During the summer of 2007, SPCA International, with financial assistance from Royal Canin, is proudly sponsoring two teams of veterinary students who are traveling to third world countries to do volunteer work with animals. One team will be working in Africa - namely in Namibia and Zambia - while the other team will be doing its aid work in the Philippines.

This follows SPCA International's successful veterinary aid missions to Argentina in 2004 and Peru and India in 2006, some photos of which are included in this article.


AFRICA

The three Team Africa students will go to Namibia to work at a veterinary clinic for small animals in Windhoek and at an SPCA in Swakopmund. In Zambia, the team will be volunteering in a veterinary clinic for small animals in Mazabuka and collaborating with existing projects at the University of Zambia.

Namibia and Zambia are countries with a high level of poverty that will benefit greatly from veterinary volunteer aid on several different levels. In these African countries, rabies - a particularly dangerous and fatal illness - is widespread. Vaccination against this disease is crucial in preventing its spread within animal populations, as well as for human protection. The growing number of stray dogs is another cause for alarm. These animals tend to be malnourished and can propagate infectious diseases that are easily contracted by humans, including worms and other parasites.

Team Africa's plans are to:

• Help suffering animals with proper veterinary treatment and with clean and adequate accommodation.
• Prevent the spread of dangerous diseases such as rabies by providing vaccination, while instructing the public on how to recognize potentially infected animals and what actions they should take.
• Help control the increasing number of stray dogs in larger towns, using sterilization as a means of population control.
• Provide information and educational materials to the staff of the shelters and clinics, as well as to the general public, to help prevent disease and control animal populations.
• Provide emergency care to injured animals brought to shelters, administering de-wormer and flea treatment as preventive measures.

PHILIPPINES

The three Team Philippines students will volunteer with different animal shelters, small animal clinics and educational institutions. The host organizations (Animal Kingdom Foundation, Animal House, Central Luzon University and Los Banos University) share the common goal of promoting animal welfare and health while reducing both the spread of infectious zoonoses (diseases that can be transferred from animals to humans) as well as the high level of internal and external parasites that pose a major health risk to the stray animal population.

The mission of Animal Kingdom Foundation is to support, protect and promote welfare and the rights of animals, to eliminate the practice of illegal slaughter of dogs for human consumption and to introduce legislations or amendments in the existing animal-welfare laws of the Philippines. The Team Philippines students will work at their dog rehabilitation and rescue center to:

• Vaccinate against the spread of rabies and canine distemper.
• Sterilize stray dogs to reduce and control the population.
• Provide routine health check-ups for rescued dogs.
• Help in the treatment sector for rescued dogs, including treatment of skin diseases, aid in surgical operations, vaccinations, rehabilitation of sick animals and more.
• Help in the adoption process.

One of the roles of Animal Kingdom Foundation is to intercept deliveries of dogs to slaughterhouses, since the dog meat trade is an illegal activity in the Philippines. The rescued animals are brought to Animal Kingdom Foundation's dog rescue center.

Team Philippines will also assist veterinarians at Central Luzon State University and University of the Philippines Los Banos with their research in various fields of veterinary medicine, including veterinary public health, and will help them provide veterinary services to pet owners in both urban and rural areas.

The three students will also work with Animal House to provide education to local vets on proper patient care and the importance of different preventive treatments in order to help decrease the prevalence of various infectious diseases in dogs and cats through vaccination.

SPCA International thanks our many donors for making aid missions like this possible. Your online donations at spca.com make a difference in saving the lives of animals both at home and around the world.