WSPA - Animals in Disasters Blog

Responding to crisis in northern India

Aerial vew of the mountainous Ladakh region

Our Asia Pacific Disaster Response team are on the Changtang Plateau, southeastern Ladakh in India's northern Jammu Kashmir State conducting a rapid assessment after a prolonged period of intense cold and snowfall has killed thousands of animals and affected the livelihoods of countless people.

Three members of our disaster response team are on the ground to conduct the assessment after 40,000 goats and sheep and hundreds of horses and yaks have died from malnourishment and hypothermia. Many thousands more are potentially in danger as the lack of food over the past months has affected their resistance and health. 

A sheep in Leh, April 2013. Leh is the largest town in the Ladakh region which includes the affected area of the Changtang Plateau

These animals are the backbone of the local economy and represent a large percentage of the local pashmina industry. People in Changtang region are generally nomads whose entire livelihoods come from their animals.
 
We'll have more details in the coming days as we hear back from our team.

Update: Some good news from Beed!

I'm happy to tell you that the shade netting and mineral supplements have arrived for the animals coping with the terrible drought in Maharashtra State.

While this means 9,000 animals have a fighting chance to get through this drought, our work now turns to persuading the remaining camps across the state to adopt this model camp approach.

Have a look at some photos of the arrival below!

WSPA's Dr. Akash Maheshwari demonstrates the right mixture of mineral supplements to feed

as a hungry water buffalo looks on

WSPA's Hansen Thambi Prem and cattle camp residents unfurl the first of the shade nets to arrive

 

Staying alive against a dying landscape

Our third day in the cattle camps and we were there from early morning until sunset. The heat from the sun around midday was so strong, I was constantly thirsty and sought shade in or beside the makeshift cattle shelters.

     Makeshift shelters

Whirlwinds passed through the camps every hour or so, creating vivid tunnels of dust, garbage and dried up leaves. While not dangerous, they are unpleasant and afterwards you rub grit from your eyes and have to rinse out your mouth.

This was one day.

I met people who’ve been living there every day since December. It’s uncomfortably hot right now, but over the next few months, the temperatures will regularly climb into the blistering mid-40s Celsius or 120s Fahrenheit.

  Chatragun, 21 years old and his eight cattle including this two-year old female calf

walked seven kilometres to find shelter in this camp
  

The shelters we saw were made from whatever farmers could find – jute sacks, plastic sheeting that was often cracked or fraying, even some discarded and rusting metal siding that might have once been a shed.

WSPA India's Dr. AkashMaheshwari along with local volunteer Dhama Parvekar,

takes health data from one of the cattle living at the site of our ongoing intervention

The three camps we’re working are meant as models of the best shade and nutrition care for animals trying to survive a drought. By improving and maintaining the health and welfare of these 9000 animals, we hope to persuade the State Government to adopt this model in other camps in drought-ravaged Beed District.

WSPA India’s Dr. Akash Maheshwari talks to camp resident Arjun about the health and shelter

of his animals while planning WSPA’s intervention

The surrounding countryside is scorched dry. Only the trees with the longest taproots remain green. Yet, even in the harshest conditions, there is hope. Today, amidst all the heat and dust, a female calf was born and became the newest resident of the camp.

Rani, four hours old

“Rani” which means ‘queen’ was too young to stand but her owners Arjun and Reka were doting on her, rubbing her coat and making sure she had enough shade. Her mother was nearby and kept a watchful eye on her as she recovered from labour.

I hope the rains come in June and that Rani, Gyaneshwar, Kisan and Manthan -- all the people and animals I’ve met over the last few weeks -- lives are made easier by the work we’re doing here in the meantime.

Photos of the shade netting and nutritional supplement delivery will be up soon!

Living in camps to cope with drought in Beed

We arrived early in the morning in Yeshwanth Cattle Camp, one of three locations where WSPA is helping 9,000 animals. As we neared, I could hear the soft tinkling sound of bells many buffalo and cows were wearing.

WSPA India’s Hansen Thambi Prem at the Yeshwanth Cattle Camp in Beed

Some camp residents were already caring for their animal companions, pouring out buckets of chopped sugarcane, their main source of fodder. Some were rolling up their bed mats and shaking off sleep. They’re living in the camp like the young boy Gyaneshwar we met the other day. Camps range in size from 500 to 3000 cattle and buffalo, there were about 2800 animals today.

Vijay Uttham Sabay and his buffalo. His green bed mat is visible at right.

Twenty-two year old camp resident Vijay is from Palwan Village a two-kilometre walk. Others like Krishna Bharat Katkar, 18 years old, come from Kahapar Panjar village, seven kilometres away. Krishna has been living here for fifteen days along with his family, which includes his parents, six buffalo, two bulls, five calves and their two-year old dog Major.

Krishna Bharat Katkar answers Hansen’s questions about his animals while Major keep an eye on the family’s cattle and buffalo

They live in long rows, roughly corresponding to their home villages, recreating in miniature parts of the Beed district. Kisan Maske, 21, is also from Palwan and is here with his ten cattle and buffalo. He’s a student and aspires to be a government official one day. Incredibly, he manages to care for his animals and study for his ongoing computer science university exams, while living in extremely basic conditions. He said his father takes his place when he needs to go to class or write exams.

Kisan Maske proudly shows his textbook in front of the shelter where he and his ten animals live.

Kisan and others we met at the camp showed us the makeshift shelters they’d built for their animals. This week, WSPA is working with the Beed Veterinary Hospital, the Department of Animal Husbandry and local volunteers to deliver nets that will block 90% of the sunlight for the people and animals living here. Sugarcane feed, while rich in vitamin A and high in water content does not have the minerals the animals need. So, we’re also providing mineral supplements to keep them healthy.

Kisan was great fun to talk with. He tried to teach me some of the sounds people make to communicate with their animals and laughed when I couldn’t quite reproduce them. One of his cows 'speaks' Marathi. She's a beautiful seven-year old named ‘Manthan’ who comes running when you call her name.

Kisan and Manthan

Meeting Kisan, Krishna and Vijay, I thought again of the many lives this drought is affecting and how much we need to help these people and animals cope with living daily in harsh sun and with few comforts.

Investing in a Better Future for Animals and People in Assam

In Assam, people sing traditional songs called Bihu – songs about a way of life that has lasted for thousands of years. The songs bring to life the timeless relationship between animals and the people who depend on them. One such song is about a man who is destined to never find a wife because all his time is dedicated to his buffalo and the endless tasks involved in tending to fields and crops.

In Seujia Pathar village, they no longer raise buffalo. In 1980, the villagers stopped this ancient practice and switched to raising bulls -- an animal that requires much less feed and shade. Here bulls are constant companions, often named in Assamese for the colour of their coats – ‘black’, ‘brown’, ‘mottled’ and so on.  But, they represent more than just companions; they are investments for the future. As one villager described them – they are the local equivalent of a bank account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three young bulls in Seujia Pathar village, Dhemaji District, Assam

Try for a moment to imagine what it might be like to wake up one morning and discover your bank account is empty. For people dependent on their animals like Dipen Bora Gohain or Dalimiya in rural Assam, that is exactly what a flood can be like. 

July and August 2012 saw some of the worst flooding in memory throughout the Machkhowa Block, Dhemaji District, Assam. Many animals were lost. Some were washed away, others drowned while others fell sick to illnesses that spread quickly, flourishing in the unsanitary conditions that followed in the wake of stagnant, fetid floodwaters.

 

 

 

A bridge washed away by recent floods

The mighty Brahmaputra river that traverses this northeast Indian state overflowed its banks. An annual and predictable event, the floods this year were larger and more devastating than any in recent memory. The river – this bringer of life - showed its other nature: a destructive wall of death and disease that kept some areas underwater for up to a week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                 RajatBura Gohain, Seujia Pathar village resident and Indian Army Medical Corps officer shows the high water mark left from the recent floods                

Dipen is thirty-seven years old and is actively involved in his community. He is the local representative of the development-focused NGO Action for Food Production, and we first met him when we came to his village in response to the floods and its impact on the animals. Dipen owns a large one-year old sow named Phakhari (‘mottled’). He purchased her one year ago for one thousand rupees (about $18 USD). She lives in his family compound along with his wife Manulla Bora Gohain and his young son Mrinmoy. He plans to sell her soon for 10,500 rupees (about $195 USD) – a significant profit in the livestock and agriculture-based economy of the Dhemaji District.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dipen and Phakhari

Dalimiya owns several cows and a young bull named Lal Bai or “red brother” in Assamese. She and her family live side by side with their cattle near Seujia Pathar and consider them to be members of the family. To meet the family, is to immediately recognise that Lal Bai holds a special place in their hearts. Dalimiya proudly showed us the animal feed provided by WSPA – a month’s supply of rice bran. She offered thanks for seeing her and her family through the worst of the floods while Lal Bai slowly ate the rice bran in the family’s swept mud courtyard.

Living several houses down from one of the feed distribution centres WSPA-sponsored, Dalimiya and people from the surrounding community rushed over to greet us enthusiastically when they saw our WSPA t-shirts. Despite the recent hard times, people smiled as they recalled someone being there for their animals. “With your help, Lal Bai and my cows had enough to eat and this helped them and my whole family,” said Dalimiya.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dalimiya, her granddaughter Dili Rani and Lal Bai

Animals form the backbone of the local economy – plowing fields, giving milk, eggs, meat and as the main source of income from sales. To lose an animal in a disaster has a devastating effect on families. If the animals manage to survive the initial flood, there is often a lack of food and clean water to keep them healthy and floodwaters create conditions where diseases like foot and mouth disease and dysentery flourish.

WSPA selected Machkhowa as the focus of our response in Assam because the animal need here was greatest. In addition to supplying feed, we worked alongside local veterinarians, to distribute veterinary medicines and set up mobile veterinary clinics. Now we’re here working in Seujia Pathar village to create a model plan that draws on local knowledge to determine things like where to evacuate, how to source feed, what resources are available to the community and how to access them when needed.           Hansen and residents of Seujia Pathar documenting a goat's health information

Our hope is this plan will help the residents of Seujia Pathar cope with future disasters and, if successful, be adopted elsewhere in India. As always, our goal is to help break the effects of the annual disaster cycle, ensure communities are better prepared and their animals are safe. 

 

UPDATE: WSPA Begins Longterm Response to the Assam Floods

The large bull was not in a cooperative mood and snorted loudly as we approached. Constantly keeping a nervous eye on the group of strangers approaching clutching notebooks and a roll of measuring tape, he jumped and charged while his owner Bhigu Konwar tried to calm him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bhigu Khonwar and his bull

It was early Wednesday morning in Seujia Pathar, a remote village in Assam in northeastern India and we are here with the Machkhowa Block veterinary surgeon Dr. Changmai. We’re initiating WSPA’s long-term response to the floods that ravaged the village between July and October this year. WSPA was first here in July providing food and conducting mobile veterinary clinics along with Dr. Changmai and his team of veterinarian assistants (you can read more about WSPA’s response here and here). Now that the immediate danger has passed, our response turns to reducing the harm from future floods.

Hansen Thambi Prem is part of WSPA’s team in India and focuses on breaking the disaster cycle for animals and their human communities. Hansen is working with residents of the village in a series of participatory exercises over four days. Together, they’ve mapped out an historical record of disasters that affected the village since 1950 and the impact on animals. They created a village map – identifying homes, roads, ponds, pastures, the number ofpeople and animals in each and safe evacuation routes for villagers to take in the future. They charted out a calendar of the year – noting periods of rainfall, planting, harvest and occurrence of diseases.

This morning, we took measurements of animals to establish baseline health information to compare and understand the impact of future disasters. Trying to convince an anxious bull, a jittery goat or a recalcitrant pig that wrapping them in measuring tape is for their own good is one of the more unique challenges of the job!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                        Hansen records health information for one of Bhigu Konwar's cows

Hansen relates, “We are working along with the community and local government – giving them a tool in their hand – so they can use it to help their animals in future disasters. If we succeed, during the first thirty minutes following a disaster, the villagers will be able to take action to help themselves before outside help can reach them.”

Diarrheal animal diseases are endemic here. Yesterday, despite the efforts of veterinary paramedic Mr. Sonowal, a young goat died in front of us while his owner Prativa petted and spoke to him softly -- hoping in vain he would recover. While stories like these are all too common in this part of the world, overall the animals are looking good in Seujia Pathar. Bulls and cows graze languidly in green fields from which the village takes its name. Healthy looking goats, pigs and chickens are everywhere. A surprisingly large number of them wandered in and out of the WSPA-sponsored workshops conducted in the shade of the village temple.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Numal Sonowal works to save a young goat suffering from diarrheal disease by administering saline as the goat's owner Prativa Bura Gohain looks on. Saujia Pathar village. Dhemaji District, Assam, India.

The community faces annual flooding as does the Machkhowa Block in which it is located. WSPA will continue working with the village and our partners in the Dhemaji district to help ensure that next time, they have a plan and a way to cope with floods and their animals remain healthy and safe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                         Healthy looking pigs - recepients of food and medicine from WSPA in July. 

 

Brownie the Rescued Dog Saves Family from Flood

The Catingin family from Taguig, Philippines went to bed on August 10 at the usual time of 9:00 PM. Rosita and her husband Joel, along with their son Jerome thought nothing of the rains outside. While heavy, they came on the footsteps of two recent typhoons and multiple rainstorms. Along with their dog Brownie, they lay in the dim light of a single 60-watt bulb until settling into sleep around 9:30.

Brownie is a gentle, mixed-breed dog the Catingin family rescued after his previous owner decided to abandon him due to a chronic skin condition. Nursing Brownie back to health with ointments and sharing what food they had became a mission of sorts for Rosita, a security guard for the Taguig Municipal Government. Brownie’s skin condition eventually healed and he quickly became part of the family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosita, Joel and Brownie Catingan

While the family slept, the nearby river began to overflow its banks. At 12:30 AM, Rosita woke up to Brownie pawing and scratching at her hair. Annoyed at first, once her eyes became accustomed to the dark, the first thing she saw was her son Jerome floating in the middle of the room, still asleep on his bed. Over a meter of water had flooded their home and more was coming in fast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nearby river that flooded Taguig

“I was in shock,” said Rosita. “I began to cry and at the same time I realised that Brownie had saved our life”. Joel and Rosita gathered up Jerome and Brownie and using one of their papags or flat-board beds, constructed a platform on which they waited for 24 hours, only inches above the floodwaters. “I only had time to grab a small amount of food. –  barely enough for my family. What I did have, I shared with Brownie because if not for him my family would not be here right now.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joel Catingan shows how high the waters were when they woke up in their flooded home.

We spoke for over half an hour and Rosita petted and hugged Brownie the entire time. She kissed and hugged him and fought back tears as she shared the story of how this rescued dog rescued her and her family. Her final words were: Salaamat-po (thank you) Brownie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosita, her neighbor, Put Put and Rosita’s son Jerome Catingan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosita and Brownie in the entrance to their home

Tomorrow, WSPA and our local partners PAWS are delivering food to cats and dogs like Brownie and Put Put in Taguig village as part of our ongoing response to the Philippines floods. 

Keep visiting our blog for more.

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.

 

Fiji flooded once more

Our Disaster Response Team is preparing to land in Fiji again after the island was hit by severe flooding for the second time this year.

In February we visited the island to assess the impact of the flooding and provide emergency feed, but during the fragile recovery phase the island was affected by heavy rain and strong winds caused by Cyclone Daphene. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much of the islands crops and pastures have been destroyed and there is concern for those animals in poor conditions as a result of the cyclone. Once on the ground our team will work in the Western District of the island with members of the Fiji SPCA to assess the impact on animals.   

We will update you once the team have reached the impacted areas. 

A photo update from Brazil

As we posted earlier this week, our disaster relief team has been in the Minas Gerais state, Brazil, to help animals affected by the flooding and landslides there. Following their assessment, the team reported that close to 3000 cats and dogs are in need of our help. Over the coming weeks, we will be delivering emergency feed and basic veterinary care to these animals. In addition, if persistent rains start compromising pastures, we will provide food supplements to an estimated 500 cattle that are likely to be affected.

Meanwhile, here are a few of the photographs sent through by the team, visibly highlighting the need for our work there.

WSPA vet Sergio Vasquez surveys damage in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais, where months of rainfall have caused flooding and landslides, destroying many homes and rendering most roads unusable.

 

While the DART (Damage Assessment and Response Team) were conducting their assessment of the area they were followed by this puppy. She is usually looked after by locals, who apparently left her behind when they evacuated.  

 

The team came across many abandoned dogs who were visibly distressed. For instance, the locals told our vets how this dog had lost her puppies in the flooding and was refusing to leave her home.

 
The bridge in Guidoval municipality was destroyed by flooding dividing the town in half. The Brazilian Army built a temporary pontoon bridge allowing access.  WSPA’s Sergio Vasquez crosses over with food for animals.  

 

During the assessment in Guidoval city, WSPA’s Juan Carlos Murillo found this starving, injured puppy. Since no one in the neighbourhood claimed ownership of the puppy, Juan Carlos named him Guido and took him to a veterinary clinic for thorough treatment.

Sergio Vasquez holds Guido while the local vet, Dr. Alonso, examines him. Guido is recovering well and will be looked after until a suitable home can be found for him. 

 

Over the next few weeks WSPA will continue to work with volunteers from local animal protection groups Nucleo Fauna and Bichos Gerais who will be carrying out the work in the field.

We expect more information from our team over the weekend, and will certainly keep you posted!