Best Friends working on agreement with Peru to address the animal welfare situation after the quake.
By Michael Rinker, Best Friends Senior Editor
Photos by Molly Wald
Best Friends is drafting a proposal to help animals left injured and displaced by the earthquake, a strategy we hope will also stave off the possibility of mass euthanasia.
The so-called memorandum of understanding will communicate our intentions to the Peruvian government, which has indicated it supports our presence and purpose, according to Rich Crook, Best Friends rapid response manager, who has been talking with officials and other animal welfare organizations.
“They’re fine with us coming in,” he said during a Sept. 13 phone call from Peru, where he and two other Best Friends staff have been assessing the situation for more than a week. “They’re okay with us pretty much doing anything we need to do.”
There has been no promise that mass euthanasia will be taken off the table even if we establish a successful program, but the state veterinarian indicated the government would prefer not to take that step.
Although the memorandum is yet to be completed, it’s likely to call for a Best Friends presence in the field to oversee basic care, free spay/neuter and vaccinations. We’d also work to establish sustainable shelters.
For its part, the government would help us with security concerns, getting the word out to the public, and possibly arranging for buildings that could be used as clinics or shelters.
Rich said officials “have been very cooperative, very helpful.”
The program would rely heavily on local animal welfare advocates.
Molly Mednikow, founder and director of Amazon Community Animal Rescue, Education & Safety, has offered administrative and field support.
“Molly has been very supportive of Best Friends and what we would like to do moving forward in the region,” Rich said. “She has generously offered the use of a handful of volunteer vets that were originally coming to help her organization in Iquitos [Peru] and ... we may be able contract the use of her top vet and vet tech for the start of our operation.”
(For more on Molly and AmazonCARES, please go
here.)
We’d also be working with Shari Artadi, formerly of the Peruvian Association for the Protection of Animals, who has played an integral role in coordinating rescue efforts to this point.
Rich’s team, which also includes photographer Molly Wald and former Peruvian vet Aldo Wilson, was sent in to assess the situation and report back to Best Friends officials in Utah, who would determine our course of action.
Chief executive officer Paul Berry has been receiving information from the team. He and lead counsel Russ Mead are currently formulating the memorandum of understanding.
Rich said it’s likely we’ll rotate vets in and out of the country, and that they would oversee the program.
Meanwhile, he and Aldo will be staying in Peru probably until the beginning of October