CONTENTS OF E-MAILS RECEIVED FROM PEOPLE INVOLVED
IN HELPING THE ANIMALS IN ZIMBABWE

The situation in Zimbabwe has reached crisis proportion and daily we receive reports from that country of continued destruction and devastation of wildlife as well as the horror of domestic pet and farm animals falling victim to senseless and brutal maiming and killing.

The Zimbabwe Pet Rescue Project, as a result of donations received from around the world have been able to keep supplying the ZNSPCA with medicines and food (see letters from the ZNSPCA below) but the Project is once again in need of a major boost to sustain the continued supply of urgently required and essential medical supplies.

Recently we were advised that a herd of sable antelope have been confined to a boma since February while the dispute raged between farmer and war vets regarding the release of these beautiful animals. Finally, thank heavens with the intervention of the ZNSPCA and the State vet, the order has been given for the herd to be released. However, their hooves are now so overgrown from the forced containment that they would be unable to fend for themselves if released in this condition. Meryl Harrison and her team have to dart each and every animal and clips and cut and do the necessary in order for them to be released in a condition where they will be able to run free. Naturally this is going to require a heap of medication and although ZNSPCA have requested help from various quarters they might need to turn to the Project for assistance. We need to help them .......... and it can only be done with your help.

Facts emerging from Zimbabwe abound like the above and while there is very little or no intervention from governments around the world to control this madness, all we can do is keep repeating our requests, supplying you with the information and praying that out there, those people who are concerned and who care will take action. You have all helped immensely already by forward on the information we have passed to you and by virtue of your donations keeping the project alive and thus keeping the incredible work of the ZNSPCA going.

Just recently, on a farm that was being held under siege, the family mare was led trustingly into an enclosure where she was surrounded by bales of hay and then set alight ... in front of the family ... can you imagine the terror. The same thing happened to a family close by - whilst packing their furniture out on the veranda - a bonfire was lit and the two family Jack Russell's were thrown directly onto the fire. I can go on and on, but I'm sure you don't need to be faced with the horror to know what needs to be done.

I am attaching below some recent reports from the ZNSPCA for your information.

I am also attaching some small pic files for you to please send around the world, let's get the news out.   (*Photos can be made available on request)

Thank you sincerely

Ann & Estelle

Zimbabwe Pet Rescue Project
P O Box 1241
Sun Valley
7985
South Africa

BANK DETAILS:

Zimbabwe Pet Rescue Project
BANK :- ABSA
Fish Hoek Branch
Account No:- 908 958 1848
Swift Address:- ABSAZAJJ

Our telephone numbers:

Ann: +27 21 782 4445   and     +27 82 570 5796

Estelle: +27 790 2987

ZIMBABWE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE
PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

PVO 38/69

Bulawayo - Chegutu - Chinhoyi - Chiredzi - Gweru - Harare - Hwange - Kadoma Kwekwe - Marondera - Mashava - Masvingo - Mutare - Zvishavane

24 October 2002

Dear Ann and Estelle

We are entirely overwhelmed by the generosity of the Zimbabwe Pet Rescue Project sponsors and supporters. The consignment of vet supplies and drugs which arrived recently will go such a long way in helping us to care for and protect the countless animals which have become helpless victims of the ongoing crisis.

The euthanaise and anaesthetics proved critical during the much-publicised abandonment of 650 security dogs which were scattered throughout Mashonaland West.

Without a doubt, the SPCA centres which are situated in the rural areas of Zimbabwe would not have been able to continue with their vital work without the supplies which the Zimbabwe Pet Rescue Project have been providing.

Our Rescue Team would not have been able to get to all of the animals in peril without the provision of an additional pick-up and horse box, also sponsored by your generous supporters.

On behalf of our rescue team, SPCA centres and of course the animals of Zimbabwe, please convey our heartfelt appreciation to all those who have heeded the call for assistance.

And, of course, to both of you for the endless hours that you must have toiled to raise so much support and in co-ordinating the collection, procurement and often frustrating tangle or red tape involved in consigning, shipping and clearing the supplies.

I am attaching a few photos for you to share with those who may be interested.

Words are just not enough.

Bernice Robertson Dyer
CHAIRMAN

Veterinarians Euthanize Animals, Wildlife From Abandoned White-Owned Farms in Zimbabwe
10/07/02 7:48PM
By ANGUS SHAW, Associated Press Writer NYABIRA, Zimbabwe - Bonnie, a golden Labrador, wagged her tail playfully for the last time Monday before she died.

She is one of 600 dogs that once guarded now-abandoned white-owned farms being put down by veterinarians in a blitz of euthanasia. The dogs, along with hundreds of domestic pets, horses, swans and even goldfish, are innocent victims in Zimbabwe's political unrest, animal welfare workers say.

"People have suffered in this, but the animals have no mouth to speak, no ability to make other plans, they are the silent victims of the tragedy," said Meryll Harrison, head of the independent Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Harrison strokes Bonnie's fur gently, and veterinarian Anthony Donohoe pumps the phenylbarbitone into a vein in the dog's right foreleg that will take the fatal drug straight to her heart and vital organs in a second or two.

"It's all right, sweetheart, it's all right," Harrison holds and comforts the Labrador as she slumps, her eyelids flutter and she quietly dies. Her body is laid alongside the dogs that came before her. Farther away, a 12-foot deep grave has been dug for the 24 dogs put down Monday in the once thriving farming community of Nyabira, 20 miles northwest of Harare, the capital. Graves nearby hold the remains of 130 other guard dogs put down since Friday.

About 440 others will also die, abandoned by the security company that owned them when it collapsed a week ago.

"I cannot think of anywhere else in the world where 600 dogs have to be put down because all we can provide them with is a dignified death," Harrison said.

The security company provided crop guards and protection for some 300 white farmers in the Trelawney and Darwindale tobacco and corn district. It shut down after most of the farms were seized under a government program to take white-owned land and give it to blacks.

The government has targeted 95 percent of the nation's 5,000 white-owned properties for confiscation. Many of the farmers were ordered to leave their land by Aug. 8. Ruling party militants have attacked or threatened many of those that defied the eviction order.

Since 2000, when the militants began occupying white-owned farms and the government said it would seize the land, animal welfare officials have seen animal abuse and cruelty on "a huge scale," Harrison said.

As farmers fled, horses, chickens, domestic pets, hamsters, cranes, geese, swans, hand-reared lion cubs, at least one tamed baby elephant and even goldfish were abandoned, she said.

Some animals had their tendons cut by militants. Some were clubbed. Others were slashed, axed or torched to death in hay.

In the collapsing agricultural economy, farmers were forced to sell pregnant cows for slaughter. Where fences were broken down, sheep ran loose and pigs fled their sheltered styes.

"We found sows lying exhausted and sunburned, unable to move, and boars unused to each other that had fought each other to the death," Harrison said. "We saw a cow with an ax embedded in its back and horses with open blade wounds."

Conservation groups have also reported the hunting and killing of more than half of the nation's small game animals as well as endangered rhinos bred in nature preserves.

Deer and African antelope have been sighted in some impoverished areas for the first time in 40 years. They apparently fled a wave of poaching on seized game farms, and now face the traditional snares and traps and half-wild dogs usually used by local hunters to kill rabbits, rodents and birds.

Conservationist Gill Munn said her animal welfare group rescued 83 horses, but had to put down 27 of them while searching for homes for the others.

Donohoe said his veterinary practice in Harare was putting down about 60 domestic pets - about 10 of them cats - each week as farmers and others leave in the worst economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

08 OCTOBER 2002

We sadly must confirm that the euthanasia of 650 former agricultural security dogs is underway. 76 animals had been euthanaised by the end of last week, 55 on Sunday and 24 yesterday. This heartbreaking work continues as the rescue teams round up the animals, many of which were abandoned at their last post, tied to trees or chained to fences. There is a total of 650 dogs. It is anticipated that only about 50 will be saved. This is obviously nightmarish work for Meryl, Addmore and Mark who have had to arrange mass graves to accommodate all the bodies.

Meryl has ensured the release of the herd of cattle which were stranded without food and water on a South African farmer's property. There is no alternative but to send them to be slaughtered.

When I contacted Meryl last week for the latest statistics of animals rescued, she replied that it had now all become a blur as both teams trek from one farm to the next whilst the reports keep rolling in.

Several more horses have also been euthanaised as heartbroken owners finally come to terms with the fact that this is the only responsible course of action. Several horses have been moved from one farm to the next in an attempt to save them but the net keeps closing in as more farms are assimilated.

With the current mass exodus of Zimbabweans, I once again commend all SPCA Inspectors, and those who remain behind to support them, for not giving up on the thousands of animals imperiled by current events. Their courage and fortitude when being confronted daily by so much suffering and injustice, when most would have given up the fight, is truly remarkable.

On a lighter note, whilst the SPCA have been working in the Chinhoyi area where 'settlers' have made it clear that they do not want to see 'any white skin', the question was asked why the rescue team were permitted to come and go unhindered, the reply came that 'they are different'. It is gratifying that our apolitical, factual and non-sensational stance have ensured that the rescue team and animals they serve to protect have not been further endangered.

Some may have found it difficult to comprehend why we have not had banner headlines regarding events in Zimbabwe, but every decision is based solely on 'what is in the best interests of the animals?'. We are indebted to all those who have taken our story around the globe without politicising your reports and articles. You have all helped us to help them.

21 NOVEMBER 2002
The past month has been incredibly busy for the team -there has not been much time for news.

The tragic situation of the agricultural security company that was put out of business has been finalised. Over 400 dogs were euthanaised*. This was an extremely difficult exercise for the teams. When the guards got wind of what was happening in terms of the future of the company, they 'downed tools' by locking up and tying up their dogs and heading into town. They ripped out telephones and radios and commandeered all company vehicles as well as destroying the deployment records which would have shown us where to find all the dogs.

With the aid of one brave guard and three private vets who volunteered their services, the teams would set off as soon as it was daylight and finish off attending to the dogs with the use of headlights. The sights which met them were often heartbreaking - animals which had been left tied up for several days without food or water; some tied in such a way that they could not lie down; some in the blazing sun; others injured from their struggle to free themselves; one dog which had fallen in a reservoir, and in spite of being seen by locals, was left in the water for days - fortunately he was able to stand up in the water and not drown; another animal had chewed through the bark of a tree to try and escape. Many of the animals were extremely overwrought and barely approachable. Inspector Addmore Chinhembe disappeared and returned wearing one of the guards uniforms (although a bit tight) and thus *disguised* was able to calm the excited animals and remove them from their tethers and cages.

All concerned are to be commended for their determination and bravery, often enduring threats and intimidation. The exercise took two weeks to complete. The few animals with a friendly nature were rehomed and the company have retained some of the young healthy animals in order to continue with a smaller operation, but we are concerned as Meryl received word last week that the dogs were being dished out to all and sundry. The Inspector from Chinhoyi will follow up.

In spite of ongoing events, we managed to hold our annual Congress, courtesy of Gweru SPCA, at the beginning of the month, which was happily attended by most centres and fortunately by the head of NSPCA - SA as well as the head of the NSPCA Livestock Division. We greatly appreciate that they took time off from their busy schedules to show their solidarity and provide us with the benefit of their knowledge and experience. It was a most positive and productive meeting and all present gained a great deal by sharing their problems and ideas. All centres went away with a much needed boost in moral, reassured that they are not alone, and laden with drugs and supplies sponsored by the Zimbabwe Pet Rescue Project and the incredibly caring people of South Africa who have stood by us steadfastly during the past 2 years.

Last week Meryl and the team were kept extremely busy. They received several appeals, despite reports that there would be no further occupation of farms. In Bromley, the team went to a farm where a few months ago a mother (82) and daughter (50's) were beaten by a group of female farm invaders. The daughter dropped to the ground to try and escape the beating, only to be kicked by the assailants. They also severely kicked the family's GSD. This time the team were called because the family have a stud farm with about 60 horses and settlers were ploughing up all available grazing to plant crops. Meryl managed to stop ploughing and ensure that an area was left for the horses.

Sadly, this week the family contacted Meryl to report that the settlers had removed the pipes which carry water to the horses.

At another farm in the Bromley area, an elderly lady lives on her own with many animals - dogs, cats, goats, cattle, sheep and pigs. Her farm has been designated and she has appeared in court but has no family and nowhere else to go.

The team then went on to a farm in Rusape where 21 horses have been left behind. The situation is very tense as the workers claim to be owed wages and have staked a claim on the horses. The horses are in very poor condition and most will have to be euthanaised. Two mares (with foals) are limping badly from being injured in snares. Meryl reports that the police from Rusape have been excellent and will certainly be needed in dealing with this situation.

Whilst on the farm in Rusape, the team were monitored by two 'green bombers' who were being very arrogant and aggressive. Fortunately, the police escort cautioned them, explained the role of the ZNSPCA and pointed out the authority of our Inspectors and that even they as policemen could be prosecuted by SPCA Inspectors. They encountered an individual wearing badges for a well-known security company but when questioned admitted to not being employed by them and the police ordered him to remove the insignia.

In a joint effort between NSPCA, ZNSPCA and the Government Wildlife Veterinary Officer, a herd of 150 Sable which have been confined in bomas since February were tranquilized and treated. The animals have been kept in small bomas lined with black plastic sheeting. There are about 13 animals in each enclosure, the smell of urine is overpowering and their condition is deteriorating, being fed only on hay with a smattering of fresh grass. Since they have been confined, 20 calves and 1 bull have died. There is an ongoing dispute over the ownership of the herd. We were very pleased when the Chief Veterinary Officer ordered their release. However, due to their lengthy confinement, most animals were limping badly and could not walk properly due to overgrown and cracked hooves. The costly but necessary drugs were procured with 'Zimhelp' funds held by the NSPCA for such emergencies and all animals have been darted, hooves trimmed, vitamin injections administered and are now ready for their very much overdue release from the quarantine facility in Norton.

This week the team recovered several abandoned farm cats from Bindura, Darwendale, Nyabira and Norton. Meryl also established that all is well at Golden Acres but several horses have been moved to another farm which is considered to be more safe at this time.

Meryl continues to arrange for the release and provision of food and water for livestock and horses on farms where 'negotiations' continue between the stakeholders.

From a farm in Tengwe the team rescued 7 dogs, 1 rabbit, 2 cats and 4 tortoises. Settlers were very militant and had placed an enormous piece of machinery in front of the gate to prevent entry. Earlier, Meryl was barricaded in, for four hours and had resigned herself to spending the night on the farm. Police and armed Support Unit were required and the settlers tried to demand that Meryl remain on the road and that only Addmore and Mark Manhuwa could have access. The Police once again explained the role of ZNSPCA and the entire team were able to re-enter. Meryl estimated that there were between 70 - 100 settlers present. Again, demands for retrenchment packages were made and when the team were leaving they found that the road had been completely barricaded with logs*. Mark and Addmore were able to move enough aside in order for them to leave. All this, despite the fact that the farmer has not been issued with a Section 8 Notice.

We are arranging for a large consignment of human rabies vaccine through NSPCA for all ZNSPCA and SPCA centres as, in the last month, 4 Inspectors and assistants have required treatment following exposure to rabid animals - another unfortunate development of the current situation.

As always, we are very grateful to all those who continue to support our efforts, share our concern, keep their friends and colleagues informed and send kind messages.

Thank you all.
Bernice
*photos on request