ProFauna saves Aceh animals

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.