ProFauna saves Aceh animals

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Dozens of humanitarian aid groups have visited Aceh to help tsunami survivors, now ProFauna wants to do the same for the province's animals.

The Surabaya-based group sent a team of six veterinarians to Banda Aceh a week ago to help save protected animals in the province.

Team coordinator Luki Kusuma Wardhani said animals, especially protected ones, had to be cared for after a disaster otherwise they could catch any number of diseases, including rabies.

Luki said the team had worked on several different types of protected animals in Banda Aceh, including a turtle, short-tailed macaque and a python.

The team also has treated hundreds of pets and animals abandoned by their owners after the tsunami for fear that they could spread communicable disease such as rabies.

The animals, including dogs, cats and goats, wandered the streets of Banda Aceh looking for food wherever they could find it.

The team brought medical supplies with them to treat the animals. The domestic animals were released after being treated, but the protected animals were sent to an animal quarantine center at the Medan Orangutan Conservation Center in North Sumatra, said Luki.

The team will remain in Banda Aceh indefinitely, said Luki.