This is the 3rd progress report from Social & Animal Welfare Service-Somaliland about their grant from AKI for donkey clinics, one/month for six months. This report covers clinics 4 and 5 held in January and February 2019 in villages in Hargeisa District, Somaliland. The SAWS team targeted four settlements in the vicinity of two villages, Darfacle and Malowle. They treated donkeys, camels, cows, and sheep too! Hassan Aden, SAWS Director, sent us this report:
During this trip, AKI-funded clinics 4 and 5, we targeted Darfacle and Malowle villages, 24 km and 22 km south of Hargeisa and their 4 settlements. In these areas a huge population of donkeys lives that has never received any assistance in their entire life. As communities living in these villages told the SAWS mission, it is a good pleasure to see such a team aiming to treat donkeys and they welcomed the mission with open hands.
At the first settlement, we met a serious case where a hyena invaded the livestock the night before and seriously damaged the head of the big male sheep. The SAWS team treated the sheep and he was given pen and strep injections (picture below) and almaycin spray was put on the wound. We offered injection vials to the owner so he can treat for 3 more days.
During this trip the SAWS mission provided 151 total treatments. Cases treated were mainly for worms in the stomach, hooves overgrown, laminitis, injuries and wounds from poor harnessing, from vampire bird (oxpecker) bites, and from hyenas, and diseases (respiratory problems).
The team:
**De-wormed 69 donkeys (and cattle and camels)
**Treated hyena wounds on 9 donkeys (and a sheep)
**Treated respiratory problems, weakness in 17 donkeys
**Provided wound care from poor harnessing for 16 donkeys
**Trimmed the hooves of 21 donkeys
**Removed stones in the hooves of 19 donkeys
Donkey owners informed the SAWS team of their challenges (these are the same problems as the community of the Qoolcaday and Toon Villagers on the last SAWS trips):
**Hyenas terrorize their livestock including donkeys and particularly target the puppies (young donkeys) in the days and nights.
**Five donkeys had died from unknown diseases and the community was worried the diseases would spread.
**There is no vet clinic in the area where they can get assistance for their animals.
**Vampire and tick birds live in the bushes of these rural areas and they drill holes in the donkeys and other animals at the back, shoulders, and neck. These wounds mean the donkey is unable to work and sometimes they die.
**Insects like ticks and mosquitoes and many others are always biting them and cause diseases.
**Donkeys and other livestock have no shelter in cold nights and the rainy days nor to protect them from hyenas (see the inadequate shelters in the 3 pictures below).
**Severe droughts are persistent in Somaliland and when there is a very severe shortage of water and grazing, there is massive die-off of donkeys and other livestock.
**Different types of disease are common and the owners don't know how to treat the donkeys for these diseases.
**The villagers don't know about good donkey care and good design of carts.
Here are more pictures of SAWS January and February clinics.
In the below pictures, the SAWS vets are treating animals with Albendazole (de-worming). The Albendazole syrup is placed in water for the donkeys, camels, and cows.
Below, the SAWS vet trims donkeys' hooves.
In the pictures below, SAWS vets clean wounds from oxpecker birds (they suck the animal's blood) and the wounds are then sprayed with antibiotics.
There's more information about AKI's grant to Social and Animal Welfare Service-Somaliland and other AKI grant recipients here: https://www.animal-kind.org/grant-program