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Showing posts from December, 2017

Protection Against Animal Cruelty- WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT?

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PROTECTION AGAINST ANIMAL CRUELTY: VET STORIES  Our vets in the ALL CREATURES Clinic had some extraordinary work to do this month. We had several cases of abuse and neglect but none as bad as Biscuit's, a small puppy who was rescued by a film crew in Kasungu after seeing his owner kick and beat it with a stick. The beating was so bad, Biscuit needed a metal rod put into his shoulder, which was quite a complex surgery (see xray below) . Biscuit is only about 5 months old, which means he should fully heal and soon be able to walk without pain or a limp. It is an absolute atrocity to hear of someone beating a puppy this young. We are so happy the members of the film crew came to his rescue and immediately took him away from his owner, no questions asked. Luckily Biscuit is still the world's happiest puppy who greets everyone he sees and is desperate for playmates! Our vets also had a case where Frozy (pictured below) had been stoned by his owner's neighbors, badly en

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANIMAL WELFARE & ANIMAL RIGHTS

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In Malawi and indeed many African countries that I have lived, the phrases ‘animal rights’ and ‘animal welfare’ are often used interchangeably, but there is a significant difference between the two. It is therefore our role as animal welfare people to try and paint the difference between these two significantly different ideologies as any advocate for animal compassion is dismissed immediately as a space wasting animal rightist in most social settings.  It is with cynicism that most animal well being advocates are viewed by the general public and sadly also by policy developers. This is indeed the reason why most African countries grapple with archaic or even non-existent animal utilization regulations. Animal utilization by man-kind has been documented in many different spheres of society that varies from status, haulage, food, war, medicine, tourism, culture & tradition, security and even worship. This is by no means an exhaustive list of human use for animals but demonstr

NEW CLINIC IN MZUZU

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A MESSAGE FROM OUR TEAM! Our ALL CREATURES staff have been very busy this month, as we officially opened our second office in Mzuzu (find our story below). With our additional office, we welcome new staff members to the team: Vet Manager  Dr. Bruce Mwiinga , Administrative Assistant Tionge Namatumbo , vet nurses Faith Pemba , Mercy Zimba , and intern  Blessings Chilanga . Dr. Bruce comes to us from Zambia where he recieved a degree in Veterinary Science from the University of Zambia. He came to Malawi as manager of the  East Coast Fever (ECF) vaccination campaign we held in Mzimba district. He specializes in livestock health and does livestock vaccination clinics throughout Mzuzu.  In addition to the opening of a new office, we hosted three vet volunteers from the Netherlands. They assisted us greatly with the spay and neuter clinic in Mzuzu as well as with pertinent diagnosis and operations at the Lilongwe clinic. These kinds of volunteer opportunities provide an important

RABIES VACCINATION OF DOGS IN KANINGINA MZUZU

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After establishing our new Mzuzu  Animal Resource Centre , we conducted a mass rabies vaccination campain at the Veterinary Clinic that is located in Kanigina Mzuzu.  Rabies is among the worst zoonotic disease in the world and responsible for over 70,000 human deaths annually. The control of this viral disease control continues to pose global public health challenges in the developing world. In developing countries, over 90% of confirmed and reported cases of human exposure are from domestic dogs. In Malawi ALL CREATURES ANIMAL WELFARE TRUST partnered with the Mzuzu City Council, Mzuzu ADD and the Humane Society International to rid Mzuzu City of this killer disease. In August ALL CREATURES run a similar exercise with the Community Veterinary Clinic (Florida)  under the Community Health Coalition to vaccinate all the dogs in Enkwendeni in South Mzimba. The rabies vaccination clinic held on the 2 nd December vaccinated over 640 dogs from three surrounding village