WSPA to the rescue

The World Society for the Protection of Animals in Asia (WSPA) helped creatures caught in the flooding of Nghe An, one of 13 Vietnamese provinces hammered last month by Tropical Storm Haima.

"The locals say it was the worst flood in six decades," notes Dr Damian Woodberry, head of the WSPA's disaster-response team.

The group acted because Nghe An has 1.6 million head of domestic-ated livestock.          The flood killed seven people and 3,500 animals and swept away many homes, as well as veterinary facilities.

Woodberry's team visited the village of Luu Kiem and Yin Tinh, the rural corners of Nghe An near the Lao border, necessitating a five-hour drive on rough roads.

The team dispersed more than 85,000 kilograms of feed meal and 583 canvas sheets for shielding animals against the cold. "We also gave out veterinary supplies and seven refrigerators for storing vaccines and other medicine," Woodberry says.

He expects that the equipment delivered, including a microscope, will be adequate to assure direct veterinary care for more than 5,000 animals and "our efforts will indirectly benefit another 10,000 animals too".

The assistance cost the WSPA the equivalent of Bt2.15 million.

"I think this is the best solution," Woodberry says. "With assistance like this we can save the lives of animals. If we just give money, the benefits might not reach the animals."

Lu Thi Ly, a 33-year-old resident of Yin Tinh, lost one of her cows to disease soon after the floods hit and said the same happened to many of her neighbours.

The livestock that survived the flooding faced starvation until assistance arrived, Lu said. She's grateful to the WSPA, as is Vi Van Wu, 55, who managed to save all of his pigs in Luu Kiem.

"It was really difficult to find food for them during the flood," he said. "A bag of animal feed costs 370,000 dong [Bt395]. I can't afford that, so the free animal feed meant a lot to me."

Nguen Van Lap of the Nghe An People's Committee says authorities had extended relief but the disaster was so widespread that outside assistance is still badly needed.

The loss of livestock was limited because the WSPA had earlier provided training on disaster response, he says.

WPSA has helped more than 100,000 animals in various natural disasters - the earthquake in Haiti, the blizzard in Mongolia, volcano eruptions in Indonesia, a cyclone in Fiji and floods in Nepal, Pakistan, India, Burma and Thailand.

The organisation responded to news reports of dogs being smuggled out of Thailand from Nakhon Phanom by sending a veterinary team to take care of the rescued animals and train officials in their rehabilitation.