1000 people rally against animal sacrifice

The thing that give us hope. Last Saturday over one thousand people rallied against animal sacrifice. They walked from Badrakali temple (notorious for sacrifice) to the Mandala at Maitighar, carrying playcard and banners saying 'Stop Animal Sacrifice' and 'Animals look up to you, don't let them down'. Animal Nepal participated with banners showing the sad looking goddess Kali carrying a beheaded goat, questioning 'Do worship and cruelty go together?'

There was talk of cancellation, and for good reasons. After Finance Minister Bhatterai announced the government would no longer spend millions on animal sacrifice thousands of angry Newars hit the street. The city came to a standstill and cars and buses were vandalised in what are now known as the 'buffalo riots'.

The Newars, the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, did not want to give up their 'right' to publicly sacrifice innocent animals, with State support. Two days later the Minister gave in. This Dasain again hundreds of buffaloes, goats, chicken, and other creatures will be publicly beheaded, and the nation will be watching it live on TV.

The anti-sacrifice rally incluced many Newars and representatives of the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Christian religion. They wonder what kind of State the New Nepal will be. If animal sacrifice is paid for, then what about other religious rituals? Will we soon have 'ramadan riots', 'lhosar riots' and 'Christmas riots'?

But on Saturday the protestors looked happy and relaxed. They celebrated community, vegetarianism, religion without cruelty, and respect for animals. I wish every day was rally day.

Mangal and the crime that cannot be forgotten

Animal rescue can be a depressing thing. Yesterday we were called by a young woman from Mangal Bazaar, Patan. A dog needed to be rescued. When we arrived in the alleyway where the dog was kept we were greeted by a dreadful smell. The smell of a suffering, dying dog. A shivering dog was lying in a dark corner, a part of its flank cut off and the underlying flesh and bone parts exposed. Someone must have attacked it with a sharp knife. It barely looked at us, but allowed us to stroke its sad, wet face.

At first people were willing to help. A taxi was called and we were informed that it was no good calling the owners, since they couldn't care less. But when it came to lifting the dog unto a plastic sheet only a drunk neighbour came forward.

At the Mobile Vet Clinic the dog was immediately provided with anesthesia. Soon it became apparent that the dog also suffered injuries on one of its legs and on its back. We decided to put it to sleep.

We did not want the dog to die nameless. We called the dog Mangal, after the location where we found him. Mangal will remain a symbol for the level of cruelty that is inflicted on animals in Nepal.

Rescues such as these make us feel intensily sad. But they also remind us of how important our work is. Until recently no one knew what to do when dogs were tortured. Now people know whom to call. They are angry and upset; the lady who called us said the dog was one of her favourites, who often visited her shop. Mangal went through tremendous suffering but at least he died a painless death.

The next step is to get the Animal Welfare Act passed and functioning and bring the perpetrators to book.

I hope Mangal did not die in vain.

Donkey misery once more (this time in Terai)

'Ke garne', What can we do? That was the reaction of brick killn owners in Nepalgunj when Pranaj Rai asked why so many working donkeys are wounded or sick.

Pranaj witnessed countless 'over work type of abuses', including nylon rope friction wounds, lacerations and malnutrition. His photographs are a testament to the terrible forms of neglect working donkeys face in Nepal.

The owners say they are poor and illiterate and that animal rights are a far cry…

We heard similar answers a few months ago when we visited a brick factory in Siddhipur, Lalitpur. Here, so close to the capital, children and donkeys toil to carry bricks to and from the killn. They do not receive medical care. None of the donkeys are happy or healthy.

Something must be done! Who will take the first step to change the miserable lives of kids and donkeys in exploitative brick killns?

Fluffy: a miraculous recovery

I met Fluffy with her mother and sister at a farm in Bagdol. The farmer (one of the few left in our neighbourhood) owns cows and sheep, and a flock of dogs. He talks to all of them and knows how to treat sick animals with home remedies. His presence is a great source of irritation to the neighbours, who live in marble palaces. They want the farmer to get rid of his dogs, by throwing them in the nearby Bagmati river, or by sending them to his home district.

The farmer loves his dogs. He asked us to help him manage his dog population. They need to be vaccinated and sterilised. I promised - as a first step- to take one of the two puppies. That's how Fluffy came to the house.

Fluffy was very shy and listless. After deworming and defleeing it became obvious that she suffered from parvo, a much dreaded deadly puppy disease. I decided to take Fluffy back to her mother; perhaps mother milk would help her recover. It was too late for that - the mother no longer had any milk left, and Fluffy's sister had already died from parvo.

I felt shocked. A few weeks earlier two puppies had died from parvo in my house. I felt I could not handle another slow, painful puppy death. But I had no choice. I asked Dr Thapa to provide Fluffy with antibiotics and vaccinate her against parvo and distemper, without much hope. The vet too did not think she would make it. I grinded my teeth.

Strangely enough, Fluffy survived. She is in fact the first puppy to survive parvo in my care.

We will never know what caused her recovery. I did give her regular medicines and homeopathic remedies like arsenicum and china, but that is standard. Did the vaccination do the trick? Should we vaccinate sick puppies much earlier to prevent untimely death? Fluffy leaves us with many questions.

And happyness. Because Fluffy found two wonderful adoptive parents - student Shirish and his girlfriend Kajal. Kajal writes the following:

i m the care taker of fluffy.. shirish's frn.. actually i m crazy abt havin pets so he gifted me fluffy.. hhmmm.. fluffy is real clever n cutie.. she has nicely adapted the surrounding and is doing well.. we have assigned a new veterinary 4 fluffy n he visits once a month..the vaccination prescribed in her last prescription r all done.. she sleeps with me n my elder sister.. she wakes up with me at around 6 n we both go 4 a walk.. sometimes she makes me breatheless because she runs real fast.. hehe.. i have sent u some pics of fluffy n my another pet JAMBO.. i m real grateful to u 4 letting me have fluffy.. thanx alot..

Life holds great surprises, for humans, and for canines. Who would think miserable Fluffy would end up like a diva sleeping with two dog crazy sisters?

Stop This Monkey Business Right Now!

For the past five years, together with the International Primate Protection League and many other national and international partners, we have been fighting against the breeding and export of rhesus monkeys from Nepal to US research centres. It's been a long and sometimes difficult campaign. However, since 2007 we are supported by different European groups. They organise demonstrations at Nepalese embassies, write letters, hold discussions with government officials, etc. In September 2008 the government informed us that rhesus monkeys will not be exported for biomedical research. However, this decision does not have a legal basis and we worry that American agencies will conduct biomedical research in Nepal. The campaign continues until the captured monkeys have been released.

In Nepal, rhesus monkeys either co-habitat with humans as revered temple monkeys or live a tribal life deep in the high mountain forest. They are an integral part of the land's eco-system and culture and are worshipped by the Hindu population. However, commercial interests have led to the removal of monkeys from their natural environment. Instead of living a free life in temple compounds or in the jungle, some rhesus monkeys have been put behind bars. Here they undergo tests to benefit biomedical and possibly bio-terrorism research in the USA.

In 2003 Nepal allowed the breeding and export of rhesus monkeys for biomedical research. Two US primate centers, the Washington National Primate Research Center and South West National Primate Research Center, received a license through their Nepalese partners. As a coalition of national and international animal welfare organisations we firmly oppose this monkey business.

The government presently prepares a new Act which we expect will abolish the breeding of monkeys. We are however worried that in the future wildlife breeding will be reintroduced under stricter regulations.

Please join our fight against the misuse of Nepal’s precious primates!

Go to http://www.stopmonkeybusiness.org/ and get active!

Schmiegel - A Tough Little Survivor

One of the first cats I saw in Nepal was a dead one. It was a beautiful mature white cat and it was lying by the side of a busy road in Thapathali. I walked over and asked a nearby guard what had happened.

"Someone killed it with a stone", he said.

"But why?"I asked, shocked.

"It ran across the street and this guy was the first to pass," the guard said.

That was how I learned that many Nepalese believe that someone will die when a cat (or rat, or mouse) crosses the road in front of their vehicle. The best solution is to simply wait by the side till someone else has passed the cursed 'line' (and send Death to someone else...). This happens all the time. I often travelled in busses that would suddenly halt by the side of the highway. "A rat just crossed," the driver will explain, and the passengers patiently sit back in their seats until another vehicle has passed. However, impatient drivers simply kill the innocent animal to 'undo' the curse.

Since then I have a soft spot for Nepalese cats. There are not many though. Not only those crossing roads tend to be killed, but also black ones in general as they are associated with black magic. Unfortunately most Nepalese cats happen to be black..... Unwanted kittens, like puppies, are often thrown in the river, alive.

When a tiny kitten walked into our compound, Ganga, our didi, immediately warned me. She loves all animals and is always happy when I add a desperate case to my growing stray population.

We took the kitten in, dewormed it, fed it lactogen (surrogate milk) with a syringe, made it sleep in a tiny sleeping bag next to a hot water bottle, and soon it seemed to be doing well. The cat was adopted by Putali, my female dog, who recently got spayed. She is the one to lick the kitten, in order to make it pee and clean it up after dinner time. She also carries the kitten by its neck in her mouth, like moter cats do.

I called it Schmiegel, after the somewhat greedy creature in Lord of the Rings. Schmiegel wanted milk every 3, 4 hours! And when I didn't wake up in time, Putali, her surrogate mum, made sure I did.

When I recently left for a 3-month break, Martin and Miriam, my animal loving Dutch friends, offered to take care of both Putali and Schmiegel. Only then we did some research on Schmiegel's age. Looking at her development she was now 4 weeks, This meant that when she arrived at our house Schmiegel was only......around 10 days old! Such a tough little survivor!

Schmiegel is now at Miriam's, who makes sure she is spoiled to bits. She now drinks from a baby bottle... that sure is progress!

We hope she will survive. Nepalese cats deserve lots of extra attention. And just for the record: a cat crossing a road means good luck. I'm talking from experience here.

BB, a beauty in the making

Sometimes dogs which we try to rehabilitate do not survive. It is always painful having to let go of dogs, especially when they've been fighting for their lives for a long time. This year I lost two puppies due to Parvo (another survived - the first ever to survive of Parvo in my care!). Especially the death of Billy (see photo) was traumatising.

My friends Martin and Miriam had go through the ordeal of losing their puppy Bruno to rabies. Annually some 200 people die due to rabies in Nepal. After Bruno's death Martin and Miriam and all their close friends had to visit the hospital several times for Post Exposure Treatment.

When Martin send me a High Puppy Alert SMS I decided to act quickly. The puppy Martin had singled out was an almost hairless 4-month old female dog, lying listlessy by the side of a busy road. I took her to the Mobile Vet Clinic where she was quickly and effectively cleaned, covered in antifungal cream, injected with Ivermectin and dewormed.

An hour later the puppy slept peacefully on my balcony.I decided to call her Black Beauty, hoping that that is what she will be in the near future.

For the time being however BB stands for Badly Smelling Babe....

No Face Gets a Face (and a Family)

Scruffy came on our path on an auspicious day. When driving towards the house of our chair Dr NPS Karki in Baneshwor forAnimal Nepal's first new board meeting, our secretary Manoj Gautam noticed a 'faceless' puppy. At first Manoj was not sure it was a dog. He looked more like a mix of a baby monkey and a marmot. So there it was, Scruffy.

We'll probably never know what happened to Scruffy. Did someone throw acid at him? Did he develop a skin problem on his face and kept on scratching until there was no hair left on his face? What we do know is that Scruffy is terrified of water and doesn't want anyone to touch his face.

After spending a few days with me I realised it would be better for 'No Face' to be in a quieter place. My other dogs, wanting to play, caused his sensitive skin to bleed, after which the wounds had to be cleaned, something Scruffy loathed.

Student Aditi Pandey fell in love with Scruffy as soon as she saw his pic. She took him home and spoiled him with vegetarian food and bones to chew on. He was treated with Ivermectin, antisceptic cream and supportive supplements. The result? Just look at him - a epitome of health and happyness.

Scruffy will remain with Aditi and her boyfriend. They form a great team. We wish them every bit of good luck!

Donkey Woes

The conditions of the working donkeys of Kathmandu Valley are as dark as those of the children who work there. It is believed 60,000 Nepalese children make a living by making bricks. No one knows how many donkeys are made to carry bricks all day, bearing loads above their capacity.

I reviewed a brick kiln in Siddhipur and was shocked, both with the conditions of human workers and the donkeys. Wounds go untreated, severy ill donkeys are left to die, and some even have their ears cut in childhood. No vet ever visits these places. All donkeys looked depressed.

The same week, a pair of donkeys was left to die at Kushunti, Patan. One survived and was called Asi, Hope. The Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre kindlyrescued the surviving donkey after local children informed them. Thank you KAT and thank you children!

KAT's founder Jan Salter says in an interview: “The brick factories destroy the surrounding vegetation so there is very little for the donkeys to eat. It appears that they are just forced to work until they drop. We need to educate the factory owners and workers in the care of these long suffering animals in the future. We hope that ‘Asi’ will become a symbol for the future wellbeing of all suffering working animals in Nepal.”

This silent suffering should be addressed. It's time for all of us to ACT!