News Updates
VSPCA February update
Dear Friends,
We have been very busy with our ongoing programs such as animal birth control (spaying and neutering up to 40 street dogs a day) and caring for all of our shelter animals. We are constantly improving the shelter to allow us to have more visitors and a better habitat for our 1000+ animals. We are working very hard to motivate the people in our region to treat animals with respect and love. Please help us achieve our goals to make kindess to animals the norm, not the exception.
This sweetie street dog – previously spayed and vaccinated by VSPCA – was loved by her rural community near our shelter. Her people called Laxman – our ambulance driver – because she was met with an accident where an iron rod pierced her side. Here she is bravely undergoing treatment by our Dr. Shah and now she will survive and be able to be brought back to her neighborhood. Without VSPCA this dog would have not been able to receive treatment. There is simply no other veterinary care available in our area.
Here is Mittu who was liberated from a fortune teller on a scorching summer day, from a 6 inch by 6 inch box which had no water or food. With his wing bone badly cut it is unknown if he can ever be released. Today, he speaks our local words, whistles in different tunes and is able to fly 200 feet under trial.
Out of 432 parrots liberated so far, 427 were seized by us from the fortune tellers who use them to pick a card for the client. Kept in tiny cages all day long, most get the cage diseases - eye problems, wing bones cut poorly and infected, feet swollen, and severe dehydration. Our joy is when they can be released and they choose to live in our delicious trees because this is the best environment in the area!
After weeks of dialogue with Vishaya from Mumbai we accepted her 10 cats to our shelter because she had nowhere else to turn. All the other humane groups turned her down, but we made room for her cats nonetheless because they were in extreme danger and she had to remove them. Our Dr. Bosmat Gal was visiting at the time and was able to treat and quarantine the cats properly. With extreme dedication to our animals Dr. Gal works tirelessly to elevate our animal help standards and save lives. She just performed our first small animal spay/neuters (rabbits). Dr. Gal is sponsored by the Animal Rescue League of Boston to come twice a year bringing vitally needed vet supplies which they have graciously donated to us.
The Sea Turtle Awareness Programme for 2008 began with a meeting of eight villages which included the children. The importance of sea turtle protection was emphasized and future plans were initiated and resolutions passed. This is the first year in 12 years of the VSPCA sea turtle protection program where we have won funding to help us from the Rufford Small Grants Program. Pradeep Nath, grant recipient, is in photo at left (lower right corner) at one of the village meetings.
A very skinny street dog brought in to the shelter staying with us to get food and gain strength. |
Puppies for adoption raised by volunteer vets visiting from the Netherlands with donated puppymilk since they were motherless. |
VSPCA in the press
Eco Groups Sound the Alarm
Pradeep Nath speaks at conference to help save Visakhapatnam from environmental threats.
Dolphins washed ashore
VSPCA helps investigate dolpin deaths.
More Olive Ridley turtles washed ashore
Pradeep Nath and the VSPCA team launchs a survey to try to determine the hundreds of sea turtle deaths. Autopsy and chemical tests dead turtles were begun immediately and an action plan begun for protecting the dwindling population of Olive Ridley turtles.
Olive Ridley death riddle solved
VSPCA conducts tests to see if pollution was a cause and it was determined that the fishing trawlers caused these deaths by not using TED's. TED's (turtle excluder devices) are the law but not enforced, something we have been preaching about for many years! However, contrary to this Hindu press article Pradeep Nath still feels that these tests were inconclusive due to the high number of deaths this year and we are investigating further with more tests in better labs - please contact us if you are interested in future updates.
Our poster puppy Chameli asks you to help promote adoption of the "purebred" Indian dog!
Please help us help them! We are so grateful to our supporters, past and present, and hope you will join our cause with any contribution no matter how small – it will make a difference! Your questions, ideas, comments are most welcome: contact us at info@vspca.org – thank you!
On behalf of all of us at VSPCA,
Pradeep Kumar Nath,
VSPCA Founder and President
Report compiled by Eileen Weintraub,
VSPCA Volunteer for Global Outreach