Peru crew begins assessment
The Best Friends assessment team arrived at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Peru, during the wee hours Thursday morning due to a flight delay in Houston that cost them several hours.
Later in the day, they met with Shari Artadi, who's been working alongside the Canadian Animal Assistance Team (CAAT), to get an initial look at the devastation wrought by last month’s earthquake. CAAT is a group of veterinarians and vet techs providing medical care and humane education for needy animals worldwide.
What they saw confirmed what they’d heard: the cities of Chinca and Ica were 40 percent damaged, while Pisco, which was also hit by a tsunami eight hours after the quake, appeared to be about 80 percent in ruins, according to a report by Best Friends rapid response manager Rich Crook.
Other team members are Aldo Wilson, a veterinarian from Peru who now works at the sanctuary in Utah but is still licensed to practice in Peru, and staff photographer Molly Wald.
While driving through the region, they “saw dogs everywhere” along the main roads. The dogs appeared to be “village” dogs, healthy and not feral. Team members saw just a few cats.
Reuters has reported that more than 3,500 pets have been affected by the powerful earthquake, which struck August 15. Many are malnourished and suffering from fractured femurs, tibias, and skulls, according to a story on the news agency’s Latin American web site.
The quake killed more than 500 people, injured hundreds more and left thousands homeless and hungry.
In a bit of positive news, the Best Friends team noticed that the Peace Corps is allowing homeless residents to bring their animals with them into the humanitarian tent it has set up for people who’ve lost everything but each other.
Several animal welfare groups are reportedly on the scene, but the team came across just two during its initial, cursory tour – CAAT and the Peruvian Association for the Protection of Animals.
CAAT members “are doing what they can,” including some spay/neuter surgeries, Rich said.
Rich, Aldo and Molly, who are staying in Ica, were scheduled to have had a dinner meeting with CAAT Thursday night.
On Friday, they plan to meet with a representative from Peru’s Ministry of Health, the agency that has been overseeing recovery efforts.
After that, they will take a more detailed look at the situation, traveling to more remote locations to assess animal welfare needs in the stricken areas.
The team will spend a week traveling to the hardest-hit areas to evaluate conditions and document the immediate and long-term needs for rescuing the animals, providing veterinary care, medicines, equipment and shelter.
(Click image to donate) Back at the sanctuary in Utah, Best Friends will review the assessment to determine how we can most effectively support the efforts of local organizations to ensure the safety and well-being of the animals.
Written by Michael Rinker
Photos by Molly Wald