(IN) VSPCA philosophy and Orissa flood update

[Guest guest]

(please scroll down for philosophy)

 

Dear Sir/Madam/Colleagues/Friends,

 

The flood situation at Orissa continues to be very grim. As per the latest

assessment carried out by the Animal Husbandry, Orissa (please contact us for

this attachment) for more detailed knowledge :

 

# No of District affected = 19

# No. of villages affected = 4258 - this is approximately 40 lakh

or 4 million people

 

# No.of large animals affected = 1173843

# No. of small animals affected = 502620

# No. of poultry affected = 570951

 

 

No. of animals swept away:

# Large animals = 411

# Small animals = 776

# Fowls = 13363

 

 

The immediate requirement and request from them is:

# Cattle feed = 15000 .1 MT

 

The Government has enough vaccinations and medicines to carryout the treatment

and their machinery is on the job.

 

On a telephonic talk with The Director , Animal Husbandry, Government of Orissa

, and our team at Bhubaneswar, he said that severe water logging continues and

will be there for another fifteen days. He is asking for feed supplies as

everything is under water and the animals have not eaten for days . He said

that they have vaccinations but wants help for the feed. And this is huge help

in terms of feed required.

Besides the cost will involve treatment and emergencies requirement, makeshift

camps and this means som much for the entire 19 districts. And we are not yet

counting the many street animals like dogs, cats etc.

 

 

This is magnitude of a very large scale and I request for you all to come

forward and help in whatever manner possible. Please scroll down for two recent

articles and a note from Weintraub regarding VSPCA philosophy in helping

in natural disasters.

 

Many thanks for considering joining our efforts,

Pradeep Kumar Nath,

0891 2716124 (office)

 

98481- 85652 (mobile)

www.vspca.com

 

 

Here is Visakha SPCA philosophy on why we are helping animals in natural

disaster relief:

 

1. lots of animals are abandoned whose owners may be dead, incapable of helping

them or don't care about them

2. the relief teams with their signs about helping animals are a tremendous

boost to humane awareness saying that we care about animals enough to help them

specifically

3. not only livestock but dogs, cats, wildlife are affected and need help

4. for the farm animals themselves often in these rural settings they are a

part of the farmer's life and not all are designated for eventual slaughter,

this is different than our factory farms in the west.

5. groups like Heifer Project do not care about animals lives and buy new and

replacement animals after disasters, we care about the existing and distressed

animals

6. this time of year there are religious but illegal animal sacrifices and our

presence can help dissuade this

7. in the case of Orissa where the animal NGO's are not as well known it is an

opportunity for us (and international relief groups which we are hoping to join

us if they are not burnt out from Bihar flood relief!) to come in and help --

we can all encourage, strengthen and help coordinate together. With 19 districts

affected we need all hands on deck!

 

Needless to say Visakha SPCA does not believe that any animal should be used for

food, profit, or any other purpose detrimental to their life and well being.

 

Many stories and updates are online here is a sample:

 

http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?tp=on & autono=47132 Orissa

flood situation worsens

 

Press Trust Of India / Bhubaneswar September 25, 2008, 12:41 IST

Though around 40 lakh (4 million) people in about 6,000 villages in 18 districts

of the state were affected by the devastating floods, the administration had

only 1500 odd boats at their disposal for relief and rescue work, sources said.

 

 

http://www.aol.in/news-story/snakes-add-to-woes-of-orissas-flood-hit/20080923034\

39012000002/index.html

Snakes add to woes of Orissa's flood hit\

'No relief has reached us even though we have been stranded for four days with

only the open skies for shelter,' said Sukumari Maharana, 50, from the town of

Puri who has been spending her days on the highway that connects the state

capital Bhubaneswar to the temple town.Thousands of people huddle under

rudimentary tents made of plastic sheeting and bamboo poles when it rains.