With nearly 30 years of treating animals in post-disaster situations, WSPA has been involved in some of the world’s most devastating disaster relief efforts – including the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But, not until this year, have we ever responded to so many large-scale global disasters in such a short time frame.
Even with four months still left in the year, our disaster management team has already provided relief to thousands animals in five disaster-stricken areas across the world: Pakistan, Haiti, Mongolia, Chile and Guatemala.
Feeding the Surviving Animals in Pakistan
WSPA is currently responding to the extensive and ongoing flooding in Pakistan, buying food for more than 2,000 sheep, cows and goats in one of the main flooded areas. Volunteers from the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) and the Vets Care Club (VCC) have agreed to act as a third party for us, distributing the food to animals across five of Pakistan’s districts.
For updates on WSPA’s work in Pakistan, follow our Animals in Disaster blog.
Treating Thousands of Injured and Orphaned Animals in Haiti
Following the January 12 earthquake, a number of humanitarian organizations came to the aid of the Haitian people. But only one coalition took on the challenge of addressing the needs of the surviving animal population – the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH). The coalition, formed just days after the quake by WSPA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW,) has treated more than 25,000 animals in the hardest-hit areas of the country, to date.
To read more about WSPA’s ongoing work in Haiti, click here.
Bringing Aid to Animals in the Mongolian Dzud
Earlier this year, a dzud – an extreme cold phenomenon with temperatures as low as -52.6 °F – caused significant suffering and death to millions of livestock in Mongolia. WSPA provided funding for Member Society Cambridge-Mongolian Development Appeal (CAMDA) to purchase 130 tons of concentrated fodder and 1.3 tons of milk powder, which was distributed to 2,517 herder households to feed their malnourished animals.
For more information on the dzud disaster, read WSPA’s byline on National Geographic News Watch.
Earlier this year, WSPA teams also delivered food and veterinarian care to hundreds of animals in Chile following its February earthquake, as well as Guatemala, after the eruption of Pacaya Volcano in May.
To read more about WSPA’s disaster relief efforts, click here.
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