WSPA - Animals in Disasters Blog

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! 

An update from Brazil

As we mentioned in a previous post, Dr. Juan Carlos Murillo and Dr. Sergio Vasquez, two of our most experienced disaster management vets, have been in Brazil since Sunday the 8th of January, to conduct a thorough assessment of the impact on animals in the flood-affected regions.

One of the first results of the WSPA visit has been to secure 450 placements of a public service announcement (PSA) on over 335 radio stations – this means that thousands of residents all across Brazil were reminded to include animals in their disaster plans and given practical tips on ensuring the safety of their animals. 

Our team started by visiting Belo Horizonte, where they met with Franklin Olivera, a representative of a local partner organisation "Amigos dos Bichos" to plan how best to work together to help the animals belonging to the local flood-affected communities.

They also visited the Mario Campos district to assess the impact of the floods there and the current animal situation. On their way there, they passed the previously flooded cities of Juatuba and Mario Campos, where they found that the situation had returned to normal, and people were going about their business as per usual. The Paraopeba river is returning to normal levels but in Mario Campos, effects of the recent flooding were still visible: water marks were visible on household walls as far inland from the river as 100 metres! 

The animals most impacted by the flooding in this region are pets that were abandoned when their owners had to evacuate their households. Most farm animals had been moved to higher ground – as they usually are, during the rainy season, and were therefore safe from the floods.

WSPA has initiated the distribution of pet food and fodder for animals in the communities most affected, including for some families continuing to live in a shelter set up at the Municipal School Antonio Gonzalez, because their homes had been swept away in the floods.

Over the weekend, our staff are expected to return from this initial assessment trip; based on the findings they report, we will make decisions about how to continue to help these animals, and of course, continue to keep you posted!

Click here if you'd like to hear the PSA that played on radio stations across Brazil.

Update from Japan: An “Emotional Roller Coaster”

The people of Japan have been on an emotional roller coaster during the last two weeks with many aftershocks and other scares – such as the fear of radioactive iodine in the water and food, as well as shortages on rice, milk and bottled water. Yet, despite all of these challenges, the local community continues to regroup, unite and help each other through this trying time.

We are seeing the same sentiments during our disaster relief and recovery work with the surviving animal population.

As WSPA reported last week, there are an estimated 30,000 companion animals in need of emergency shelter in Japan’s affected areas. While some of the evacuation centres allow animals, many do not. With no other choice, pet owners have resorted to tying up their animals outside the centres in near-freezing conditions. Some of the “luckier” pets are staying in their owners’ cars.

Local vet clinics, animal control shelters, boarding kennels, pet shops, dog groomers and even private houses have all pitched in to house some of these pets – despite the fact that many of these businesses have damaged buildings, power/water loss, and even lost family and staff. Additionally, at the request of Japan’s Animal Disaster Response Team (ADRT) and WSPA member society the Japanese Animal Welfare Society (JAWS), local vets are taking a tally of all animals in affected areas and identifying locations for the setup of nearly 200 temporary animal shelters near human evacuation centres – 30 of which WSPA has committed to funding over the next three months.

Vets have also been micro-chipping and taking photos of stray pets, which are then posted on a common government website in hopes of reuniting owners with their lost pets.

In the immediate near-term, food, medicines and equipment are very much needed to help carry out ongoing animal relief efforts. While many goods have been donated and there are thousands of trained volunteers on hand, storage space has become a significant issue. Meanwhile, because of damaged roads and petrol shortage, it has also been difficult for trucks to deliver supplies to the affected areas. We’ve even heard stories about children who have formed bicycle caravans, and gone into hard-to-reach places with relief supplies in their backpacks and on bike racks.