From the Executive Director
News Summer 2014
Meet our Disaster Response Team The Philippines: responding to Typhoon Haiyan From John Walsh to James Sawyer: celebrating 50 years of heroes for animals
Protecting animals in disasters for 50 years
From the Executive Director
8-year-old MarJo Nalagan, Jr. holds puppy Brownie while he receives treatment from World Animal Protection vets in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan.
WSPA is now World Animal Protection
Contact World Animal Protection
As you’ve probably noticed, our organization has a new name as of June 2014: the World Society for the Protection of Animals is now World Animal Protection.
We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at:
While our name has changed, our focus has not — it remains firmly dedicated to our work with animals. We always have been, and always will be, about protecting the world’s animals. And the more numbers of people who know our about our work, the more animals we can reach. Such a powerful name will help us be heard as we call to supporters everywhere to move the world to protect animals. Find out more about how we’re changing animals’ lives — and how you’re making a difference. Visit worldanimalprotection.us.org today. 2 World Animal Protection News
World Animal Protection 450 Seventh Avenue, 31st Floor New York, NY 10123 Phone: 1–800–883–9772 Fax: 212–564–4250 Email: info@worldanimalprotection.us.org worldanimalprotection.us.org World Animal Protection is a U.S.-registered charity (EIN #04–2718182)
From the Executive Director
Thank you for protecting animals in disasters for 50 years World Animal Protection. It’s our mission. It’s our call to action. And now it’s our name. World Animal Protection states simply what you and I have been working so hard to achieve over these many years. Equipped with this name that tells the world exactly what we stand for, we’ll be in an even stronger position to deliver change that matters for animals. While we know there’s much more to be done, we’re proud of all we’ve achieved so far. And I hope you are, too, since you’ve been a critical member of the team. This year is an especially auspicious one for us, marking our 50th anniversary of protecting animals in disasters. This legacy began with our organization’s U.S. founding director, John Walsh, who in 1964 traveled to Suriname in South America to rescue animals stranded after extensive flooding. Walsh’s intrepid undertaking, which would become known as Operation Gwamba (featured on pages 6–7), was a great success; he saved nearly 10,000 animals and remained in the region for over a year. That first rescue mission informs our work to this day. World Animal Protection’s current Director of Disaster Management, James Sawyer, together with our global Disaster Response Team
(highlighted on pages 4–5), respond immediately to the needs of animals in disasters around the globe. In 2013 alone, World Animal Protection helped more than one million animals and their owners affected by 14 disasters. This issue is a special tribute to our teams working tirelessly for animals whenever a disaster strikes. It’s also a tribute to our supporters, as this life-saving work would not be possible without you. As World Animal Protection, we look forward to continuing to partner with you and to sharing with you the news of our accomplishments! Sincerely,
Anne Lieberman US Executive Director, World Animal Protection
Contents Stories 2 WSPA is now World Animal Protection 3 From the Executive Director 4 The Philippines: responding to Typhoon Haiyan
5 Meet our global Disaster Response Team 6 Time is short and the water rises: from John Walsh to James Sawyer
Editor: Carla Pisarro Contributor: Katriona Meheran Designer: Lyubava Fartushenko US-0014-0614 Cover photo: © World Animal Protection. Unless otherwise stated, all images are the copyright of World Animal Protection. World Animal Protection News 3
The Philippines: responding to Typhoon Haiyan In November 2013, the Philippines was hit by the devastating Typhoon Haiyan. Known to locals as “Yolanda,” the typhoon tore through cities with winds up to 150 miles per hour. Thousands of lives were lost.
Life-saving help
Thanks to your generous donations, our Disaster Response Team deployed quickly to the Philippines to reach animals in need. Once there, we provided food, water and veterinary care to over 17,400 animals. Our team shared heartbreaking stories from the field. They found sick and injured animals — cows, goats and water buffalos — foraging for whatever food they could find. They saw desperate pets not used to fending for themselves, separated from their owners. People shared what little they had to keep their animals alive but struggled to find food even for themselves. Here are the stories of just two of the thousands of animals we helped protect, thanks to you.
A very lucky goat
Puppy love
The team then went from house to house treating animals. At one home, when they treated the family’s goat, they learned that she was the only goat in that area of the island to survive the typhoon because her owners had brought her inside with them for the storm. World Animal Protection logistics officer Cinthya Diaz immediately nicknamed the goat “Lucky.”
On learning that their dogs were now safe, the boys’ eyes lit up. One of them, eight-year-old MarJo, hugged his dogs to his chest while saying “Salamat” (thank you) over and over again.
The island of Malalison had been directly in the typhoon’s path, and all communication there was lost. But our determined Disaster Response Team managed to get to the island by boat.
In the village of Mamarang Sapa, three young boys brought their puppies, Liney, Lance, and Brownie, to one of World Animal Protection’s mobile clinics. Our vets, aided by local volunteer vets, gave the dogs medical injections and also provided food for the boys’ families.
Read more about World Animal Protection’s work in the Philippines on our Animals in Disasters blog: animalsindisasters.typepad.com
These stories are only possible because of you. We thank you so much for being there for animals like Lucky, Liney and thousands of others. Our team is now helping communities in the Philippines to prepare for future disasters.
World Animal Protection officer Cinthya Diaz feeding Lucky, the only surviving goat in her area of Malalison Island.
Three young boys wait for their puppies to be treated by World Animal Protection’s veterinary team.
Campaign updates From the Executive Director
Meet our global Disaster Response Team, as they share their most memorable experiences Dr. Ian Dacre
“Even when I was young, I knew it was important to look after animals. Sadly, during my career I have witnessed much animal suffering. One of the most unforgettable, purely because of the scale of loss, was when over 130,000 cattle and buffalo drowned as a result of Cyclone Nargis hitting Myanmar in 2008. But the sadness of some cases is balanced with the knowledge that as a vet I can make a difference.”
James Sawyer
Dr. Juan Carlos Murillo
Cinthya Diaz
Gerardo Huertas
“It’s always the sheer numbers of animals in need that amazes me. The worst disaster in terms of scale was the 2010 dzud (when an extremely cold winter follows a summer drought) in Mongolia. So many animal lives were lost — hundreds of thousands each week. Sheep and goats would huddle together for warmth, and dead animals would have to be separated from live ones because they had frozen together. One of the toughest things is that it becomes very difficult to leave. When we’re about to go, there is always one more animal brought to us that needs help.”
“I work as Logistics Officer on our Disaster Team. I’m the person in charge of taking care of all work behind the scenes so our veterinarians can be fully focused on delivering aid. The faster and more efficiently we move, the more animals we can reach. I love this work! Small details make a huge difference in big animal rescue operations. What inspired me to work with animals were the animals themselves. I grew up surrounded by animals because my mom loves animals, and she taught me that every single representation of life must be treated with respect and caring.”
“In every mission, there is something significant that makes all the effort worthwhile. One highlight was looking after sick dolphins in Guatemala and Nicaragua who were kept in filthy tanks with no adequate filtration. Our mission was to treat them until they were fully recovered and train them for release back to the wild — all the months of hard work ended in one minute when we set them free. That felt good! Although it can be very challenging, working with animals in disasters and helping people to look after them better is a big blessing.”
“When I started this work, I did not know I was getting into the best job there is. Every story is great to tell, but helping animals in war zones such as Afghanistan and Nicaragua was a highlight, as well as our disaster response in Haiti — I’ll never forget the suffering in the eyes of the animals we went on to help. These moments are a priceless opportunity to say to the world that animals do matter. The work I leave behind — by teaching people to plan for disasters — will save animals for generations to come.”
World Animal Protection’s John Walsh and Juan Carlos Murillo treat injured puppies after El Salvador earthquake, 1991.
Time is short and the water rises: from John Walsh to James Sawyer 2014 is a momentous year for World Animal Protection — our 50th anniversary of protecting animals in disasters. This storied history began in 1964 with our remarkable U.S. founding director, John Walsh, and his first rescue expedition: Operation Gwamba. Operation Gwamba (gwamba means jungle animal) was caused by the construction of Afobaka Dam, a hydroelectric dam in Suriname, South America. Rising water levels submerged entire islands and roughly 560 feet of tropical rainforest. People could evacuate — but wild animals were stranded. The Suriname Government contacted World Animal Protection, then known as the International Society for the Protection of Animals, and Walsh sprang to action. Remembers Walsh, “The [Suriname government] ended [its] letter stating they had no money and did not know what to do. They put their hands up in despair and said, ‘Please do something quick. Send us money and instructions.’ The final line was: ‘Time is short and the water rises.’” 6 World Animal Protection News
Arriving in the region with colleague Bob Smith, Walsh assembled local teams to assist and went to work, assessing obstacles and devising strategies to overcome them. He remembers, “When we got there, they had arranged to take us up into the area that was being flooded. The water was slowly [rising]. We could see a sloth in the tree, and we pulled the sloth out of the tree, and it was the first animal rescue.” Walsh stayed in Suriname for some eighteen months. He saved nearly 10,000 animals, including deer, monkeys, armadillos, tortoises, sloths, anteaters, opossums, giant snakes, and others. Says Walsh: “One of our rules of thumb in picking projects in those days was doing the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of animals for the longest period of time.” That spirit drives World Animal Protection’s rescue work today. Leading the charge is James Sawyer, World Animal Protection’s current Director of Disaster Management. For Sawyer, Operation Gwamba was a turning point. “I always think it was one of those moments for animal welfare where
Give to World Animal Protection someone took a stand and said: ‘It is not okay to let this happen. Something does need to be done about this.’” Following Operation Gwamba, Walsh led many subsequent rescues, often in perilous circumstances like the 1991 Gulf War, during which Walsh worked to save oil-soaked birds and abandoned zoo animals in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Uniting all of World Animal Protection’s rescue missions is a deep sense of purpose, according to Walsh: “As I have said to others who have asked why I do [animal rescue work], I say, ‘If we do not do it, nobody else will.’”
The work described in this issue of News is made possible only by your generous support. Please consider making a gift to help stop animal suffering around the world. I’d like to make a contribution today. Here’s my donation of:
$75
$ ____
I’d like to increase my monthly giving amount to $ ____ I’d like to make a new monthly gift of $ ____
James Sawyer agrees. “People have a voice whereas animals don’t. Realizing that there are so many [animals] that suffer was my call to arms.”
YOUR INFORMATION
We now have dedicated response teams around the world, based in Costa Rica, Africa, Thailand, and India, prepared to deploy when disaster strikes. Says Sawyer, “In the Philippines [following Typhoon Haiyan], some of the team worked for one month straight without a day off. These people are putting themselves on the line for animals, and it is a real privilege to work with them.”
Address
Along with our immediate disaster responses is our work to include animals in long-term planning. In a landmark example, India’s government agreed in 2013 that all 28 Indian states would account for animals in disaster planning. Accomplishments like this show World Animal Protection’s impact, says John Walsh. “Increasingly, you will see in any initial planning or any kind of a disaster [that] the government also considers animals,” he reflects. “That is a heck of an achievement.”
$40
Name
City
State
Zip code
Telephone Email I do not wish to have my name exchanged with other charities.
YOUR DONATION Please charge my: Visa
Mastercard
AMEX
Discover
Card number Name on card / Exp. date Signature
“John, you have been the best — don’t stop!” Ann Sargent, donor since 1987 “We think of John as the Indiana Jones for animals in distress.” Stephen and Wendie Ryter, donors since 2001 “I will be eternally grateful to John for his amazing work on Montserrat in 1997. One of the many animals he evacuated was my late dog, Bucky. Thank you, John Walsh, for the great work you have done.” N. Benedict, donor since 1998 “I so want to salute John and thank him for his 50 years of service to animals, beginning with Operation Gwamba. You have been a source of inspiration to me. Thank you!” Caroline R. Merriam, donor since 2005 “John’s outreach, knowledge, commitment and energy are remarkable. He is a person that I will always remember with fondness, respect and admiration.” Gloria Junge, donor since 1992
Enclosed is my check made payable to World Animal Protection. Send me information on leaving a gift in my Will. Send me information on making a stock donation. My employer will match this gift; I have enclosed the necessary form. Don’t know whether your employer will match your gift? Talk to your HR department or visit: worldanimalprotection.us.org/donate/workplacegiving
THREE WAYS TO GIVE: Visit: worldanimalprotection.us.org/donate Call: 1–800–883–9772, option #2 Mail: 450 Seventh Avenue, 31st Floor, New York, NY 10123 You can change or cancel your monthly donation by calling 1–800–883–9772. World Animal Protection requires 5 business days for changes to take effect. You have the right to receive reimbursement for any monthly bank debit that is not authorized or is not consistent with this agreement. info@worldanimalprotection.us.org Tax Identification (EIN) #04–2718182
WN0614D
Our supporters thank John Walsh
450 Seventh Avenue, 31st Floor New York, NY 10123 World Animal Protection US @MoveTheWorldUS We are World Animal Protection. We end the needless suffering of animals. We influence decision makers to put animals on the global agenda. We help the world see how important animals are to all of us. We inspire people to change animals’ lives for the better. We move the world to protect animals.