Posted: January 25, 2010, 3 a.m. EST
The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), an international animal welfare organization, said plans are underway for a plane to transport a rescue team from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince,
Haiti. The government of Haiti has asked WSPA to help with emergency relief operations after the massive Jan. 12 earthquake.
WSPA, along with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other animal welfare groups that have united as the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), planned to arrive in Haiti Jan. 23-24. It is estimated that there were 5,925 poultry, 1,450,000 cattle, 1,900,000 goats, 500,000 horses, 80,000 mules, 1 million pigs and 153,000 sheep before the earthquake, according to most recent data from the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
The rescue teams have put together the necessary equipment and medicines, including vaccinations and bandages. To assist with Haiti relief efforts for pets, Banfield pet hospitals has donated $10,000 to benefit the companion animal population of the devastated island nation.
The Banfield donation goes to provide lifesaving medicine to Haitian animals. Made through the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF), the funds benefit the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) relief efforts.
Once humanitarian rescue efforts are controlled, veterinarians through the AVMF provide emergency relief to Haitian pets, as part of its Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams (VMAT). Jeffrey Klausner, DVM, senior vice president and chief medical officer of Banfield, The Pet Hospital, says that because the company is unable to directly offer medical services to the pets in Haiti, they decided to offer financial support to the AVMF as they already have efforts underway.
In addition to these efforts, the Humane Society of the United States, together with its global affiliate Humane Society International and the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, has assembled a team of trained veterinary experts who are scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince.