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Volunteers bring hope to trapped and starving animals
Goats marooned in Wellampitiya floods await help. Pic by Amila Gamage
A small team of dedicated and courageous animal lovers are busy rescuing animals trapped by the floodwaters.
Let by veterinarians from a privately-funded animal hospital and a group of employees from the Embark charity they have been strategically combing the flood-affected areas.
The team began work on Wednesday in the Malwana area. By Friday, the volunteers had covered Kaduwela and Kotikawatta, rescuing more than 50 animals and making sure countless others were left with enough food and water for several days. Next week, they will move into the Wellampitiya area.
With the use of a pet rescue ambulance, two off-road vehicles and a small boat they search areas where they have information that animals are stranded and in need of assistance.
By Friday morning they had treated sick and injured dogs and cats and found two sets of puppies that were rehomed, while vaccinating and sterilising the mothers. They also came across a caged monkey and set it free.
When they search an area they are informed in advance about what to look for. If the volunteers come across an animal that is safe although left behind by families that have escaped the floods, they leave food and water, at times with neighbours, as moving the creature would cause it stress.
Sadly, they have come across livestock that had not been moved by the owners due to the rapid rising of the floodwaters: on Friday they found a little herd of pigs that had perished.
The volunteers work in two shifts: when one set goes out the other treats the animals at the base, both groups starting early in the morning and working until sunset.
Although they are forced to cap the number of animals they are able to treat and house, in such an emergency as this they are resolute that no animal is left to come to grief.
The volunteers face the same dangers as the emergency services when entering the flooded regions. They must wade through stagnant water, risk encountering live power lines, and there is always the fear of their boat capsizing. Then they must try and rescue an animal that could be aggressive.
Most of the time they come across animals that are scared, sad or desperately sick. They are buoyed by the fact that animals that are released from cages or chains amid the floodwaters, or re-homed, are visibly content.
“We are able to rescue many animals but housing them is a problem due to space. Calls come constantly from the public, yet we only have one boat and so there is only so much we can cover in an area,” one of the team leaders, Dr Malith Eranda, said.
If you are able to donate or rehome any of the sick and injured animals, please visit the Embark website athttp://www.embarkpassion.com/.
Embark volunteers carrying out rescue operations