Amid chaos, a helping hand to stranded animals too

Animal Husbandry department and animal rights organisations provide emergency relief to animals affected by landslide in Chooralmala, Kerala.

The Animal Husbandry department has opened round-the-clock services at Chooralmala, recently devastated in a landslide, to rescue domestic animals, District Animal Husbandry officer A. Rajesh has said. According to preliminary data, the animal husbandry sector incurred a loss of ₹2.5 crore in the landslide-hit area.

Animal rights organisations such as the Humane Society International (HSI) India have provided emergency relief to hundreds of animals stranded at the sites. The landslide, which has claimed 200-odd human lives, has also left hundreds of animals trapped, stranded, injured and in desperate need of food and medical attention.

“A lot of animals in the area are at risk. We are now providing critical emergency relief to them with the support of the Animal Husbandry department and experts of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University,” Praveen Suresh, manager, disaster preparedness, response and relief, HSI told The Hindu.

The HSI India has deployed its disaster preparedness, response and relief team on the ground to aid relief efforts, which include distribution of feed, medical supplies, water, and shelter materials for animals, he said .

The relief operation, which began on July 31 evening with the support of 10 volunteers, provided food and medicines to injured and dehydrated cattle in Mundakkai. Many dogs were also rescued, he said. “There were more than 350 head of cattle in the area before the landslide, but now, most are missing,” he added. The operations will be extended over the next few days to provide aid to more animals.

“The extent of destruction caused by landslides is something we did not expect to see. We are working round the clock to provide relief to every animal in need,” he added.