“Worldwide, we've raised two-thirds of the funds we need in order to fund a two-year recovery effort in parts of Asia where the tsunami took a particularly heavy toll,” said WSPA USA Director Laura Simpson. “Just as we were awestruck at the level of destruction, so are we awed by the quick and compassionate response of donors. I hope they know how much good they have accomplished, and how much we appreciate their kindness.”

What we've accomplished so far

After the tsunami struck, WSPA's disaster relief teams were dispatched to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia. As they conducted initial assessment work, they simultaneously delivered emergency food supplies and initiated vaccine campaigns to prevent the outbreak of disease.

In Sri Lanka, where human deaths from rabies are not uncommon, WSPA led a campaign that vaccinated more than 10,000 dogs, which is an estimated 10 % of the canine population. This project protects vulnerable populations of people and animals from the spread of disease.

In Thailand, the most pressing animal welfare problem was food shortages. In tourist areas, stray dogs and cats that were used to surviving on scraps from hotel and restaurant dumpsters found their food sources gone. Small shelters in this area rely on contributions from local businessmen in order to feed their animals. With so many people killed and businesses destroyed, it was important for WSPA to deliver emergency food to stabilize the population.

WSPA has also supported the relief efforts of local animal welfare societies in the affected regions in India; and in Indonesia, WSPA has helped fund the work of a local member society, Profauna, to evacuate animals from Wulandari Zoo in Aceh, to a temporary shelter at the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) in Medan, as well as provide medical treatment and food for the domestic animals in Banda Aceh.

Rebuilding efforts underway

Now that the immediate disaster aid has been delivered and assessments have been completed, WSPA is set to implement longer-term projects in Thailand and Sri Lanka, two countries hit hard by the tsunami.

Thailand

WSPA is working to bring the dog population under control by providing a mobile vet clinic for the Phuket Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), a WSPA member society. In addition, we are a providing the Soi Dog Foundation with an animal ambulance enabling them to bring up to 20 animals a day back to a veterinary clinic to be treated, sterilized and vaccinated. The dogs will be given post-operative care before returning to the owners or community they were collected from.

WSPA has also set up an emergency response team with member society Thai Animal Guardians, complete with an equipped vehicle to attend to future emergency animal welfare problems as they arise. Over 20,000 animals will receive veterinary treatment through these various initiatives over the next two years.

Sri Lanka

Two mobile vet clinics will work along the tsunami-affected coastline in the southern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka by April. A 4x4 vehicle will tow an air-conditioned trailer containing a fully functional veterinary operating room.

One will be based in Colombo, under the management of WSPA member society the Blue Paw Trust, with the other run by WSPA member society KACPAW in Kandy. A team of vets will work on each unit, which will be operational six days a week and stop at specific locations for a week at a time to treat, vaccinate and sterilize animals in areas where little other animal care exists.

Final year students from the veterinary faculty at the University of Kandy, as well as government vets in the areas served by the clinics, will be offered a one-week internship in the mobile clinics. In this way, WSPA will be able to help bring new skills and knowledge to almost 100 vets in Sri Lanka this year alone.

Our sincere thanks goes out to everyone who donated to our Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund. You are helping to make this work possible.