Great Work by Help Animals India in 2016
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Eileen Weintraub, Help Animals India
December 2016

Another year is ending and, once again, your kind donations have empowered us to support more projects and save thousands of lives, from cats and dogs to cows and donkeys, birds, bears, monkeys, elephants and more!

Here are a few highlights of what your compassion helped us achieve in 2016:

• Thousands of street dogs sterilized, treated for injuries and vaccinated throughout India and Nepal.
• Funding a wildlife vet to help Karuna Society rescue nonhuman victims of urbanization.
• Support for PFA Chennai's shelter after major flooding and ongoing aid for their 1000 rescued animals.
• Funding ambulance service by SPCA Thane in Mumbai.
• A major grant to keep Cattitude Trust operating in Chennai.
• Another year of funding for the Sarnath animal birth control project.
• Contributed to upkeep of five rescued elephants at the WRRC/Tree Foundation.
• Ongoing help for the animal shelter at MAITRI in Bodhgaya, Bihar, one of India’s poorest states.
• Equine rescues and forever homes at Animal Nepal's donkey sanctuary.
  Training in feline veterinary medicine, sorely lacking in India and Nepal.
• Contributing to the "Sound of Silence" campaign to end toxicity testing on dogs in India.
• Promoting the "India Unites for Animals" campaign, which saw activists across India stand up for animal rights.
• Responded to hundreds of queries from India with advice and referrals.
• Modern veterinary equipment for our partners, including gas anesthesia machines to make surgery safer, and lifesaving medical supplies not available in India.

In the Field

Once a year, a representative from Help Animals India visits as many of our partner charities in India and Nepal as possible. This fall, our Board Chair, Jessika Ava, made the journey. In addition to networking with our partners, thoroughly vetting their operations and offering practical advice, it was a chance to convey to these dedicated activists how much people from across the world care!

Nepal support continues

Following the earthquake last year in Nepal, we continued our support for the rescue work of Bhaktapur Animal Welfare Society and Animal Nepal. Meanwhile, our partner, Project Humane Nepal, educated over 5,000 children and community members about animal welfare, providing them a big morale boost during this difficult time.

Our own morale got a boost when we learned that cat lovers are flocking to see the Animal Nepal vet we trained this year to do safe cat sterilizations. Dr. Sunil Thapa is one of the first well-trained cat care vets in Nepal. Now he will pass his vital skills along to his colleagues!

Nepal is still sorely lacking in animal welfare. Please help us make these young charities grow and flourish!

Disaster strikes again

2016 brought disastrous flooding to the northeast state of Assam, affecting over 1.5 million people and countless animals. Our team JBF (Just Be Friendly) was there to provide food, medicine, advice and moral support, demonstrating by their deeds that all lives are precious. Through interventions like these, we set an example of compassion that will benefit animals not just now, but for years to come. The word is getting out: animals matter!

Fighting animal abuse in Kerala

You may have heard that the state of Kerala is a rough place for animals. We and local activists sometimes feel helpless, but we are fighting back by supporting court cases against brutal street dog killers. This year, we also funded struggling animal shelters working against all odds in the cities of Kollam and Trivandrum and encouraged others to join in.

Progress in Varanasi

It's difficult to imagine the ancient city of Varanasi had no dedicated animal clinic or shelter until we stepped in. 2016 brought another major victory: the municipality itself partnered with our project, "Varanasi for Animals." Now we can help even more dogs!

An award for one is an award for all

I [Eileen Weintraub] was deeply honored this fall to become a recipient of the Pollination Project's 2016 Award for Unsung Vegan Heroes. This award recognizes advocates who are working quietly behind the scenes to create a better world for animals. It's so fitting that my work for Help Animals India is what attracted this recognition – supporting unsung animal heroes is what we're all about. And people like you who help us do that are our heroes, too!

We are inspired to continue working for the animals in 2017, with your help, in our worldwide circle of compassion. Wherever there is compassion – for humans or for animals – it uplifts us all and heals the world.

---

Return to Animal Rights Articles