Animal Welfare Updates: October 2021

An Abandoned Vervet Monkey Given a Second Chance to Live

During the month of October 2021, Colobus Conservation which is designed to promote the conservation, preservation, and protection of primates like the nationally threatened ‘Angolan Colobus’ monkey (Colobus angolensis palliatus) and its coastal forest habitat in south-eastern Kenya, attended to 22 welfare cases, out of which; five (5) Sykes, ten (10) Colobus, one (1) Baboon and six (6) Vervet monkeys. The good news of the month was treating and releasing back to the wild; two (2) Colobus, one (1) Sykes and one (1) Vervet primates. Importantly, one (1) abandoned infant vervet was placed on the long-term rehabilitation program, within the conservation center’s premise.

ANAW has been partnering with Colobus Conservation through seconding of a veterinary officer who together with the workforce, helps the center to mitigate and lessen the negative impact that humans have on Diani’s primates. These negative impacts include injuries and deaths from road traffic accidents (usually hit and run), electrocutions, poisoning, dog bites and snares.

Establishment of Battery Cage Use Status Commences in Three East African Countries

Caged chicken farming adoption is gaining momentum in East Africa. This is being driven by various factors including promotion by governments as a means to food security, transitioning from free-range to industrial farming due to the need for higher profits, adoption by the high youth population as a means of self-employment, and is a seemingly attractive venture due to available loans to the youth.

Stories of farmers who have adopted battery cages have taken prominence in East Africa’s media. This has however, been without any consideration of animal welfare issues that chicken face in these cages. Interestingly, there has been no data or information on the status or prevalence of battery cages in East Africa that would inform and aid in cage-free campaigns.

At the start of October 2021, ANAW supported by Effective Altruism, commenced a one-year project focusing on establishing the status of battery cage use as a poultry production system in three (3) of East Africa’s countries - Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. Further, the project seeks to establish the prevailing legal framework in poultry production as well as consumer perceptions regarding the practice in the trio countries.

This project will also address the no-data gap as the initial stage, towards a long-term cage free campaign in the East Africa region. The results of the project’s study will be shared in a regional conference to be held in one of the countries of study – Rwanda, in May 2022.

Maasai Giraffe Rescued

The month of October saw ANAW in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) attend to two (2) cases of wildlife in distress in both Soysambu Conservancy and Crater Lake Sanctuary, all in Nakuru County, west of Nairobi capital.

Soysambu Conservancy had placed a distress call to the KWS Veterinary Department reporting a male sub-adult Maasai giraffe experiencing lameness. Physical examination showed that the animal had a swollen right forelimb at the level of the fetlock joint. There was a visible wound on the limb and when aspirated, it was confirmed to be an abscess. The giraffe was darted, the wound lanced and flushed with dilute hydrogen peroxide, iodine and antibiotic administered. The giraffe’s treatment was favorable, and it was a sigh of relief when it was later released back to the wild.

The second case study involved a male adult zebra with a suspected limb injury at Crater Lake, Naivasha. The zebra was darted and on physical examination, the animal had a severely septic comminuted fracture of the right hind limb at the level of the pastern and fetlock joints. Upon final prognosis, the veterinary officer determined that the zebra had zero chance of healing hence the animal was humanely euthanized.

1,206 Animals Vaccinated Against Rabies During World Animal Day 2021

This year’s World Animal Day was celebrated in a special way, as ANAW in partnership with Machakos County Department of Veterinary Services (CDVS) and supported by The Nature Foundation vaccinated 1,206 animals (1,045 dogs, 102 cats and 59 donkeys) in Machakos County. The team also dewormed and treated sick animals as well as educated animal owners on proper animal handling and animal welfare.

World Animal Day is celebrated annually, every 4th of October, to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals. It is celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith, or political ideology. It is hoped that through increased awareness and education, people can create a world where animals are always recognised as sentient beings and full regard always paid to their welfare.

ANAW's Drought Intervention in Northern and Coastal Kenya Counties Save Wildlife and Livestock

The perennial drought has been ravaging the country and on September 8, 2021, His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta declared the drought affecting parts of the country a national disaster. Following reports of wildlife and livestock dying of thirst and starvation, a team from ANAW travelled to Garissa and Marsabit between October 13 - 19, 2021 to assess the impact of the drought and recommend mitigation that could be addressed by the organization.

In Garissa County, the team found out that the area was plagued by frequent droughts and periods of famine. The high number of reticulated giraffes, gerenuks, warthogs, several small herds of Beisa oryx and a few troops of olive baboon within Garissa township could not access water.

While visiting the localities, the ANAW team encountered many dead domestic and wild animals that had succumbed recently to the current drought raging the region.

In Marsabit County, the team noted that there was an urgent need to replace damaged tanks in schools. Elephants had damaged over 100 water storage tanks situated in schools, homes, hospitals, and churches in communities around the Marsabit National Park and Reserve. This resultant distress had increased negative public attitude towards Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and elephants in general. The team saw the need to increase resource mobilization to donate water tank units for schools, churches, and hospitals before the onset of short rains expected in late November. Such donation gestures would improve the perception towards KWS, the protected area and elephants in general.

There was dire need to increase separate freshwater supply for elephants and other wildlife in and around the protected area. This could be achieved through building wildlife water troughs along each community supply line but located a distance away from the community tanks or areas. The troughs would reduce the incidence of costly elephant damage on storage tanks and water pipe systems too.

By the end of October, three (3) interventions had been done in Garissa. They include:

• A donation of 40 litres diesel each to the community leaders at Shantaabaq settlement and Gurufa settlement to run their respective diesel engine generators.

• Opening up four (4) livestock water corridors; two (2)in the northern outskirts and two (2) on the southern outskirts of Garissa township. These would allow about 1,000 giraffes to access water on Tana River at minimal conflict with farmers and herdsmen.

• Building of a water trough that could hold about 2,500 litres of water and feed at least 200 giraffes at Mr. Osman's homestead located at Mbalambala road junction. The trough was situated adjacent to the makeshift trough, which Osman had been watering the giraffes since the onset of drought in July 2021.

Devastatingly, the team witnessed many carcasses of livestock and wildlife as a result of the drought. ANAW also supported in hiring of a folk lift to rescue a giraffe stuck in mud in Garissa. Unfortunately, the giraffe was too weak – it did not survive.

Similarly, a biting drought has also been ravaging Kasighau Ranch, in Taita Taveta County and its environs for the last few months, leaving a trail of destruction, including wildlife and livestock, with carcasses scattered along the bush-walk ways.

ANAW funded wildlife guardians have embarked on sensitising communities in Kasigau urging them to make all efforts to alleviate animal suffering while at the same time asking them to avoid the wildlife areas to minimize human-wildlife conflict.

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