IFAW's Animal Rescue Blog

Update from Italy: May 1, 2009

The International Fund for Animal Welfare continues to support animal emergency relief teams on the ground in quake-ravaged Italy. The following personal account is from Stefano Petrazzini working on behalf of the Lega Anti Vivisezione (LAV)- a group supported by IFAW.

Thanks to many generous donations, we took another journey this week with two cars full of pet food, dog kennels and medications to the earthquake zone. In the process, we have seriously risked melting the engine on the climbing hills!

Today, I will talk about eyes. At first not about the eyes of our animal friends, but about the eyes of the people we met in the tents or on the roads in the countryside - the eyes of the veterinarians of the Piazza d'Armi (L'Aquila) camp, our first stop where we delivered food, medicines and bedding for cats.

The vets are working both for the animals and for their human friends and they help people to be able to keep their pets with them. One way to do this is by providing cleaning kits so that the presence of dogs in the tents doesn’t become a problem. These people have already lost practically everything so the company of their beloved four-legged friends is something that keeps them going.

Update from Italy: April 24/09

IFAW’s work to rescue animals affected by the earthquake in Italy continues this week with a number of exciting stories to report on.

Our partners on the ground from the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale" (IZS A&M) who were on-scene hours after the quake struck, told us about a heartwarming story of a girl and her pet dog. Veterinarian Paolo Dalla Villa from IZS A&M explains:

“Immediately after the earthquake, we were approached by the Italian Red Cross, who had found a dog named Nikki, that they wanted us to try to reunite it with its owner. When I arrived at the refugee camp in l'Aquila with the dog in my car I found out that she was owned by a little girl who had lost everything in the earthquake, except Nikki.”

Paolo added that one of the immediate challenges faced in L’Aquila is with displaced pets that need food in the tent cities and stray dog control that is dealt with a specific action plan, according to the “no kill” Italian regulation for the protection of pet animals.

For the past week, IFAW vet contractor Andrea Capobianco has been working from the Emergency Operations Center to provide key logistical guidance and has also deployed to some of the hardest-hit areas in search of trapped or injured animals. In two separate incursions this week, the rescue team, integrated by 5 dog catchers and 4 vets, brought 12 dogs and 17 cats to the center. All of them underwent veterinary check-ups and were micro-chipped. Of those, 3 dogs and 6 cats were happily reunited with their owners and 15 dogs were adopted. In those 2 days, 6 cats needed emergency medical assistance while 2 of them had surgery to heal bone fractures. A large number of people continue to visit the kennel looking for food, medications and ant parasitic drugs to care for their own animals. Andrea Capobianco talks about field work:

“On the 19th a dog, named Chicco, had been found alone on the road. After he was caught, he was micro-chipped and was ready to be shipped to another city. Thanks to the pictures we took before sending him out on the 21st , his owner was able to identify him and they were reunited just in time!.”

By April 19, the Emergency Hotline had received 400 calls for help leading to 201 animals including dogs, cats, horses, cattle and others assisted in this disaster.

In addition to our collaboration with IZS, IFAW has awarded a grant to local group Lega Anti Vivisezione (LAV) working around the clock in L’Aquila to save animals affected by the disaster. LAV has actively cooperated with the rescue team and firemen to rescue and evacuate animals trapped in houses, provide food, vet care, micro chipping and reuniting pets with owners.

Photo: IFAW / S.Hughes

IFAW Responds to Italy's Earthquake

Post submitted by IFAW's Sasha Ramirez-Hughes

9:30am, Friday 17th April

We’ve just arrived at the earthquake rescue command centre located just outside l’Aquila. I’m travelling with a local veterinarian, Andrea Capobianco, who is part of the local animal incident response team who, with IFAW’s support are rescuing, treating, and reuniting the thousands of animal victims of the earthquake.

All roads to l’Aquila are closed, so we took a bus to a suburb about 20 miles outside of town and hitched a lift the rest of the way with somebody travelling to the disaster site. While we were waiting for our lift, I looked for signs of the earthquake but it seemed at first glance that life was going on as normal – people were out shopping and going to work. Only after a few minutes did I realise that here and there plaster had fallen off the buildings and that nearly all of the vehicles on the road to and from l’Aquila’s centre were emergency services – red fire trucks, orange mountain rescue vehicles, ambulances, army vehicles, and others. As we got closer to the command centre we saw more and more collapsed buildings. Nearly everyone that we spoke to described the centre of l’Aquila as like a warzone.

The animal emergency brought by the earthquake is severe and has three fronts: One is that some animals are still trapped in the rubble. Rescuers who haven’t yet been able to free them have been feeding them through cracks or via pipes but many are injured, frightened, and need urgent medical attention.

Another is that more than thirty thousand people and thousands of their beloved animal companions are living in more than 70 tent camps on the hills outside l’Aquila. Some of these animals were in poor shape even before the earthquake and weren’t vaccinated properly. This presents a real health risk to other animals and people as the close proximity means that diseases can spread easily. Vets and volunteers are scrambling to treat and vaccinate any animals that they find.

The final is that thousands of displaced pets have been housed temporarily in shelters around l’Aquila. However, these filled quickly and many animals were relocated to centres many miles away, far away from their owners and with no identification. At a cat sanctuary in Rome, we met two friendly cats nicknamed “Seismic” and “Tremor” by the staff that were brought in from l’Aquila and are being well cared for. Sadly, the there is little prospect of reuniting them with their owners, as they have no identification. The animal response team is working to document and microchip any displaced animals that they come across in order to create a searchable database to reunite pets with owners.

This afternoon, we’ll be heading into the refugee camps to assist with the assessment of the animal population there.

More to come tomorrow.

Monk Seal Is One of the 6th Most Critically Endangered Mammals

IFAW's support of the Mediterranean monk seal organization, MOm, has been responsible for creating a network of people across Greece who help in sharing information about and in rescuing abandoned, displaced and/or stranded seals. IFAW's support has also contributed to the development of a monk seal rehabilitation center in a prime location. The survival of each newborn monk seal is critical to the survival of the species as there are fewer than 500 left in the wild today.

New Website Launched to Honour Animals in War

Simon the cat was famous for catching rats on board HMS Amethyst...Rob, a­ Collie took part in landings during North African Campaign with an Infantry unit...Upstart ­was a police horse that while on patrol duty in Bethnal Green a flying bomb exploded within 75 yards, showering both horse and rider with broken glass and debris.

These are just a few of the many animals that are honoured for their service during times of war in the past century.

In November 2004, a monument was unveiled at Brook Gate Park Lane, London This monument serves as a powerful and moving tribute to all the animals that served, suffered and died alongside the British, Commonwealth and Allied forces in the wars and conflicts of the 20th century.

Check out the new website - http://www.animalsinwar.org.uk which tells the story of the memorial and the animals that it honours.

VICTORY! eBay Announces Global Ban on Ivory

We applaud eBay’s decision to institute a global ban on the sale of elephant ivory products by 1 January 2009 and call on all other internet traders to follow their example.

eBay’s decision was announced just hours before the release of our latest investigative report showing Internet trade in wildlife poses a significant and immediate threat to the survival of elephants and many other endangered species.

You can download the report at http://www.ifaw.org

The report, which followed a six-week investigation that tracked more than 7,000 wildlife product listings on 183 Web sites in 11 countries, singled out eBay as the largest contributor to the problem, responsible for almost two-thirds of the online trade in wildlife products worldwide

The report, Killing with Keystrokes: An Investigation of the Illegal Wildlife Trade on the World Wide Web, will be released tomorrow and shows that more than 70% of all endangered species’ products listed for sale on the Internet occur in the United States. The amount of trade tracked in the U.S. was nearly 10 times the trade tracked in the next two leading countries, the United Kingdom and China.

Elephant ivory dominated the investigation, comprising 73% of all product listings tracked. Exotic birds were second, accounting for nearly 20% of the listings tracked, but primates, big cats and other animals are also falling victim to the e-trade in live animals and wildlife products, according to the report.

We congratulate eBay on this very important step to protect elephants. With these findings and eBay’s leadership, there is no doubt left that all Internet dealers need to take responsibility for their impact on endangered species by enacting and enforcing a ban on all online wildlife trade. eBay has set the standard for protecting elephants, now governments and other online dealers need to follow their example.

Thanks for all your support in keeping the pressure on eBay!

'Pick-Up-Plastic' Images From Around The World

As part of Animal Action Week this year 13 IFAW country offices are coordinating beach clean-up operations with a theme called 'Pick Up Plastic'.

'Pick Up Plastic' has allowed communities to participate in the clean-up effort globally. Animal Action Week is designed to raise awareness and this year IFAW's focus is on the terrible crisis within our oceans and the fight against careless pollution. The number one culprit being plastic, in all forms.

'Pick Up Plastic' events are underway in Australia, China, East Africa, France, Germany, India, Mexico, the Middle East, Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, the UK and USA. Cleaner and safer marine habitats are the leading result of this wonderful initiative, however IFAW is also asking that teams in every country collect data to illustrate just how serious the problem is. This data will be used to document the most polluted areas and can contribute to lobbying efforts for better protection of our ocean waters!

Additionally, IFAW asks everyone to consider the 'Plastic Bag Pledge' during Animal Action Week this year. Signing up is a simple commitment you can make that will have an enormous impact on our Earth.

Thanks to everyone who has helped IFAW make a difference so far!

EU Proposes Ban on Seal Product Imports!

We have exciting news! The European Union has announced a proposed ban on the trade in seal products in the European Union market. We are concerned that loopholes in the legislation could still allow seal products from Canada’s cruel seal hunt to enter European markets. However, we cautiously welcome this move as a potential milestone in our ongoing campaign to end this commercial hunt.

The EU proposal comes after growing political opposition and a huge public outcry in the European Union about the ongoing commercial hunts for young seals. Opinion polls in EU Member States show that millions of citizens want the trade to stop. Earlier this month more than 1,000 animal welfare supporters from across Europe joined IFAW and other groups at a demonstration in Brussels to call for an outright ban on seal products. Their call is echoed by a large majority of Members of the European Parliament who, in a 2006 resolution, opted for a total EU-wide trade and import ban on seal products.

IFAW opposes Canada’s commercial seal hunt because it is inherently cruel, unsustainable and wasteful. Over the past five years, about 1.5 million harp seals were slaughtered in Canada; clubbed or shot primarily for their fur. This year, sealers reportedly killed 206,721 harp seals to date. Despite the Canadian government claiming that a new condition of license would ensure a more humane hunt, IFAW recorded further evidence to the contrary as seals suffered slow and agonizing deaths.

Stay up-to-date on this issue by visiting our Stop the Seal Hunt web site.

IFAW Supports the Release of Another Peregrine Falcon in Russia

A female Peregrine Falcon, approximately 1^st year old, was released into the wild this week in the Altai region of Russia.

The bird was admitted to the Wild Animal Rescue Centre on the request of Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federationand Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources Management (Rosprirodnadzor) last fall when it was seized with a group of Saker falcons.  All the falcons were poached in Altai-Sayan area.

The Sakers were released on November 12, 2007 but at that time it was too late for the Peregrine falcon to be released since this species migration had already finished.

Since Novemeber, the Peregrine falcon was kept in the largest flight enclosure at the Rescue centre and by the time of it's release it was in very good flying condition.

A site for the falcon release was selected in the valley of the river Ob’ not far away from Barnaulcity. The area is the typical habitat for this species and protected as regional nature reserve “Kislukhinskiy”.

Immediately after transport container was opened the falcon flew up and started soaring above the valley. It was lost from the sight in 10 minutes. But after some time the falcon was seen again soaring high above.

It's Legal To Shoot A Bear Cub

Sadly, even though much effort has been put in to improving existing, poor regulations on hunting in Russia, the Government of the Russian Federation has now taken a step back in legalizing the hunting of bear cubs, yearlings, and their mothers.

Although the regulations are still being discussed by government officials, it seems as if they are being prepared for ratification; which means legalization of new hunting methods that will surely leave many occupied dens victim of the cruel sport in hunting seasons yet to come.

"As a result, nature might take a quick and tough revenge, demonstrating a sharp decrease in brown bear population in less than a decade. This has already happened to many other wild animals round the globe, like tigers, leopards, saigas, and Tibetan antelope", says Maria Vorontsova, Director IFAW Russia.

You can help by supporting the IFAW funded Russian bear cub rescue and rehabilitation center . The center has been operational for 12 years. Over 130 young bears found by hunters, loggers, hunt inspectors or occasional travelers have been saved, nursed and successfully returned to their natural habitat.

In light of the new regulations, help us save brown bear cubs of the Russian forests.