Animal Care
One of the most neglected aspects of rural life is animal welfare. Sicambeni suffers from serious animal abuse and poor animal husbandry practices. Animals in this community have the potential to be not only great companions, but provide families with food, income, security, and the hope of better lives for themselves and their children. There are hundreds of animals in the area that do not receive appropriate care and preventative vaccinations leading to loss of income, the spread of disease and animal suffering. Unfortunately, this issue is not a top priority of the people here, many of whom struggle to take care of themselves, let alone their animals.
At CART we believe it is important that the community are provided with the education and resources they need to deal with these issues.
The current situation:
- Poor animal husbandry practises leading to unnecessary suffering and deaths due to lack of awareness and ignorance.
- Animals are not spayed or neutered leading to a high reproduction rate and thus a worryingly high number of stray animals.
- Animals are not vaccinated - presenting the potential for disastrous outbreaks of diseases such as Rabies. There have been cases of Rabies in Sicambeni this year and one person has died after contracting the disease.
- High levels of tick infestation - leading to disease in both animals and humans (Tick bite fever.)
- Chickens are frequently kept in poor conditions leading high levels of respiratory disease. This impacts on their health and ability to produce good quality meat and eggs, which in turn impacts on the health of the owners, their families and potential income.
Possible Solutions:
- Education and awareness raising around good animal husbandry practices.
- Education and awareness raising around the symptoms and treatments of diseases such as Rabies and common diseases affecting cattle and chickens.
- Demonstrating good animal husbandry through the centre's work - we have built a cheap, safe and easily replicable chicken house that provides good ventilation and secure grazing.
The ideal long term outcome would be the development of a sustainable animal clinic in Sicambeni, staffed by volunteer vets, animal technicians or veterinary students.
How you can help:
- Fundraising and donations.
- Adopt a Dog / Cat scheme - you can sponsor the neutering and vaccinating of a dog or cat - helping to control the population and reduce the risk of Rabies and other diseases. Local vets have agreed to give their time to treat animals free of charge so the only cost would be for medication and medical equipment - only R80 / £6 / $10 per animal.
- Volunteer - If you are a vet / animal technician / veterinary student and would like to be directly involved in education and (the) development of a community clinic we would provide accommodation, food and co-ordination at a minimal cost.
