Blue Paw Trust to provide veterinary services to tsunami affected areas

BLUE PAW Trust in collaboration with The World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) has launched a program to provide veterinary services to tsunami affected areas along the south west coast of Sri Lanka.

The objectives of the program are to relieve the problems caused by the large number of stray or community dogs congregating around camps and other areas where people are assembled. This is important to minimize human health problems associated with zoonotic diseases such as rabies as well as any perceived nuisance.

The project will be implemented through a Mobile Veterinary Service that will help to enhance and assist the existing programs of the Health Ministry and Agriculture Ministries (Department of Animal Production and Health).

The mobile hospital will be able to provide a wide range of high quality veterinary services to underprivileged and underserved areas. It will also provide opportunities for veterinary students and veterinarians to obtain training and upgrade their knowledge and skills. The program is two years in duration.

Blue Paw Trust is an organization started in 2003 by Veterinarians in order to address the issue of dog population control from a professional point of view. The trustees include veterinarians and non veterinary animal welfare people. The focus is on addressing the issue from a holistic perspective.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is an internationally recognized organization whose origins go back more than 50 years.

The WSPA is the primary organization worldwide for the benefit of animals and works in collaboration with the United Nations having specialized consultative Status with that organization WSPA also has representation at the Council of Europe (CoE) and works in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations (FECAVA).

In furtherance of its objectives for the prevention and alleviation of the suffering of animals worldwide and to improve the status and treatment of companion animals it has decided to extend its outreach to Sri Lanka during this post tsunami period of stress and need. This program will be held on June 6 at the Clausenberg Hotel in Galle from 9.30 a.m.- 12.30 p.m.