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Newsletter, March 2019
"With your help, we made Nepal a kinder place for animals."
March highlights
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Animal Nepal's Founder & President appointed to The Donkey Sanctuary Board of Trustees
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We are delighted to congratulate our Founder & President Pramada Shah on being appointed to The Donkey Sanctuary UK Board of Trustees. The Donkey Sanctuary is one of the largest equine charities in the world. It was established in 1969 by Dr. Elisabeth Svendsen, since then the organisation has made a profound difference to the lives of donkeys and people all over the world. The Donkey Sanctuary works in over 40 countries globally. The Donkey Sanctuary teamed up with Animal Nepal in 2009 and over the past decade, this partnership has been vital in improving the lives of working donkeys and mules in Nepal.
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Mobilizing the media for animal welfare
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On 25 March, Animal Nepal held a media masterclass for journalists from various leading national print, radio and TV media outlets to talk about the 'Role of the media in animal welfare.' In Nepal, the subject of animal welfare is still in its infancy and there is a lack of consistency in its coverage by the media. By mobilizing the media to ensure a regular and meaningful coverage of animal welfare issues in Nepal's mainstream media, we hope that messages of social change can be effectively put across to a large audience, thus creating an environment where systematic pressure can be put on relevant authorities to ensure the provision of animal welfare standards for the well being of animals in all sectors.
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Dancer finds her forever home
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Dancer got her name thanks to her unique style of walking as a result of spinal injuries that she sustained from being hit by a car. Despite her condition, Dancer was always very happy and friendly. She stayed at our treatment center for a few months while waiting to be adopted and in that time she won over everyone. Every time someone came to the treatment center, Dancer would be the first to reach the gates and greet the visitor. Due to her disability, we were keen to find her a good home where she would have access to specialist care. With the help of the group 'Don't Panic Nepali Dogs', Dancer was flown over to New York, where she was fostered by a family. Finding the right forever family for Dancer proved to be challenging, however when a family from Toronto saw Dancer's story on The Dodo, they knew straightaway that Dancer was meant to be a part of their family. They drove all the way to New York to pick her up and even built a special ramp at their house to make it easier for Dancer to walk around. We are so very happy that Dancer finally has the happy ending she deserves. We love you Dancer!
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Spreading message about animal welfare through some light entertainment
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Through our Equine Outreach Program, we aim to provide our project beneficiaries with the right resources, skills and information required to provide the right care for their animals. One of the ways in which we do this is by educating them about animal welfare. 'A voice for the voiceless' is a play which was written with this in mind and for the last month, the play has been performed at various brick kilns across Lalitpur and Dhading districts. The play proved to be very popular with the audience as they really enjoyed learning about animal welfare through some light entertainment.
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Animal Nepal stands in solidarity with conservationists
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On 18 March, Animal Nepal attended the protest rally against the construction of the international airport in Nijgadh. If this project goes ahead, it will cause massive deforestation in Eastern Terai which will lead to large-scale displacement of its wildlife. It was very encouraging to see so many students and young people attending and being vocal about their frustrations with the establishment. In building this airport, an entire ecosystem will be directly affected. In addition to climate change, the removal of this habitat which is home to hundreds of species of animals and birds will exacerbate the issue of human-animal conflict, which already exists in many parts of the country. In light of this, Animal Nepal stands in solidarity with the organizers of this movement. We are hopeful that before deciding to go ahead with the project, the government and relevant stakeholders will consider the full implications, a project like this will have on our environment and wildlife.
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Meeting Dhading's brick kiln owners for the first time!
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On 25th March, our Equine Outreach Program organised its first interaction program with brick kiln owners in Dhading district. There were 18 participants, including kiln owners, representatives from the local government as well as the President of the Dhading brick kiln association. The main objective of the session was to talk about the Animal Welfare Directive and how the provisions outlined in the directive can be implemented at the kilns to ensure the well being of the working equines. The program was well received and found to be very informative and useful by all attendees.
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Leadership & Behavioral training for Animal Nepal staff
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A three day training on developing leadership skills and implementing positive behavior during stressful situations was delivered to Animal Nepal staff by Dr Kedar Bahadur Rayamajhi (Clinical Psychologist & motivational trainer). All staff enjoyed receiving this training and expressed that they would find it particularly useful during field work when they are often faced with challenging situations.
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Animal Nepal in the media
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As part of Women's History Month, our President Pramada Shah was interviewed for 'Women in Animal Welfare' by The Annapurna Express, which highlighted women-led organizations leading the animal welfare movement in Nepal. You can read the full article here.
The Kathmandu Post writes about the prevalence of inhumane practices in the livestock industry in Nepal, citing Animal Nepal's livestock survey. You can read the full article here.
For 2019, Animal Nepal aims to make animal welfare a part of the mainstream conversation. To achieve this, with the help of The Donkey Sanctuary UK, we have produced a nine-part docu-series called A voice for the voiceless, which is aired on channel AP1 on the third Tuesday of the month at 6 pm. The series talks about animal welfare in Nepal and looks at the suffering experienced by working and other animals. The program is also available to watch online through our YouTube channel.
Animal Nepal also has weekly radio show called Conversations about animal welfare, which airs on 97.5 Image FM, every Friday at 9.05 pm.
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