Recent heavy rains in Ecuador have meant over 3,000 rural families affected in the Santa Ana District after the main river in the zone burst its banks. Crops were absolutely destroyed by the flooding and many animals are currently suffering skin infections, pneumonias and diarrhoeas. After the declaration of the state of emergency, a DART team from neighbour country Colombia -where our South American office is based in- flew to Ecuador to evaluate the animal welfare need. While the weather again played havoc with the itineraries and they had to spend many hours being detoured to different airports, our WSPA... Continue reading

Die WSPA leistet Katastrophenhilfe bei der Dürre in Indien. Menschen haben sich zusammen mit ihren Tieren in provisorischen Lagern eingerichtet. Dort werden die Tiere mit Futter und medizinischer Hilfe versorgt. Einige Menschen zeigen dem Team der WSPA ihre Tiere. Continue reading

The plume of ash and smoke stretches miles into the atmosphere The eruption of the San Cristobal volcano on Wednesday December 26th, 2012 caused the Nicaraguan authorities to order the evacuation of several hundred people living near it –most of them famers. Officials declared an amber alert for five sq. km (two sq. miles) around the volcano, which began spewing ash and gas two and a half miles into the sky. The plume affected the eastern communities located within the 10 miles from the crater. Most of these communities suffered ash rain fall affecting not only the animal fodder availability,... Continue reading

Für uns ist es immer tragisch, vom Leid tausender Tiere im Falle einer Naturkatastrophe zu hören. Umso schockierender ist es, wenn Tiere mutmaßlich brutal und unnötig durch Menschen gewaltsam attackiert werden. Dies war der Fall innerhalb einer Auseinandersetzung zwischen ansässiger Gemeinden im Gebiet um den Tana Delta Fluss in Kenia im letzten Monat. Während dieses gewaltsamen Übergriffes wurden Menschen und Tiere mit Macheten und Speeren attackiert. 48 Menschen und mehr als 600 Nutztiere starben dabei. Dieser Konflikt beruht auf einer langandauernden Auseinandersetzung zwischen der Viehhalter-Gemeinde der ‚Orma‘ und der Landwirtschafts-Gemeinde ‚Pokomo‘ über die Regelung des Grasens der Rinder. Die WSPA... Continue reading

Die WSPA half fast 8,300 Tieren und deren Familien auf Haiti. Unser Katastrophenhilfe-Team ist auf der karibischen Insel im Einsatz nachdem Tropensturm ‘Isaac’ schwere Fluten und Überschwemmungen mit sich brachte. Continue reading

Reported from the field: Carlos Quesada Close to 8,300 animals in Haiti, and the families who depend on them, were helped by WSPA in this vulnerable Caribbean country, hit by the Isaac Tropical Storm last week. One-by-one farmers from Bonga and Grand Fond, the two areas most affected by Isaac, came to the WSPA disaster response team with their cows, pigs, horses and sheep, to receive medical treatment and advice for their animals. “Almost all international non-governmental organizations in Haiti help people, but it’s hard to find one which helps animals. By helping us on the field, WSPA has shown... Continue reading

Yesterday, at 8.42 local time, a powerful earthquake hit Guanacaste, a popular tourist destination in Costa Rica, known for its pristine beaches and nature and marine reserves. A tsunami alert was instantly declared bringing fears of widespread catastrophe, but early reports confirm there was very little damage. Marco Calvo, our Communications Manager in Costa Rica describes how he felt when the quake hit. “I was listening to the morning news on the radio when I heard the announcement that an earthquake was about to hit, not far from where I live. Seconds later I felt the earth begin to move... Continue reading

Das WSPA Katastrophenhilfe-Team hilft den Tieren auf den Philipinen. Die Straßen in Angono, einem kleinen Dorf des Stadtstaates Manila, sind mit provisorischen Holzblanken bebaut, damit man sich in dem überfluteten Gebiet fortbewegen kann. Die Blanken schützen die Menschen und Tiere zumindest teilweise vor dem stinkenden Abwasser, was nun in den Straßen steht und gegen die Häuserwände drückt. Moskito-Larven und Barsche schwimmen durch das Wasser, wo vorher Gehwege waren. Die Menschen und ihre Tiere balancieren vorsichtig auf den wackeligen Brettern, um nicht in das verschmutzte Wasser zu fallen. Ein junges Mädchen balanciert mit ihren Tieren auf den provisorischen Brettern über den... Continue reading

We walked through Angono village today on elevated, makeshift bridges the community built to cope with flood waters. They stand about five feet above the ground, over stagnant, brackish water that pushes up against people’s homes. Mosquito larvae and tilapia fish occasionally break the murky surface as they swim through what were once lanes and walkways. Overhead, the people and their animals balance carefully on temporary platforms, with one eye always on the reeking water that surrounds their homes. A young girl in Angono village balances on a makeshift bridge along with her animals. Angono villagers receive food for their... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

Following an assessment of some of the most flood affected districts in Assam, India, WSPA has responded with immediate veterinary care and feed supply to protect the farm animals (mainly pigs, goats and cows) affected in the Dhemaji district. Approximately 1,322 animals have already died from the unprecedented floods and a further 1.7 million animals have been affected across more than 3,000 villages in Assam. According to local reports, the floods are the worst in three decades and more than 2.2 million people have been forced to leave their homes. WSPA’s assistance will help to save nearly 34,000 animals, as... Continue reading

Vietnam An estimated 65,000 people in the Yên Thủy district in Vietnam are being affected by drought. These communities rely almost entirely on agriculture (crops and livestock) for their livelihoods. The damage to crops and less grass or hay means that the cattle, buffalo and pigs living in the affected area are potentially at risk. Yên Thủy is a rural district of Hoa Binh Province in the north western region of Vietnam. Drought has been on-going since May 2012. Located in a mountainous area with little rainfall, the region’s topography makes it prone to droughts every year. However this year’s... Continue reading

As part of its commitment to supporting the community and lifestock in Chihuahua, WSPA is investing in water management for the drought-stricken area of Chihuahua, in the north of Mexico, where livestock continues to struggle for survival. Following our recent reports it’s now been over two years since rains have fallen in the area and there is no guarantee that the wet season will come about this year. The government is planning to distribute 2.800 tons of maize which will benefit 400 small producers. WSPA is funding the development of two new dams in the area which were given the... Continue reading

While our work continues assisting farmers and their livestock in drought-stricken regions of northern Mexico, we have also been monitoring an area of the country that is under threat of a possible volcanic eruption. The Popocatépetl volcano, located approximately 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Mexico City, has been particularly active over the past two weeks. It is currently rated as a yellow alert, and we are closely monitoring any increase in activity or escalation of the alert level. A remote assessment was recently conducted by our disaster response staff in the Costa Rica office, and we are moving forward... Continue reading

Our colleague Ricardo Jiménez of the WSPA Latin America office sent us the following report from the field: Over the last three years, Colombia has been dealing with several seasons of heavy rains in different parts of the country due to the impact of La Niña phenomena. This year, 32 municipalities, including the capital city, have faced flood-related emergencies. WSPA has been very active at monitoring the impact on animal welfare, and has conducted evaluations in several emergency situations to assess animal need. One of the most critical emergency situations has been reported in the province of Cundinamarca, with several... Continue reading

As we updated a few weeks ago, our work continues in drought-stricken areas of Chihuahua. Livestock in the region continue to struggle for survival. Alongside our local colleagues, we held a second community meeting with key stakeholders, government officials and farmers where we laid the groundwork for the next phase of our intervention. We also distributed a further 100 mineral blocks to meet immediate needs of the most vulnerable animals. A video sent to us by our colleagues in the WSPA Latin America office tells the story and the impact of our support. The next stage of our will be... Continue reading

As we reported last week, our Disaster Response Team has been deployed once more to provide assistance in flood-impacted areas of Fiji, which was hit by two tropical storms in as many months. Preliminary reports indicate that the second and more severe storm has resulted in the worst flooding the island has seen in 30 years. This has had a devastating impact on crops, people and animals – especially in the hardest hit regions of the Western Division. WSPA is hard at work on the ground with our local partners to provide much needed aid to thousands of vulnerable animals... Continue reading

Two powerful earthquakes and a series of aftershocks struck the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province causing panic, but the tsunami threat has diminished and local authorities are carefully monitoring the situation. WSPA’s disaster management team are assessing the impact and have made contact with partners in the region to find out more. Whilst members of the response team are currently responding to the recent cyclone in Fiji, other members are on standby to deploy to Indonesia if necessary. We will keep you up to date with developments. Continue reading

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... Continue reading

As we posted a few weeks ago, the field teams have been working hard in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, providing aid to more than 3,500 animals affected by the flooding and landslides there. Through distribution centres, our network of volunteers in the field successfully provided emergency feed and veterinary services to thousands of animals; in addition, they distributed informational and awareness materials for pet owners, advising them on how to prepare for and protect their pets when faced with future disasters. Unfortunately, our help is still needed in other areas of the country. The state of Acre has... Continue reading

The absence of rain over the last two years has caused an extended drought emergency in the North of Mexico affecting agriculture and livestock. WSPA’s Sergio Vasquez travelled to two areas in the Chihuahua district. He shares his experience with us. “The pastures have no green cover at all and animals are struggling to find feed. We have seen many animals that had died from the drought and in some cases animals have perished as they have got stuck in the dried out reservoirs with muddy bottoms.” “Weakened animals have to walk further to find water and some of them... Continue reading

The Western part of Viti Levu Island in Fiji has been affected by heavy rainfall causing landslides and flooding. Although the Fijian Government’s early warning systems helped reduce casualties to human and animal populations, the country suffered great losses to livestock, primarily cattle and goats. WSPA carried out a needs assessment with Fiji’s Animal Health and Production Division. While in the field, the team witnessed the devastation left by the flood waters, which included widespread damage to crops and pastures. Over the coming weeks, WSPA will be providing emergency feed and veterinary supplies, targeting around 4,000 livestock animals. We are... Continue reading

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... Continue reading