News Updates

July 2015: Surviving the worst summer in decades

Dear well-wisher and supporters,

We expected severe heat during the summer months due to 80% of our cover foliage being blown away in cyclone HUDHUD. But we did not expect the heat to be a "GIANT KILLER" with adverse heating conditions affecting all species from all walks of life. In every natural disaster the street animals and birds face the brunt and this summer has been no exception, particularly for the birds. Our State of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana recorded more than 1900 out of 2400 total deaths in the whole of the country, demonstrating the disastrous changes in the climatic conditions in our region.

Visakha has always been the hub of tourism during summer as the conditions have been traditionally good for the visitors, with cooler temperatures than elsewhere, but this summer has upset those expectations, and it seems this will be the case more every year unless urgent remedial measures are taken.

Anticipating the adverse conditions and the often-fatal effects on the street animals, birds, and the hundreds of animals under our care, we undertook the following measures:

We changed the schedules for all employees and stopped all work between 11 AM to 3 PM, excepting emergencies.
The spay/neuter programme was temporarily slowed and only conducted during early mornings.
Water bowls were placed throughout the shelters and also in other parts of the city where volunteers could take responsibility for them.
We cooled our slab-roofed buildings using water-filled sand partitions.
We sprayed water into our enclosures which have retained their tree cover for shade.
Since many trees were downed due to the cyclone, we imported palm leaves to provide shade all around our structures.
We had also provided generous quantities of glucose water to our workers and others on the roads.

We took all these steps in order to minimise deaths due to heat stroke, amongst both the animals and amongst our workers, as well as to minimise the loss of working hours at the shelter.

Water facility for the animals and also glucose water for people on the street.

However, we suffered a tragic loss when the handicapped dog Maria succumbed to the summer heat, despite our providing her a special place and extra cooling measures. Maria was an inspiration and Founder of our Special Needs Care gratefully supported by Ms. Abigail Cromwell. Through this Special Needs we provide the best of care to the old, blind and paraplegic who cannot take on the roads.

Heartless devotees continue to bring calves

We have saved over 2000 male calves over the past two months from the temple where the devotees - mostly from villages - give away the male calves, abandoning them and leaving to their fate. 99% of them are Jersey calves, which the temple refuses to take. We rescue them in very pathetic conditions, especially this summer when heat was in extreme and animals were dying throughout the State.

These are the type of handicapped and hopeless calves surrender to the temple. Help us save more! Donate on our website or for USA tax-deductible donations please send through Help Animals India and specify VSPCA.

More raids in illegal slaughterhouses

The timely intervention of the team resulted in saving five calves from an illegal slaughter house located in one of the butcher’s homes. In fact we noticed the usage of bedroom for slaughtering too. We express our deep appreciation for the police support and prompt action. With every such raid, our team receives physical threats and so many times have faced direct confrontation. The cattle are very much in trauma, dehydrated and malnourished – they now reside in our sanctuary. This is the 7th time we have rescued cattle from an illegal slaughter operation in this area. Strengthen our team with your benevolence. Donate on our website or for USA tax-deductible donations please send through Help Animals India and specify VSPCA. Thank you for your compassion and help us rescue more!

Two of the calves in the dingy room saved and taken to our shelter.

Summer ABC programme consolidated

Every summer our state faces the threat of increasing dog bites and aggressive behavior, particularly in rural areas. While there are some spay/neuter programmes in urban sectors there is absolutely nothing in the rural areas and they are all ignorant of human antirabies vaccination as well. This summer we were fortunate to get assistance for spaying, neutering and vaccinating 300 dogs from Help Animals India to conduct this programme in rural areas and we chose the Bhimli sector and surrounding areas. Please help us with our continuing efforts!

Dogs being operated in the shelter and released after successful operation.

Rescued Ones

Poor pug suffering from a hernia after being abandoned by his owner, and an injured bunny rescued from cruel pet shop. We rescue many pedigree dogs from the streets in bad condition which is very disturbing.

We are very grateful to your continued faith and support and ask you to be an active part of our efforts for the animals in distress. For frequent updates and links to many of the above stories please check our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Pradeep Kumar Nath
Founder/President
Visakha Society for Protection and Care of Animals (VSPCA)