And the petition has a particular example of what is happening at the Ox Ranch, outside San Antonio in Texas.
This has been going on for some time. “Sportsmen” (I am presuming that women do it too) pay tens of thousands of dollars for the chance to kill exotic animals. Animals such as the African bongo antelope, black wildebeest, and sitatunga antelope. They are tracked across a fenced-in area and killed.
As well as these “hunts” being unfair and cruel, they reinforce the dangerous myth that sport hunting has an important role to play in conservation. This idea has come under increased scrutiny in recent years.
Care2 is calling on Texas Governor Greg Abbott to place an immediate moratorium on new exotic hunting facilities and to direct the state's Attorney General investigate violations of Texas's animal import laws anti-cruelty.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – if people want to help conservation, they can donate money straight to the cause. There is absolutely no need to kill anything at all in order to help.
So why are these “sportsmen” killing animals? Because they get a thrill out of killing.
How horrible. It’s time they were stopped and found their thrills doing something else.
With none of us being able to go out visiting places during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 situation, it really is important to help wildlife sanctuaries get through the coronavirus and come out of the other side.
In other words, they need help – fundraising has ground to an abrupt halt.
Sanctuaries, wildlife parks, wildlife charities need our help so that they can help the animals in their care
Many sanctuaries are in desperate trouble because they rely on visitors to help fund them or they rely on fundraising events to help them provide the care that the animals need. Zoos and wildlife parks are in the same boat, and I know that many people don’t agree with zoos or wildlife parks, but the fact is that the animals there still need feeding, watering, veterinary care and people to look after them. I don’t want to let these animals down. They need us. We need to get through this time and make sure the animals are okay.
There are also petitions going round so I will try to bring those to everyone’s attention as well.
Please find an inner strength and resolve to help make a difference
When you get involved in the animal world, you see and hear some awful and upsetting sights. Those sights switch a lot of people off straight away and many will vent their anger at those people who have upset them by sharing such sights.
If we switch off because we are upset by what we see and hear, the animals still suffer. These animals need us to have resolve; they need us to have an inner strength which enables us to cut through the upsetting stuff and come out on the other side, ready and willing to take action to make a difference.
There are a lot of good things happening in the animal world as well. There are good news stories every day and we need these to show ourselves that we can indeed make a difference and really change animals’ lives around. Animals are being rescued from cages and a life of terrible misery, to enjoying a new lease of life in a sanctuary and in a place of safety.
A bear rescued by Free the Bears swims for the first time
We cannot let them down. We need to help look after them.
We can all help in so many ways
Animals are relying on us to provide practical help where we can in whatever form we can do that in.
An enormous amount can be done online as we all know.
There are so many ways in which we can all help: volunteering, just asking what you can do to help, donating, spreading the word, becoming a member or a friend of the charity, buying a virtual gift, looking at a charity’s wish-list (which could be on Amazon), knitting a cosy blanket, sending treats in for hardworking staff and volunteers who are able to be on site to let them know they are not alone, following them on social media, sharing videos of good work being done….
Yes, there is plenty we can all do to make a difference.
The world is dominated by the human species now; and animals need our help to adjust and cope with our demands and the changes we have forced on them. Let’s get these animals as well as ourselves through the coronavirus.
Keep safe, and keep well.
With love to you & your families and of course your animals!
The Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS for short) has a Crowdfunder to help animals around the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
They are asking for donations through Crowdfunder….. make a donation and see how your money could help animals…
Recently, 50kg of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory pain went to Italy, in response to an urgent request from local charities who needed help treating animals in their care in this pandemic hotspot.
The WVS sends parcels to charities in need around the world and as such they are a lifeline.
£3 can treat a cat with gastrointestinal worms
£10 could buy ear cleaner to help prevent and treat infections in dogs
£30 can provide a wound care package for working donkeys
£70 could allow 5 puppies to be tested for deadly parvovirus
£138 can purchase surgical clippers and blades to allow life-saving operations to take place
£200 could allow the WVS to provide the surgical kit to safely spay cat
As a result of the current travel restrictions, it’s harder for the vet teams to directly support animals in places where veterinary resources are lacking. But their global supply network is still in operation; so essential medical supplies can be sent to people looking after animals with very limited provisions.
It is vital to keep these veterinary aid shipments moving. Thanks to its supporters, in 2019 it sent 1,134 parcels of supplies worth £268,000 to 66 countries worldwide.
In a usual month, WVS send nearly 100 parcels full of supplies to many charities working with limited provisions. Aid parcels are sent to war zones and remote communities to end animal pain and suffering.
And the WVS runs three International Training Centres (ITCs) situated in India and Thailand. They give local aspiring veterinary professionals, along with those from overseas, the chance to develop practical surgery skills and learn best practice in animal welfare.
So if you are able to, please contribute to this fundraiser. It really will enable you to help animals elsewhere in the world whilst you’re in lockdown or wherever at home.
The Worldwide Veterinary Service provide free expert care to animals in need worldwide. They send vets to where they are needed most, training them to increase the standard of care globally, and by sending urgent aid supplies around the world.
