International Animal Rescue

Last updated

International Animal Rescue
Company type Charity
Industry Animal welfare
Founded1989
HeadquartersUnited Kingdom
Key people
John Hicks, Alan Knight OBE, CEO
Website www.internationalanimalrescue.org

International Animal Rescue (IAR) is an animal protection and conservation non-profit organisation that comes to the aid of suffering animals with hands-on rescue and rehabilitation and the protection of wildlife habitats. IAR returns rehabilitated animals to the wild while also providing permanent sanctuary for those that cannot fend for themselves. Its work includes cutting free and caring for captive bears in India and Armenia, rescuing and rehabilitating orangutans and other primates in Indonesia and treating injured and orphaned howler monkeys in Costa Rica. IAR strives to educate the public in the humane treatment of all animals and the preservation of the natural environment. International Animal Rescue has offices in the United Kingdom, United States, India, Indonesia and Malta.

Contents

History

International Animal Rescue was established by John and Jo Hicks and first registered as a charity in the United Kingdom in September 1989; in Goa, India in 1998; in the United States in 2001 and in the Netherlands and Indonesia in 2008. IAR Malta became an officially recognised body in 1993.

The first clinic and rescue centre was established in Goa in 1989 to sterilise stray dogs and cats. The Goa centre (known as Animal Tracks) was licensed under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) grant system introduced by Maneka Gandhi.

Patrons

International Animal Rescue's patrons are: Peter Egan, Bill Bailey, Jo Brand, Elkie Brooks, Maneka Gandhi, Dr Scott Miller, Dr Roger A Mugford, Trevor Woodman MBE.

Dancing bear rescue and rehabilitation

Rescued dancing bears in the sanctuary. Bear-rescue-sanctuary.jpg
Rescued dancing bears in the sanctuary.

The practice of dancing bears was made illegal in India in 1972 but in the decades that followed sloth bears were still poached from the wild and forced to perform for tourists.

In 2002, International Animal Rescue, together with Indian partner organisation Wildlife SOS, opened the first sanctuary for rescued dancing bears near Agra and the Taj Mahal.

In December 2009, International Animal Rescue and Wildlife SOS succeeded in bringing this cruel practice to an end by rescuing Raju, the last dancing bear in India. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

The rescued bears live in a semi-natural environment in sanctuaries in Agra bear rescue facility, [10] [11] [12] Agra and Bannerghatta National Park, near Bangalore.

The rehabilitation of the bears' handlers formed an integral part of the project, ensuring they would not revert to bear dancing as a way of earning a living. The Kalandar tribespeople who danced the bears were taught new trades such as rickshaw driving or carpet weaving to help them support their families.

Primate rescue and rehabilitation

Rescued infant orangutan at IAR's centre in Ketapang. Young-orangutan-rescue.jpg
Rescued infant orangutan at IAR's centre in Ketapang.

IAR Indonesia grew out of a group called ProAnimalia International that cared for animals confiscated from the illegal trade circuit.

In 2006 ProAnimalia became part of International Animal Rescue and in 2007 a new primate rescue and rehabilitation centre was built in Ciapus, near Bogor, on the island of Java.

IAR Indonesia specialises in rescuing and rehabilitating orangutans, macaques and slow lorises and releasing them back into protected areas in the wild.

In Indonesian Borneo, IAR rescues and cares for critically endangered orangutans at its conservation centre in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, from orphaned infants to fully grown adults that have spent years in captivity. The rescue centre on the island of Java has facilities for the treatment and care of macaques and slow lorises. [13]

Dog welfare

Female street dog and pup at IAR'S centre in Goa. Dog-rescue-shelter.jpg
Female street dog and pup at IAR'S centre in Goa.

In 1998 International Animal Rescue set up a rescue centre called Animal Tracks in the town of Mapusa in the north of Goa, India, to address the welfare issues of the stray dog population. The sterilisation and vaccination programmes dramatically reduced the numbers of strays and, as a result of the anti-rabies vaccinations, cases of rabies in humans were also eliminated in the areas where IAR operates.

International Animal Rescue's veterinary centre in Trichy, Tamil Nadu was established in 2005 by Dr Deike Schacht. The centre's aim was to control and care for the stray dog population with sterilisation and vaccination, and to provide shelter and treatment for sick and injured dogs.

Cat welfare

Kitten at Catastrophes Cat Rescue. Cat-rescue-clinic.jpg
Kitten at Catastrophes Cat Rescue.

International Animal Rescue's veterinary teams in India and Indonesia routinely sterilise stray cats as a means of reducing and controlling their populations.

Through Catastrophes Cat Rescue, International Animal Rescue gives sanctuary to unwanted cats in the United Kingdom. The cats receive veterinary treatment and are spayed or neutered.

Bird protection

Injured osprey in the care of IAR Malta. Injured-osprey.jpg
Injured osprey in the care of IAR Malta.

International Animal Rescue joined the campaign to end the illegal shooting of migrating birds in Malta in 1990 and lobbied at a national and European level for greater bird protection while working closely with the police and the Ministry of Environment and Rural Affairs to help animals in need. IAR also provided a 24-hour emergency helpline where inquiries were taken about abandoned animals, illegal bird hunting and trapping, wildlife trafficking and instances of animal cruelty.

For many years International Animal Rescue was involved in the campaign to end illegal hunting in Malta by supporting the work of the wildlife protection unit of the police known as the ALE (Administrative Law Enforcement.) Every spring and autumn IAR would assist the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) at their bird protection camps. Volunteer bird guards recruited from all over the world and trained by CABS are based in Malta to monitor migration and record any illegal shooting or trapping. A control room is set up and staffed day and night and the police are alerted immediately to any illegal activity so that their patrols can respond swiftly and track down the culprits. Conservationists come from all over Europe and some from further afield to take part in the camps and do their bit to stop the senseless slaughter of thousands of birds every year.

Related Research Articles

The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in need. It also promotes compassionate conservation, which takes into account the welfare of individual animals in conservation initiatives. Born Free also creates and provides educational materials and activities that reflect the charity's values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre</span> Wildlife sanctuary in Malaysia

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is located about 25 kilometres west of Sandakan in the state of Sabah, Malaysia.

The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) is a not-for-profit animal welfare organization founded in 1973 in Thailand by Shirley McGreal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Animal Protection</span> International non-profit animal welfare organization

World Animal Protection, formerly The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is an international non-profit animal welfare organization that has been in operation since 1981. The charity's mission is to create a better world for animals by protecting them.

The Free the Bears Fund (FBF) is an Australian charitable wildlife-protection organization. It was started by Mary Hutton after she watched a documentary in 1993 on bears kept in small cages for bile farming. The fund was registered as a not-for-profit charity on 23 March 1995. The Free the Bears Fund supports animal welfare projects in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, working with rescued and confiscated Asian black bear, sun bear, and sloth bear. A sister charity Free the Bears UK was established in the United Kingdom in 2010.

Sur Sarovar, often referred to as Keetham Lake, is a picturesque lake off the Agra-Delhi national highway (NH-19). The Agra Bear Rescue Facility, a facility for saving Sloth bears dedicated to rehabilitating previously captured "dancing bears," is located next to it. Since 2020, the lake has been recognized as a Ramsar site that is protected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borneo Orangutan Survival</span> Non-profit orangutan conservation foundation

The Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation is an Indonesian non-profit non-governmental organization founded by Dr. Willie Smits in 1991 and dedicated to the conservation of the endangered Bornean orangutan and its habitat through the involvement of local people. It is audited by an external auditor company and operates under the formal agreement with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry to conserve and rehabilitate orangutans. The BOS Foundation manages orangutan rescue, rehabilitation and re-introduction programmes in East and Central Kalimantan. With more than 400 orangutans in its care and employing more than 440 people at a 10 sites BOS Foundation is the biggest non-human primate conservation non-governmental organization worldwide. Nyaru Menteng and Samboja Lestari are the BOS Foundation sites that have received most extensive media coverage. Nyaru Menteng, founded by Lone Drøscher Nielsen, has been the subject of a number of TV series, including Orangutan Diary, Orangutan Island and the series Orangutan Jungle School, airing since 2018.

Lone Drøscher Nielsen is a Danish wildlife conservationist who established the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project in Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukit Tigapuluh National Park</span>

Bukit Tigapuluh National Park - The Thirty Hills - is a 143,223 hectare National Park in eastern Sumatra, consisting primarily of tropical lowland forest, largely in Riau province, with a smaller part of 33,000 ha in Jambi province. It is famous as one of the last refuges of endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant, and Asian tapir, as well as many endangered bird species. It forms part of the Tesso Nilo Complex biodiversity hotspot. The Park is inhabited by the indigenous peoples of the Orang Rimba and Talang Mamak tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanjung Puting</span> National park in Indonesia

Tanjung Puting National Park is a national park in Indonesia located in the southeast part of West Kotawaringin Regency in the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan. The nearest main town is the capital of the Regency, Pangkalan Bun. The park is famous for its orangutan conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Smits</span>

Willie Smits is a trained forester, a microbiologist, conservationist, animal welfare activist, wilderness engineer and social entrepreneur. He has lived in Indonesia since 1985 and is an Indonesian citizen. He is married to Adrienne C. Watson since March 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samboja Lestari</span>

Samboja Lestari is a Bornean orangutan rescue and rehabilitation centre, tropical rainforest restoration project, sun bear sanctuary, and eco-lodge located in the district of Samboja in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, owned and operated by the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation. According to its founder, Willie Smits, Samboja Lestari uses the principles of People, Planet, Profit, attempting to provide incomes for local people using conservation. It is located about 38 kilometres from Balikpapan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukit Lawang</span> Village and animal sanctuary in North Sumatra, Indonesia

Bukit Lawang is a small tourist village on the bank of Bahorok River in North Sumatra province of Indonesia. Situated approximately 86 km northwest of the city of Medan, Bukit Lawang is known for the largest animal sanctuary of Sumatran orangutan and also the main access point to the Gunung Leuser National Park from the east side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary</span> Wildlife sanctuary in Goa, India

The Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is a 208.5-km2 (80.5-mi2) protected area in the Indian state of Goa in the Western Ghats of South India. It is located in the North Goa District, Sattari taluka near the town of Valpoi. The sanctuary is an area of high biodiversity, and is being considered to become a Project Tiger tiger reserve because of the presence of Bengal tigers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife SOS</span> Animal rescue organization in India

Wildlife SOS (WSOS) is a conservation non-profit organisation in India, established in 1995 with the primary objective of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress, and preserving India's natural heritage. It is currently one of the largest wildlife organisations in South Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Paws</span> Global animal welfare organisation based in Vienna, Austria

Four Paws is a global animal welfare organisation based in Vienna, Austria. It focuses on improving the living conditions of animals under direct human influence, by revealing suffering, rescuing animals in need, and protecting them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal welfare and rights in Goa</span>

Animal welfare and rights in Goa refers to campaigns undertaken in the region of Goa, on the west coast of India, which has been on the rise in recent years. Goa is a popular tourist destination, visited by those from abroad and the rest of India, and concerns over animal rights has been built up both by local and visitor campaigns over the same.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agra Bear Rescue Facility</span> Sloth bear rescue centre in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Agra Bear Rescue Facility is a Sloth bear rescue facility dedicated to rehabilitating previously enslaved 'dancing bears'. Established in 1999 by Wildlife SOS in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and others, the facility is located in an eight-hectare site inside the Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary(also known as Keetham Lake), 17 km west of Agra. It is one of the four facilities in India operated by Wildlife SOS for this purpose, and helped in the eradication of the ‘dancing bear’ practice in India. It currently houses over 170 sloth bears as well as other wildlife. Agra Bear Rescue Facility also does advanced research, disease management and provides specialised veterinary care as well as geriatric care for sloth bears. The facility is available for tours by small groups of people.

Erni Suyanti Musabine is an Indonesian wildlife veterinarian. She works for the Wildlife Rescue Unit of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Since 2007, her work has focused on the conservation and rescue of Sumatran tigers.

References

  1. Nelson, Dean (18 December 2009). "India's last dancing bear saved". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  2. "We saved the dancing bears". Daily and Sunday Express. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  3. "Tue, Dec 22, 2009 – Raju, the last of India's long-mistreated dancing bears, finds permanent sanctuary". The Irish Times. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  4. "Bear dancing ends in India – Bangalore – DNA". Dnaindia.com. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  5. "Raju in, dancing bears do their last act". The Indian Express. India. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  6. "News". AlertNet. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  7. "News: Latest stories, exclusives, opinion & analysis - Mirror Online". Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  8. "Charity frees 'last' dancing bear". BBC News. 20 December 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  9. [ dead link ]
  10. "Bears". wildlifesos.org. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  11. "Agra Bear Rescue Facility". wildlifesos.org. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  12. Shefali Apte. Lonely Planet Guide To India.
  13. David Adam (6 July 2009). "David Adam on the slow loris, the world's only poisonous primate | World news". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 22 October 2011.