Earlier this month, Best Friends Animal Society sent a team of emergency responders to Peru to assess the situation faced by animals in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake on Aug. 15. Estimates indicate that more than 3,500 animals were affected by the quake, which killed more than 500 people and left thousands homeless.
The team is working with the Canadian Animal Assistance Team, the Peruvian Association for the Protection of Animals, Animal Rescue New Orleans and AmazonCARES to provide medical treatment and spay/neuter services in some of the hardest hit areas, including Pisco. As the group travels through the country, they are looking for alternatives to a possible government plan to euthanize the animals displaced by the earthquake.
Rich Crook, Best Friends rapid response manager who is part of the team in Peru, has been involved in talks with Peruvian government officials. Crook will prepare a memorandum outlining Best Friends’ plan to provide care, vaccinations and spay/neuter surgeries for the animals affected by the earthquake. Crook says the officials he has worked with “have been very cooperative, very helpful.”
Best Friends Animal Society will have a team in Peru at least until the end of October, possibly longer. For more information about the group’s efforts in Peru, visit the Best Friends website.