 Haiti Earthquake – IDA is On The Ground!
IDA's representative is in Haiti now, coordinating our animal disaster relief work. Together with the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), which is coordinating with Sociedad Dominicana para la Prevención de Crueldad a los Animales (SODOPRECA) from the Dominican Republic, we have been responding to help animals since Sunday, Jan 24, when we entered Haiti. With the support of the Haitian government and international agencies, the team has been identifying the country’s most pressing animal-related problems, as well as exploring options for creating a wide-ranging, long-term plan to improve infrastructure for veterinary care, vaccination programs and animal population control services.
A 12-member animal disaster relief team of veterinarians, vet techs and disaster responders, including IDA staff, is traveling back and forth every day from a safe zone into the streets of the devastated city of Port-au-Prince, to rescue animals in distress and provide care for ill and injured animals. In addition to having veterinary support staff on the ground in Haiti to provide medical care to animals, IDA has sent funds through ARCH to help pay for a mobile veterinary clinic, medicine and supplies that are being used to help animals every day in Haiti.
IDA's representative on the ARCH team, Connie Durkee, reports: "Many animals need help on the ground. One of them was a dog who was rescued nearly two weeks after the quake. We are so glad we could be here on time to be able to treat him, provide much needed care and reunite him with his animal guardian."
As the team responds to help animals, they quickly realize the need for reinforcements - more veterinary assistance, medicine, and equipment. And IDA is ready to help.
Our immediate need is for your financial support. Help us help animals in Haiti, while also preparing to respond quickly to assist animals affected in other disasters. Support IDA’s Animal Disaster Relief Fund.
Learn more about IDA’s work in Haiti through our blog. For more information about how you can help IDA help the people and animals affected by disasters, please contact us at disasterrelief@idausa.org.
Thank you for your generosity and caring in this moment of crisis.
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Breaking News: IDA's Project Hope - Rescue Of Many Dogs In Progress!
IDA's Project Hope sanctuary and Mississippi Spay & Neuter (MS SPAN) are teaming up to spay and neuter scores of dogs released to IDA by a Mississippi woman. Once a breeder, she’d fallen on hard times and couldn’t feed or properly care for the dogs. IDA's Doll Stanley, pictured here with one of the dogs, led the rescue.
Project Hope is already working to place the dogs in homes. Click here to read more, and stay tuned for information coming soon about how you can help these dogs.
 More Breaking News - Huge West Hollywood Victory For Dogs and Cats
This week, the West Hollywood, California City Council voted to ban the sale of dogs and cats acquired from puppy/kitten mills. The ordinance passed unanimously, and now pet stores in the city will only be able to display dogs and cats from shelters. Click here to see the CBS story, and click here to see the NBC story.
 Elephants Suffering In Cold Climate Zoos
This week IDA released an unprecedented survey showing that scores of elephants are held in zoos in cold climates, where frigid winter temperatures force the Earth’s largest land mammals indoors into tiny concrete cells for the vast majority of each day during the winter.
Click here to read more, and see what you can do to help. |
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 Queenie Still Needs Your Help
You will remember that the elephant Queenie, or Boo, was left behind with abusive circus trainer Will Davenport in August as her companions Tina and Jewel were taken by the USDA and sent to the San Diego Zoo for badly needed medical care. All three elephants were victims of Davenport’s negligence and inhumane care, but the agency claimed to only have grounds for taking the two. We cannot forget the last image we have of Queenie, tied to a tree and bellowing, as the truck holding her companions pulled away, leaving her to an uncertain future.
IDA is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to investigate Queenie’s health and current circumstances. Please click here to read more, and to see how you can help.
 Disappointment Valley - Film Aims To Save America's Wild Horses
James Kleinert, international award-winning filmmaker, showcases his newest film, Disappointment Valley...A Modern Day Western at the upcoming Santa Barbara International Film Festival. This feature-length documentary examines the politics behind the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) controversial policies on public lands. The very existence of America's wild horses and burros is in jeopardy.
Read more here, and for further details on the Santa Barbara screenings, visit: www.sbiff.org. Learn more about the film at www.theamericanwildhorse.com. |
