Partnerships that create change

Animal Aid Abroad partners with local animal welfare groups in many developing countries to provide free veterinary care to sick and injured working animals, as well as working with communities to improve animal welfare through education and training.

Afghanistan

NOWZAD DONKEY SANCTUARY

http://nowzad.com

https://www.facebook.com/nowzadrescue/

On the city outskirts of Kabul lies the Nowzad Donkey Sanctuary, the first of its kind in Afghanistan. It was set up in 2017 to provide facilities for sick animals in need, primarily donkeys, mules and horses. Many are brought in to the sanctuary injured, underweight, severely ill from diseases such as glanders, or at the point of exhaustion from their work carrying heavy loads across the city. Their team provides treatment and hospitalization for these animals, even offering long-term sanctuary to those animals too sick to work again. Animal Aid Abroad supports Nowzad's Equine Sanctuary to look after and care for hospitalised and permanently rescued donkeys and horses.

In 2024, Animal Aid Abroad will be starting a new program with Nowzad, by supporting a fully equipped mobile veterinary clinic to treat working animals, and further expand Nowzad’s reach to Kabul’s outlying districts. They hope the mobile unit will carry vaccines, portable stabling and shelters, water troughs, first aid kits, and farrier equipment to help prevent so many of these pressing issues and improve equine welfare in Afghanistan.

Gili Islands and Lombok Island

GILI ISLAND WORKING PONIES

https://giliecotrust.com/
https://www.facebook.com/studhorseriding/

The Gili Islands and Lombok Island are home to over 300 working horses. Local laws forbid the use of motorized vehicles, so ponies are the main mode of transportation for all goods including heavy building materials, machinery for infrastructure, supplies for hotels and restaurants, and transport for tourists. They are also used to collect up to 20 tonnes of rubbish per day.

While we cannot change the local laws, we can help to make these ponies lives a little easier. Animal Aid Abroad have been helping Stud Horse Riding and Rescue and the Gili Eco Trust for many years by providing bi-annual clinics for the working ponies. For several years, Animal Aid Abroad has been funding the pellet feed for the hard working rubbish collection ponies. Throughout covid Animal Aid Abroad provided pellet feed to Stud Rescue, who distributed it to many working ponies on the island who’s owners were struggling to keep condition on their ponies.

Animal Aid Abroad will work together with Stud Rescue and the Gili Eco Trust to improve the working lives of these ponies by focusing the education of local farriers on the island, as well as sourcing better quality horse shoes for the local ponies.

India

HIS-INDIA
https://helpinsuffering.org/

Help in Suffering is a large animal welfare group in Jaipur that assists many animals including a camel hospital, mobile clinic and rescue. They have a Camel Rescue Centre, 35 staff, three ambulances, and two mobile vet clinics. AAA supports HIS's camel clinics and rescue.

FRENDICOES SECA
https://friendicoes.org/

Tripling in size since 1979, Frendicoes uses their Mobile Equine Ambulance to treat equines in and around Delhi. The Equine Team have over 2,500 working equines in their care. AAA supports Friendicoes mobile equine clinic, para-vet equine program and sanctuary where many rescued equines live.

VISAKHA SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION AND CARE OF ANIMALS [VSPCA]

vspca.org
http://www.facebook.com/vspca

VSPCA has achieved a significant track record in the rescue, protection, rehabilitation, and care of animals who have served humans from ancient times. These are the community’s (sadly) “farmed” animals such as horses and bulls/oxen/male calves vital for rural and urban-based agriculture, religious, and transportation industries, cows for their reproduction of male calves and eons-old service in dairy industries, parrots who tragically serve astrologer livelihoods, rhesus macaques/monkeys who still heart-breakingly serve wayfarers in making a living in street entertainment, roosters and rams harmed through the local fighting rings, even sea animals such as sharks, shrimp, fishes and lobsters in the seafood and aquarium industries, and many such animals transported in an out of farms (agriculture and aqua-industries included) and cities in the service of humans.

In 2024 AAA will be assisting VSPCA to provide working animal protection & rehabilitation by:

• Provide protection, rehabilitation and care to 4 male buffalos, 4 female buffalos and 1 horse at shelter 1 in Visakhatnam

• Provide protection, rehabilitation & care to 24 buffalos and 3 horses at Kindness Farm in Visakhatnam (Total of 36 animals sponsored)

• Provide protection, rehabilitation and care to all 28 animals including:

  • Providing food

  • Health upkeep

  • Water

  • Shelter

  • Medical treatment

Nepal

ANIMAL NEPAL
http://www.animalnepal.org.np

Based in Lalitpur District, Kathmandu Valley, Animal Nepal is run by volunteers who work tirelessly to assist street dogs, working equines, and working elephants. They manage three rehabilitation centers, have an equine outreach program, we well as a donkey sanctuary. AAA supports a number of donkeys and mules at Animal Nepal's sanctuary through our sponsorship program.

SOUTH AFRICA

BLIND LOVE
https://blindlove.co.za/

Blind Love provides a safe, loving forever home to horses in need, as well as improving the lives of horses ( and all animals) in surrounding disadvantaged communities through education and access to essential services.

Blind Love took in their first rescue almost 20 years ago in 2005 when founder Philippa du Toit rescued an abandoned thoroughbred, Victoria. Word spread quickly and the number of rescued horses grew!

In 2011 disaster struck when one of the rescues was diagnosed with ERU (Equine Recurrent Uveitis), a horrible disease that’s the leading cause of blindness in horses. Philippa was determined for this beautiful horse to lead a happy, healthy life and also to raise awareness of the plight of blind horses in South Africa. This was the founding inspiration for establishing and registering a formal non-profit horse welfare organisation in 2013.

Blind Love expanded over the years and in 2013 started working with the cart horse community of Thaba’Nchu in the Free state Province. Before long they had over 80 horse owners on their database each owning between 6-20 horses!

Outreach clinics were held every fortnight with horses being vet checked, minor injuries treated, horses treated for internal & external parasites, minor harness adjustments made and a subsidised feed program was established. Previously these horses' owners had access to almost nothing.

Blind Love's work in the area has grown to include more than 75 horse riders living in the Trust Villages. These horses do not pull carts, although here and there a cart horse will retire to become a riding horse! Blind Love is continuously looking at innovative ways to provide support, education and access to basic supplies/vet care/tack/feed for these owners and their horses. The area is vast and owners have access to very little.

Blind Love is also looking at establishing a much needed outreach program with the donkey owning community in nearby Grahmstown, Eastern Cape province.

Tanzania

TANZANIA HUMANE CHARITY (TAHUCHA)
https://www.facebook.com/Tanzania-Humane-Charity-803343206469996/

Even though they’re small, Tanzania Humane Charity is making a big difference in their local community. They are dedicated to improving animal welfare in Tanzania and collaborate with a range of organisations to reach as many animals as possible.

Zambia

ZAMBEZI WORKING DONKEY PROJECT
http://www.zambeziworkingdonkeyproject.org http://www.facebook.com/zambeziworkingdonkeyproject

The Zambezi Working Donkey Project is a not-for-profit organisation in Zambia which undertook its first outreach clinic in May 2019 once the rains allowed travel. Since then the group has conducted many outreaches with mobile clinics out in the villages and worked one on one with owners at their farm base in town. Many dokeys in need of urgent care have also been rescued.

With Animal Aid Abroad funding and support, the Zambezi Working Donkey Project aims to improve the lives of working donkeys and support their owners by educating, enabling and empowering owners to properly train and care for their donkeys; provide community-based education and training to use appropriate harnesses and carts; and rescue and rehabilitate donkeys in need of short or long-term care.