IFAW's Animal Rescue Blog

Tianjin Cat Rescue

The following is a report from IFAW China’s Angella Zheng, Companion Animal Project Coordinator, on the dramatic rescue of 700 cats on their way to slaughter.

Nov.28th, night, International Fund for Animal Welfare(IFAW) colleagues and I received a message about 700 cats found in Tianjin city, in cages and ready to be sold as meat. We learned that at first, people feeding cats in the community saw a few cats locked in caged in an abandoned house. They called Cats Hope, a local cat rescue group. When Cats Hope managed to open the door, they were shocked to find that there were 35 battery cages of cats. They estimated there would be 700 ~800 cats. It is suspected that these cats would be sold as meat to the south by cat dealers. After hours of confrontation with cat dealers, rescuers were able to finally move the cats into an abandoned elementary school, as a temporary shelter.

Judging from the behaviors of these cats, most of the cats are pets. They were probably let outdoor and got trapped by cat dealers. IFAW helped contacting China Daily, one of the biggest national newspapers, to make a story about the cats and a local newspaper also made a report. 60+cats were soon reclaimed by heartbroken owners.

The IFAW team went to Tianjin city on Nov. 30th, Kati, the vet consultant, Jeff, the communications manager, and I, the companion animal project coordinator. Two TV-crew people joined us to document this emergency relief effort. We arrived at about 9am and learned from Cats Hope that the total number of cats rescued is 726. Three had already died of disease and another 3 escaped. Cats Hope is a brand new group and have little experience dealing with such a large number of animals but we all think they did pretty well. Our vet Kati conducted a brief health examination of the cats and, overall, most cats seemed healthy and social. Very few cats, less than 20, had eye discharges and reacted in a nervous manner.

IFAW Rescuer Shares Experiences from Philippines Typhoon Efforts

International Fund for Animal Welfare Emergency Relief Responder Sarah Sharp filed this story at the end of animal rescue operations in the Philippines.

My colleague Jackson and I arrived in the Philippines on October 8th as the second wave of disaster responders. With the response in full-swing, we hit the ground running. In the lake-side village of Sukol the need for help was so great that our team had run out of both human and animal relief supplies on the previous day, so we returned to this area to reach all those in need. Our first rescue of the day was a kitten stuck on a hot metal roof, emaciated and dehydrated from the flooding ordeal. My colleague gave me a boost to get out of the murky flood water and onto the roof to feed her. Although skittish at first, she was so hungry that she could not resist the smell of food wafting up to her. When she came out of hiding, we realized just how thin she was, and that without a caretaker present, there was no way this little one would make it. Fortunately, we were able to capture her and get her safely into a crate, where she happily ate the rest of her food while awaiting her trip to the shelter.

Our most successful day that week was also one of the hottest. Dressed in full dry suits and riding in long narrow boats referred to as “bangkas” we split up into three teams and collectively fed 138 cats and 392 dogs, treated 12 cats and 24 dogs, and rescued two abandoned emaciated dogs. The furry faces of each and every animal we saw and helped are forever seared on my mind. At the end of this exciting and exhausting day, we returned to a remote location near the lake where Dick Green, our response manager, thought he had heard barking. Although the boat operator was not thrilled with bringing the small bangka into such deep open water, Dick insisted that the team investigate. Sure enough, we discovered a mother and puppy stuck on the roof of an abandoned shack that was sitting just barely above the water. The two were lethargic and their ribs protruded prominently under their skin. Dick swam from the bangka over to the roof, where he carefully climbed up. The roof was not very strong, and kept buckling under him, but he was able to rescue both of the dogs – first the puppy and then her mother. As we carried the dogs back in our arms, I knew without a doubt, that neither of these dogs would have made it if it were not for Dick’s careful ear and caring heart.

Efforts Intensify as IFAW Rescues Animals Stranded for More Than a Week

International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Michael Booth reports from the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana. To donate, please visit www.ifaw.org

It has been two days since my last blog entry and much has happened here in the Philippines, so I’ll just dive right into it.

Yesterday we had a very successful day out in Laguna. This town is located approximately 1.5 hours south of the capital city of Manila. The region sits next to a huge lake, beautiful scenery, but not the place you want to be when a Typhoon strikes. In two days, the water level rose in a flash and flooded many of the coastal communities. Some locals expect the flood will continue for the next two months! To assess and rescue animals impacted in this region, we had to source a number of boats. Unlike the floods in much of the city, the water in this rural landscape was much deeper, so it was impossible to suit up and cover the area by trucks or on foot.

Luckily, a boat club learned about our rescue work over the Internet and soon volunteered their time together with 4 boats and 1 kayak to help us reach animals in need. It’s inspiring to meet people like them; they have put their daily lives on hold to help in rescue efforts following Typhoon Ketsana. The day after the storm hit, they were out on their boats pulling people to safety and just a few days ago they were helping the Red Cross in relief efforts conducted in Manila. For more than a week now they have offered their resources and time – true heroes that rose to the occasion, no questions asked.

IFAW rescue and relief operations still underway in the Philippines

Michael Booth, IFAW ER responder and communications officer reports from the Philippines.

We’re on day 5 of operations here in the Philippines. Yesterday was an extremely busy and tiring day for us but very gratifying at the same time. Once again we headed out to Pasig City part of Metro-Manila, still flooded about chest-high deep in many areas.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare team arrived on scene at 7:00am ready to join a Philippines Armed Forces convoy heading to unexplored areas of the submerged city. This time we headed further South on Mercedes Street and into Greenwood Village. We traveled into the area on a big Army truck full of humanitarian and animal relief supplies.

Ten minutes into Greenwood, we stopped to offer bags of food to an elderly couple that had set up a makeshift camp by the side of the road, one of the only dry spots still available. They were in turn the owners of 4 goats and 2 dogs and were extremely grateful for the aid.

Word spread quickly and we were soon notified that there were 9 families living on top of metallic rooftops in a section that used to hold 15 families in a small and isolated shanty-town. The families owned 5 dogs and 4 cats and both humans and animals have been living in very precarious conditions since Typhoon Ketsana thundered through. After making our way out on an inflatable kayak, we carefully climbed on to the roof. Residents and their pets have been living literally on the edge. It was a balancing act to get around and distribute food for all of them. IFAW team-member and trained paramedic Brenda Stanton (member of the Washington State’s HEART group) attended to an apparent snake-bite on one of the villager’s arms. Fortunately the bite had come from a Philippine Reticulated Python, a non-venomous snake.

IFAW rescues animals in flooded areas of Manila, Philippines

 
This report was filed by Michael Booth, IFAW ER responder and communications officer currently in the Philippines.

It was a Tuesday morning when I first got word of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s immediate deployment to the Philippines. It is hard to assimilate the news when you are given only 2 or 3 hours to pack and get on the first plane out, but that is ‘business as usual’ for our disaster response team. Time to think about it? Well, there’s enough time to do that during the 22-hour journey from Boston to Manila.

The mission was very straight-forward. IFAW had been asked by a coalition of animal welfare groups and the local government to assist with animal rescues following the devastating Typhoon Ketsana (aka Ondoy) that flooded huge areas of Manila and surrounding districts. IFAW was to provide specific water rescue responders. The list of challenges included the presence of hazardous debris in the water, electric and phone cables, open man holes, toxic water, and the possibility of a shortage of boats.

Dog cull set to begin today – Write your Chinese Ambassador Now!

Reports from China indicate a citywide dog cull is beginning today in a district of Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province near Beijing. Dogs that are not registered and vaccinated will reportedly be killed, along with stray animals.

Residents with dogs over 14 inches in height or with those which are considered to be “dangerous breeds” were being asked to kill their own dogs by yesterday, September 10th. If these animals were not killed, police were set to form dog-beating squads, combing the district and killing all such dogs. Owners would then be fined for the killing.

While authorities are attributing the plan to recent dog-biting incidents in the area, IFAW’s Asia Regional Director, Grace Ge Gabriel says, “To pick this time to enforce the dog regulation, it is obvious that Qinhuangdao hopes to “clean” the streets and put on a good show for China’s National Day on October 1st. But, by inflicting cruelty on animals, the city is doing the exact opposite.

Mass killing of dogs is going to generate outrage from people all over the world, damaging China’s image of a harmonious society.”

Due to the lack of rabies prevention programs, consistent dog population controls or responsible pet ownership education, city governments often resort to mass killing of dogs as a means to control dog populations and prevent rabies outbreaks. This May, the cull in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province was responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 dogs. “This brutal killing of dogs further highlights the need for legislation that will ensure the humane treatment of all animals,” continues Gabriel.

Meanwhile, the central government is working with IFAW and other groups in China to draft national animal welfare legislation which Gabriel says is the only way to ensure the humane treatment of animals for the long-term.

“Qinhuangdao must stop the mass slaughter of dogs and attend to the root causes of overpopulation and rabies transmission. Above all else, this includes the need for vaccination and sterilization.”

“We are of course pleased that the draft of China’s first animal welfare legislation is near completion but it we fear it will be too late for the tens of thousands of dogs in Qinhuangdao,” concluded Gabriel.

Visit this link to fill in your name and address (merely to identify your legislators), click “Submit,” and there you can send a letter to your Chinese Ambassador. Please act now for these dogs.

Taking the extra step for animals in Taiwan

This post was filed by emergency responder Jackson Zee, moments after arriving from a successful mission in Taiwan.

For the Taiwanese people, Typhoon Morakot made landfall on August 8th was just going to be one of the many typhoons over the summer and nothing to really worry about and very similar to the hurricane was get every year on the east coast of North America. However, the many days of torrential rains that caused the severe flooding and deadly mudslides were unexpected and devastating. This was the worst weather related disaster for the island since 1950. The communities and animals in southern Taiwan province are still trying to recover from the August 8th (88) typhoon disaster.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare disaster response team traveled to Kaohsiung to meet with local government agencies and animal rescue groups to have a better understanding of the magnitude of the impact from the typhoon and assist with the response, only to discover that there were pre-existing stray animal problems and the groups were untrained and un-prepared for dealing with animals during a disaster.

When we started our assessments of the private shelters I was overwhelmed when I saw the amount of mud and debris that was in the shelter's dog pens covering the floor and water line marks near the ceiling. I knew many dogs drowned in the floods or were washed away to an uncertain demise. The lucky dogs were able to keep above the water or climb on the roof now are roaming around the shelter looking for food and many with skin problems. These shelters were built on the edge of villages to not disturb the neighbors but it also happens to be in the low lying and undeveloped parts of town. Not only were the animals affected but the kind-hearted grannies, aunties and uncles that looked after the animals were also living in this nightmare. I just felt the situation was horrible for the animals, their caretakers and their community.

We had a difficult time trying to find ways to get out to the townships most impacted by the mudslides for an assessment due to the poor weather and road closures due to public safety restrictions by the military. When we were finally granted access with the county animal health inspection and quarantine veterinarians, part of the roads we were traveling on had crumbled and fallen into the ravine or river below or were covered by mud and car sized boulders. It seemed like an image from a major earthquake. We were trying to get to a village called Xiaolin but when we arrived all we were able to see was a field of rubble and stone. This village had lost over 400 residents along with their pets and animals in just a few minutes when the mudslide covered the village in over fifteen feet of mud and rubble. I am incredibly saddened to see the amount of destruction due to the disaster and hope that there will be recovery soon.

IFAW’s Typhoon Morakot Response

This post was filed by IFAW's Michael Booth reporting from Taiwan.

Imagine a torrential downpour that is capable of dropping 10 feet of water in less than a couple of days. Hard to imagine isn’t it? Well, lucky for us, it’s not a common occurrence. In fact, those numbers have been seen just a handful of times in recorded history! Unfortunately for Taiwan, this once-in-a-lifetime storm descended on the island the 8th of August.

With a storm this size, you quickly encounter flash-floods and mudslides that immediately impact the welfare of all living beings. Washing away roads, highways, bridges and everything on its path, the flood crippled Southern Taiwan and now 10 days after Morakot, the rescue and recovery process is only just beginning.

As far as we know, IFAW is the only international group on the ground responding to the animal’s needs - and needs there are! At the moment the President of Taiwan is under great pressure to expedite human rescue under extremely difficult conditions. Search and rescue teams have been deployed to the areas of greater devastation and are pulling people out. Sixteen black-hawk helicopters and other military helicopters are tirelessly flying from staging areas to the mountain villages that have been cut-off from the rest of the world.

IFAW Urges Hanzhong City to Stop Killing Dogs

This post was filed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Colleen Cullen, who distilled this information from our China office among other sources...

Hanzhong city in Shaanxi Province started a massive dog cull since May. Claiming a rabies outbreak, the city officials had ordered to kill unlicensed, stray dogs and at the same time offer vaccination of dogs. Media reports that since May, around 20,000 dogs have been killed by dog beating squads, many of them owned, vaccinated and licensed dogs.

IFAW condemns the indiscriminate mass culling of dogs, particularly dogs that have already been vaccinated against rabies. Rabies has been successfully controlled in many countries through managing dog population and improving public education about effective disease control and treatment. Without scientific regulatory measures to control dog population and prevent disease, Hanzhong city failed to protect the health and wellbeing of its citizens. The mass killing of dogs further compounds the problem, glorifies violence, harms the feelings of animal lovers all over the world, creating conflicting relationships with its citizens and inflicts tremendous damage to China’s image.

Killing dogs that have rightful owners is also a violation of the basic rights of a citizen. Although China does not have legislation that protects the welfare of animals, its Constitution calls for the protection of personal property, which includes companion animals rightfully owned.

The cruel killing of dogs by clubbing, beating, hanging and drowning, is cruel, inhumane and unacceptable in any society around the world. It projects images of violence and brutality, which is very much in contradiction to the image China as a country hopes to project to the world, promoting compassion and harmony between animals and people.

IFAW encourages the promulgation of animal welfare legislation at the central government level to ensure the humane treatment of animals in China. It also urges Hanzhong city and other municipalities to put dog population management systems and regulatory guidelines in place to scientifically manage the problems associated with a growing human population in China that want dogs as companion animals.

IFAW has in the past successfully persuaded some municipalities from carrying out dog mass killing campaigns. With technical support from IFAW, Beijing government established the new dog regulation in 2004, which mandates vaccination, registration and promotes dog population control and responsible dog ownership.

IFAW urges Hanzhong city to stop the massive dog killing immediately and adopt similar regulation to control dog population and prevent disease.

Australia's bushfire update - latest news

The latest news from Tania Duratovic who has just returned from nearly three weeks on the ground in Whittlesea.

Friday 6 March
(Photograph ©IFAW/T.Duratovic)

I am now back in Sydney – after a few days rest – but the situation down in Victoria is still not over – there are still a number of fires raging in the State and the IFAW team is on stand-by to re-deploy if we are needed.

Dr. Ralph returned for the final few days of our time in Victoria to help out. We travelled to Southern Ash Wildlife Centre run by wildlife carer Colleen Wood where the world famous ‘Sam the Koala’ is being cared for. We spent the whole day treating burns and changing bandages of the koalas Colleen has in her care. I have to admit I took a bit of a shine to Sam, who is actually a Samantha - she was so gentle and allowed us to treat her without batting an eyelid!

Incidentally, I spoke to Colleen last night and she now has 52 koalas at her place!!

We also travelled to another wildlife carer who was looking after the young wombat that was bought into us at Whittlesea which needed Dr. Ralph's expertise to treat an infected burn on it’s bottom - ouch.

Many of the carers who were based with us in Whittlesea had to return to their own homes at the end of last week – which were coming under threat with more bad weather reported.  But since returning home these carers are still receiving many calls and reports of injured wildlife which they continue to respond to – often having to travel great distances to get to the animals.

I’m too am receiving calls from carers with updates of the animals I helped to rescue and treat. Many are doing well and some have been released into safe areas. It is important to remember that these carers are now dealing with the long road to recovery and rehabilitation for these animals, which is some cases will take many months. continued......