 2010 to help animals after the devastating earthquake. We worked with the local government to improve the infrastructure for veterinary care and provided a much-needed mobile clinic. Our experience in the region will enable us to provide expert care and support for families and animals who desperately need it right now.

 

We will update you further when we hear more from the team on the ground in the next couple of days.

 

UPDATE: WSPA provides emergency feed to the animals suffering in North Vietnam

Already weak, emaciated pigs and other livestock will struggle to survive the winter without proper food or outside help.

Since our last update, our response team in Thailand have been given the green light to provide emergency feed and assistance to thousands of animals affected by the on-going drought in North West Vietnam.

Over 60,000 animals in the Yen Thuy District are continuing to suffer from a lack of food after 70% of the spring harvest crops were destroyed by the arid weather conditions. This is having a significant impact on the health and well-being of local communities.

In addition to providing emergency feed, WSPA is conducting a workshop for 13 animal health officers, and a community workshop to 150 households, in four of the most severely impacted communes. The workshop will teach local communities how to preserve animal food, helping them to become better protected from future droughts.

If the workshops are successful, the Vietnamese government has agreed to adopt these methods and implement to other drought vulnerable areas in Vietnam.

Local families are facing hard times after their crops are ruined by drought

Assam, India Flood Relief Update

Our response team based in India has been busy working in Assam, alongside the Department of Animal Husbandry and community leaders to help farmers and animal owners in the flood hit areas.

So far we have set up six of the seven planned veterinary health camps which have already benefited nearly 1,000 animal owners and nearly 24,000 animals.

We have also distributed surgical kits and 875 bags of rice bran (animal feed)in the flood affected areas directly benefiting 1,203 households, and nearly 10,000 cattle and pigs.

We expect to distribute a further 1,520 bags of rice bran this week.

The Department of Animal Husbandry has been very co-operative in organising and implementing these activities. Community leaders have also been heavily involved in the response operation.