bawa newsletter 2011

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Annual Newsletter 2011 BAWA ANNUAL NEWSLETTER 1 D ear Friends, We’re proud to pre- sent you with our yearly newsletter, to share with you our accomplishments in 2011, where your donations have gone, and what our goals are for 2012. For a very small grass-roots organization we have done amazing work, and with your kind support, we continue to improve the lives of animals’ everyday. 2011 Statistics Rabies: BAWA vaccinated 275,117 (2010-2011) dogs against rabies, putting collars on all of the adult dogs and marking the younger dogs. Population control: We spayed 1,402 female dogs and neutered 1,760 male dogs. Ambulance: We responded to approximately 25 ambulance calls every day, island wide. Clinic: At our 24 hour free clinic, we took care of over 1,000 animals (dogs, cats, monkeys, bats, birds, etc.), adopted out 667 dogs and cats, even some monkeys. In addition to this we kept hundreds of puppies and kittens in villages where they were safe, fed and treated until we could adopt them straight out to their new safe and loving homes. Education: We educated 5,352 school children, 69 schools, and hundreds of banjars (village community centers), including villagers, village leaders, and women’s groups. Vaccination Against Rabies In late 2008, rabies hit Bali for the first time, and caught Bali completely unprepared, with no vaccines, no funding, or emergency system in place. The government’s response was to mass poison the dogs. For one year BAWA lobbied against this cruel practice, promoting and lobbying for vaccination, and humane euthanasia when needed. Finally in December 2009, BAWA was able to set up and run the first rabies vaccination program in the Gianyar region. This pilot program was personally funded by Janice Girardi with help from the Bali Street Dog Fund (Australia), vaccines donated by WSPA, and an additional donation from Best Friends in Utah. We were able to vaccinate 48,000 dogs within six months. The success of this pilot program led to funding from WSPA for another regional vaccination program in Bangli. After this region was successfully completed, the Balinese government agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with BAWA, allowing a mass vaccination program in lieu of mass culling. In October 2010, when the island-wide mass vaccination began, BAWA went from 36 rabies staff to 420 staff within a few months time. We were given six months funding to complete this island wide program. We worked with and provided the training to the government to ensure sustainability of the program. Our staff were true heroes working often in the hot sun and pouring rain, going above and beyond the call of normal duty and accomplished an exceptional outcome. Over 70 percent of all dogs in Bali were vaccinated during this period. Post vaccination data from April-September 2011 compared to the same period in the previous year showed an over 80 percent decrease in both human deaths and dog rabies cases. BAWA’s program was successfully handed over to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Balinese Provincial Government in May 2011. Red Collar Campaign You may recall that back in 2009 BAWA started the Red Collar Campaign promoting vaccination and collaring the dogs instead of mass culling. The campaign slogan was called “spend a dollar; buy a collar, save a dog”. Due to high success of this campaign the Government continues to collar dogs with bright red or orange collars! Now we just need to find a way to keep dogs from losing their collars! Donations for collars are still greatly needed and appreciated! ***

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Bali Animal Welfare Association Newsletter e.2011

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Page 1: BAWA Newsletter 2011

Vaccination against rabies program.

Annual Newsletter

2011

BAWA ANNUAL NEWSLETTER 1

D ear Friends, We’re proud to pre-sent you with our yearly newsletter, to share with you our accomplishments in 2011, where your donations have gone,

and what our goals are for 2012. For a very small grass-roots organization we have done amazing work, and with your kind support, we continue to improve the lives of animals’ everyday.

2011 Statistics Rabies: BAWA vaccinated 275,117 (2010-2011) dogs

against rabies, putting collars on all of the adult dogs and marking the younger dogs.

Population control: We spayed 1,402 female dogs and neutered 1,760 male dogs.

Ambulance: We responded to approximately 25 ambulance calls every day, island wide.

Clinic: At our 24 hour free clinic, we took care of over 1,000 animals (dogs, cats, monkeys, bats, birds, etc.), adopted out 667 dogs and cats, even some monkeys. In addition to this we kept hundreds of puppies and kittens in villages where they were safe, fed and treated until we could adopt them straight out to their new safe and loving homes.

Education: We educated 5,352 school children, 69 schools, and hundreds of banjars (village community centers), including villagers, village leaders, and women’s groups.

Vaccination Against Rabies In late 2008, rabies hit Bali for the first time, and

caught Bali completely unprepared, with no vaccines, no funding, or emergency system in place. The government’s response was to mass poison the dogs. For one year BAWA lobbied against this cruel practice, promoting and lobbying for vaccination, and humane euthanasia when needed. Finally in December 2009, BAWA was able to set up and run the first rabies vaccination program in the Gianyar region. This pilot program was personally funded by Janice Girardi with help from the Bali Street Dog Fund (Australia), vaccines donated by WSPA, and an additional donation from Best Friends in Utah. We were able to vaccinate 48,000 dogs within six months. The success of this pilot program led to funding from WSPA for another regional vaccination program in Bangli. After this

region was successfully completed, the Balinese government agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with BAWA, allowing a mass vaccination program in lieu of mass culling.

In October 2010, when the island-wide mass vaccination began, BAWA went from 36 rabies staff to 420 staff within a few months time. We were given six months funding to complete this island wide program. We worked with and provided the training to the government to ensure sustainability of the program. Our staff were true heroes working often in the hot sun and pouring rain, going above and beyond the call of normal duty and accomplished an exceptional outcome. Over 70 percent of all dogs in Bali were vaccinated during this period. Post vaccination data from April-September 2011 compared to the same period in the previous year showed an over 80 percent decrease in both human deaths and dog rabies cases. BAWA’s program was successfully handed over to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Balinese Provincial Government in May 2011.

Red Collar Campaign You may recall that back in 2009 BAWA started the Red Collar Campaign promoting vaccination and collaring the dogs instead of mass culling. The campaign slogan was called “spend a dollar; buy a collar, save a dog”. Due to high success of this campaign the Government continues to collar dogs with bright red or orange collars! Now we just need to find a way to keep dogs from losing their collars! Donations for collars are still greatly needed and appreciated! ***

Page 2: BAWA Newsletter 2011

It was truly amazing to see 10 year old children responding correctly to questions about rabies and vaccinations, knowing exactly what kind of post exposure treatment is needed and symptoms of rabies. We are looking forward to having the next competition in May 2012, and we are always looking for sponsors to fund and donate prizes for the competition. Anyone visiting Bali during this month, please contact us for the date of the contest. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience and you are welcome to join in. ***

Bali Dog Idol Competition 2011

F or the third consecutive year, BAWA held adop-tion contests called Bali Dog Idol in April and December. Both were huge successes. Bali Dog Idol (BDI) is an interactive animal welfare

challenge, open to students and local residents who have adopted puppies or dogs from BAWA. Over a six-month minimum period, contestants were assessed on the care they have taken of their pets – with judging based on overall health, physical appearance, as well as the dog’s temperament and connection with it’s owner. The participants come from three categories; Students, Public, and BAWA staff. The winners received prizes including a school desk, television, and bicycle. There were also quizzes with questions about rabies, animal welfare, and animal behavior where the audience can answer and received small prizes themselves.

As part of Bali Dog Idol competition, there were also School Competitions. Students representing their schools submitted artwork about loving and caring for animals in the form of poems, short stories, and drawings. Winning schools were announced on the same day as the Idol competition, and those schools received prizes such as notebook computers, printers, and white boards.

BDI contests are held as an integral part of BAWA’s education program. Education about responsible pet ownership and animal welfare principals is a powerful way to ensure a better future for the animals of Bali.

EDUCATION

Animal Welfare Education Bringing Animal Welfare to the Classrooms At BAWA we believe education is the most important aspect in addressing animal welfare issues, and to educate the children is a way to ensure a brighter future for both children and animals. In 2012 we will be adding different age levels in to our curriculum which we are very excited about. Any teachers and volunteers who would like to contribute or sponsor to this program, please contact us. We can only continue and expand with your help. In 2011, BAWA held classes about rabies and animal welfare in almost all primary schools throughout Gianyar and in other regions. The program was focused on animal welfare, responsible pet care and rabies issues.

We educate children following the five freedoms principals, information about bite prevention, rabies, how to handle a dog bite, and how to care for pet animals and farm (non-companion) animals. They were also given information about adopting a dog or cat from BAWA for free! The response to our education program is always overwhelmingly positive.

Animal welfare education for adults

Apart from public schools, BAWA runs public education programs. We also run seminars and workshops targeting women of banjars (sub-villages) from PKK (Family Welfare Education), klian banjars, head of villages, and community members all over Bali. This program also focuses on responsible pet ownership, rabies, bite prevention, and animal welfare issues. We discuss the importance of herd immunity, vaccination over culling. These public seminars are life savers for both humans and animals. On many occasions, villagers were panicked about rabies and they wanted their dogs to be poisoned. BAWA’s education team was able to go into the banjars with presentations about herd immunity and why vaccinating the dogs is the answer to rabies, explaining the symptoms of rabies, revaccinating The villages dogs and collaring them, and also running sterilization programs, therefore stopping approximately 85

BAWA ANNUAL NEWSLETTER 2

Animal education class with interac-tive games and quizzes

Page 3: BAWA Newsletter 2011

BAWA ANNUAL NEWSLETTER 3

percent of the mass culling.

Animal welfare seminars

We produced and presented an animal welfare seminar at Hindu Indonesia University in Denpasar, Bali along with the rector and the student body of the university. There were 150 participants including veterinarians, vet students, religious students, and repre-sentatives from Non-Governmental Organisations. A very well respected Hindu priest, Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung , was a key speaker at the seminar. He spoke out against culling dogs and in favor of vaccination. He spoke about animal sacrificing and many other issues related to animal welfare. What followed was a very lively discussion and questions from the audience to the priest which was very insightful for all. The afternoon session was led by Janice Girardi, the founder of BAWA, and a line of prominent vets and professors who formed a panel to talk about animal welfare issues. BAWA plans to hold more seminars in Bali in 2012 with the kind support from WSPA.

In December CIVAS invited Janice to be a key speaker at an animal welfare seminar in Bogor, Java, where

veterinarians, vet students, and many key Indonesian governments were present. As one of just two key speakers for the day, she was able to speak about all aspects of animal welfare issues. One of the recommendations agreed upon by all is to include animal welfare in to public school curriculum on all levels. We will write more about this key event in an upcoming page on our web site. For those who are interested please feel free to contact us to get more information.

In late November, Janice also traveled to Colombo with a few key people from the Balinese government to attend 3rd Rabies in Asia Conference: RIACON 2011. All returned to Bali very focused and positive that Bali should continue to run a humane rabies program and cease killing dogs. Although there is a reduction in mass panic, there is still a lack of understanding about the epidemiology of rabies and the importance of maintaining herd immunity, so the killing of dogs does still continue. This is one of the reasons why BAWA must continue education program and expand to larger audiences. ***

Sterilisation and Population Control

E veryone would agree that there are too many unwanted and unhealthy animals in Bali. For many reasons Balinese people tend to keep only male puppies and discard the females, leading to more unwanted animals on the street. The answer to overpopulation is humane population control like BAWA's Spay/Neuter Program. With funding from Bali Street Dog Fund (Australia), BAWA runs a free mobile spay/neuter program

which travels from village to village five to six days a week. Throughout 2011, we sterilized as many as 3162 dogs. Setting up temporary surgery theatres at bale banjar (community centers), our vets along with vet nurses stay in the village for the whole day and carry on sterilization to both owned and unowned dogs. They also treat skin disease worms, and rabies injections if needed. ***

Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung

Page 4: BAWA Newsletter 2011

BAWA ANNUAL NEWSLETTER 4

We endeavor to maintain the good practices we have learned into the fu-ture and to continue to strive for excellence.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BAWA AMBULANCE Have Wheels Will Travel

Thanks to all of you who donated last year, the Bali Street Dog Fund (Australia) and WSPA, we were able to replace our old ambulance with two new ambulances in 2011. BAWA has the only free-of-charge ambulance in Bali responding 24/7 to emergency calls. Apart from emergency calls, our ambulances also cater to the needs of the BAWA clinic and adoptions. It would be great in time to have our own adoption car, but for now these cars have a dual role.

On average we receive 25 calls a day, often roadside emergencies, people panicked that animals have rabies symptoms, dumped neo feral kittens and puppies, etc. so it is imperative to keep our ambulances going. Our ambulances can travel more than 100 km in distance all over Bali every day. As the need is really great and calls are constantly increasing, our need of funding is even greater than ever. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of one of our ambulances please contact us through [email protected]. ***

BAWA CLINIC

An Ever-Growing Free Clinic

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BAWA’s free clinic keeps its doors open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and is ready to respond to any calls

and give treatments at all times. Our clinic is free to all Balinese who can not afford to care for their animals or of course all injured animals picked up from the streets of Bali or called in.

During 2011, the clinic underwent construction to expand the rabies quarantine kennels. Experiencing the rabies outbreak where we have had to face a large amount of animals in quarantine at the same time has given us a better understanding on how to manage our clinic, animals, and animal diseases. We have undergone some basic but very vital maintenance and conducted some amazing staff training workshops.

The approach and knowledge of our staff and vets is increasing all the time. We endeavor to maintain the good practices we have learned in to the future and continue to strive for excellence. ***

Page 5: BAWA Newsletter 2011

BAWA ANNUAL NEWSLETTER 5

ADOPTION TALES

New Homes for Homeless Animals

2 011 was definitely a better year compared to 2010 in terms of animal adoptions for BAWA. We adopted out almost 700 animals throughout the year to really good homes. However in spite of our best efforts, there always seems to be more animals being brought in compared to those

that we can find homes for. Before we adopt out an animal, we always inspect the home to make sure that it is suitable. In addition to private home adoption program, the adoption department also has a village to village adoption program. This is a program where we ask the owners to keep the puppies and kittens until they are old enough to be adopted, in the mean time vaccinating and treating them and looking for new homes for these animals. We then sterilize the mother dogs and find loving homes for the puppies or kittens.

The education team helps the adoption department by promoting adoption in public schools and villages. All of our cats and dogs are sterilized and vaccinated when they leave BAWA. We must increase the number of adoptions in 2012. If you live in Bali and have room in your home and heart please help us by adopting one of our beautiful animals. If you don't live in Bali please sponsor a family that may want and love a dog but are unable to afford the food and upkeep. We are a no-kill shelter and all the healthy animals must finally find a home. Feel free to contact us through [email protected] for information on adoption. ***

We make sure the animals go to the best loving homes.

V olunteering with BAWA is an amazing experience; we have many people who return to us time and time again. We had 81 amazing people from all over the world join us last year. As one of our repeat volunteers said ‘my year is not complete without my two weeks of BAWA time’. Volunteers assist with cleaning (and there is lots of that), laundry duties, feeding animals, walking adult

dogs, socializing puppies and kittens, checking water bowls, changing bedding and then …. there is always more cleaning and walking!

Apart from usual duties there is very special gift our volunteer’s give and that is LOVE! All of the animals at our clinic have been through some form of trauma. Our Vets can (and do) heal the animals physical injuries and ail-ments, but it is our volunteers who have the time to heal their emotional wounds. The simple act of calmly sitting next to a fearful dog or holding a frightened puppy whilst whispering words of comfort cannot be underestimated in helping an animal to heal and teaching them that not all humans mean them harm. Bottle feeding our young kittens and taking the place of mother cat is an essential life saver.

We love our BAWA Volunteer Family – if you would like to join this group of wonderful people you will need to be fully pre vaccinated against rabies, have an up to date tetanus injection, and able to donate a minimum of two weeks of your time. To enquire about volunteering please contact us through email [email protected]. We would love to have you join us! We also always need volunteers at our BAWA shop and the office, so if you’re not pre-vaccinated against rabies or do not want to work around animals, there is always a role you can play. ***

Dedicated, Loving, and Life-saving, Simply Amazing Volunteers!

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Volunteering for the Bali Animal Welfare Association is one enjoyable way of helping animal welfare and a great way to spend your time while visiting Bali.

Page 6: BAWA Newsletter 2011

Dāna We are a not-for-profit organization with no government assistance; every dollar we receive goes to help the

animals. We receive no funding at all other than our spay/neuter program and exist completely by donations from animal loving people like yourself. Please refer to our website www.bawabali.com for bank account and PayPal information. This is an easy way to make a donation or to set up a monthly payment schedule which helps BAWA, more than you can imagine, to be able to manage our operation, pay for our staff and medicine, and continue to help all the injured animals in Bali. We always look forward to hearing from people with comments and suggestions on how we can be better. Please feel free to contact [email protected] or [email protected]. BAWA only exists because of you; please help us to make it better. ***

A few words from our founder I would like to thank all of our donors, sponsors, volunteers and friends for your

ongoing support. Without you, we would not have accomplished what we did in 2011, and simply could not continue our invaluable work. We rely completely upon your donations and help to do this. I can’t stress enough how much each one of you plays a vital part of BAWA and how much your help is needed to improve the lives of animals in Bali everyday. Thank you very much. With deepest appreciation and very warm regards,

Janice Girardi

BAWA 2011 ALBUM

Street feeding...we fed approximately 54,000 dogs that live on the streets, an amazing accomplishment.

BAWA won the 2011 YAK Award in Bali for outstanding achievement in community service.

CIVAS Animal Welfare seminar, Bogor 2011. Left: Janice Girardi of BAWA. Right: Natasha Lee of WSPA Bangkok.

3rd Rabies in Asia Conference: RIACON 2011.

She was one of the children who BAWA bought post-exposure human rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin for. A cost of 500 dollars per child to survive a rabid dog bite is cost-prohibitive to most Balinese families.