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My
letter from International Fund For Animal Welfare
May 2006
IFAW
37
YEARS OF ACTION
INTERNATIONAL
FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE
Friend
These
are the faces of dogs suffering: *
A tiny puppy named “Kiko” has
boiling water poured over him by his owner as punishment.
A gentle tan and black dog is beaten every day and tortured, a wire collar
left to eat into her flesh.
A shepherd mix is locked in a cell to die an agonizing death from mange,
every bit of fur gone from his bald body, his rib cage prominently
showing.
These are the dogs of the death
row round-up shelters.
*
I am asking you today to step
forward and help me stop this suffering.
Each year thousands of dogs
- many with collars still on — are locked away in round-up shelters
to die by gas chamber or electrocution.
Why? Because people “lose interest.” Because they consider animals
“dumb throwaways” to be left behind when they move. Because they think
animals don’t feel any pain.
My friend, I am writing to
you because I believe you
agree
that an animal is a precious LIFE, that it depends on us when it is
hungry, cold, hurt or sick.
But in
Mexico
,
South Africa
, the Carribean,
China
,
Russia
, and even here in our own back yard,
thousands of animals are abandoned, and these street dogs suffer terribly.
They are rounded up and often left to suffer .
. . in hunger, pain and in want.
I am asking you to help these
dogs. If you could see the
reports as I have ... the
dogs trembling, with sunken, pleading eyes, bones sticking through their
rib cages, severe mange, their flanks oozing wretchedly, their fur gone ...
and yet still trying to muster a wag
of a tail . . . still
looking to us for anything ... any
sign of hope ... I KNOW YOU WOULD HELP THESE DOGS.
First, please take actions locally. Write to your local officials asking
for low-cost spay and neuter programs — we must help cure the problem of pet
overpopulation town by town, city by city, country by country. Through
your support of IFAW you are helping to create long-term animal welfare
legislation in Mexico, Canada, China and Russia — places where animal abusers
still get off with little or no penalty at
all — even
abusers who have tortured animals with knives and who have videotaped
their tortures for “fun.” We can stop this.
And
please help me with an urgent donation
today. We need to get immediate food, shelter and medical attention
to these desperate animals.
I believe we can save these dogs
but I cannot do it alone.
We need to help courageous
groups in rural
Mexico
like Prodefensa Animal who RELEASE
SUFFERING ANIMALS FROM
THE DEATH ROW SHELTERS. This past year they subsidized the spaying and
neutering of over 2,500 dogs and cats, rescued and found loving homes for
1,300 needy animals. They do such wonderful work.
Please
help me save suffering animals today.
We must also continue our work
on the streets of
Mexico City
where the IFAW-funded mobile clinic, in
conjunction with veterinarians from the
University
of
Mexico
, works around the clock rescuing,
sterilizing, and treating thousands of desperate street dogs for worms,
parasites and rabies.
Last year alone the IFAW clinic traveled to six of the
most impoverished districts and treated 3,615 dogs and cats for wounds,
for broken legs and injuries from being hit by cars, as well as for
sterilizations.
And IFAW must continue its lifesaving work on the streets of
Moscow
where every month 250 needy cats and dogs are treated. So far over 1,937
animals have been given veterinary care.
In Dominica, where the stray animal overpopulation contributes to terrible
cases of animal cruelty and neglect, IFAW has now set up a temporary
animal clinic, stocked with medicine, spay/neuter kits and the first
animal x-ray machine on the island. In one week alone, IFAW vaccinated,
spayed and neutered and healed 160 stray dogs and cats.
And in the poor townships of
South Africa
, you will be happy to know that IFAW-funded workers have treated more
than 2,693 sick animals in just the past month. Daily clinics are being
run that provide primary health care to pets —deworming, vaccinations
and sterilizations. Trauma cases are immediately rushed to surgical
hospitals.
My friend, I have seen a lot of cruelty in my work, but the torture that
the death row dogs go through in
Mexico
and other countries tears at my heart.
They lie in fear, pain and desolation without food, water or medical care.
They have been known to eat each other out of desperation for food.
These round-up shelters are literally “hell on earth.”
Dogs are everywhere cowering and trembling, in the last stages of death
from starvation or the agony of mange.
I hope you agree with me this is an obscenity. It must end.
I am asking you to play a personal role to help that happen.
We have — right now —
a chance to promote low-cost spay and neuter town by town, to adopt
from shelters rather than pet stores, to teach our children humane
education.
And you have a chance - right now — to help our
anti-cruelty campaigns. It is only through YOUR HELP that we can put an
end to this unthinkable agony.
Seeing
even one animal suffer breaks my heart.
Whether it is a beautiful
moon bear kept caged for years to be milked for its bile ... a seal
facing slaughter in
Canada
. an elephant family killed for their ivory ... a whale brutally harpooned
... IFAW stands up to protect animals against exploiters and abusers.
Your donations will help us to create lasting anti-cruelty legislation ...
provide disaster relief for animals in dire need (we have rescued over
27,000 animals from hurricanes, like Katrina in the U.S., and oil spills)
... conduct campaigns to end the trade in ivory and animal parts ... and
protect cats and dogs from cruelty, abuse and homelessness.
Remember, the dogs and other animals rely solely on you.
For the animals,
Fred
O’Regan
President
* This
pictures was not included here.
I
have included this page to again provide evidence of the
extent of our savagery upon the animals kingdom, and not to solicit
donations. JBS
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