Dierenarts gevraagd die in New Delhi / India kennis wil overdragen 

Regelmatig gaan er al studenten Diergeneeskunde naar enkele asielen in India om daar werkervaring op te doen.

Wij hebben voor de hoofdstad New Delhi kontakt met de oprichtster van de grote dierenwelzijns organisatie PFA (People For Animals), mevr. Maneka Gandhi.

Haar goede ervaringen met NL en B studenten Diergeneeskunde zijn de reden, dat zij haar eigen staf aan dierenartsen graag nog meer deze brede kennis vanuit onze landen wil laten overbrengen.

Zij stuurde mij dan het het volgende verzoek:

WORK or VOLUNTEER in India
with People For Animals (PFA)

PFA is India's largest animal welfare organisation. It is headquartered in New Delhi, the capital of India, and has 162 units around the country.

It has 31 veterinary hospitals and runs free animal ambulances in many areas. As an entirely charitable organisation, it sustains its vital work through donations and fundraising. It does not receive governmental or foreign aid.

Apart from funds, what PFA needs most is veterinary expertise. In India, veterinary education is geared towards animal husbandry i.e extracting the most milk, meat, eggs, etc. from animals.

Students are taught little or nothing about pain management, emergency procedures and the treatment of even common canine diseases like tick fever, parvo and distemper. As a result scores of animals suffer and die needlessly.

What we need is professional vets or even veterinary students who will come and work with us to train our vets on the latest veterinary advances and techniques, and upgrade veterinary skills at our hospitals.

Our shelter/hospital in New Delhi, SGACC, is the largest in the country with over 1500 animals. Our OPD treats almost 200 pet animals a day. Our IPD treats 300 inmates a day as well as an average of 20 emergency cases rescued by our ambulance service or brought in by people. We conduct a sterilisation and vaccination programme for street dogs wherein we sterilise approx 8-10 dogs a day.

Have a look at our website: www.sanjaygandhianimalcarecentre.org

Indian streets can be crowded, dusty, dirty and noisy. Many animals live or are abandoned on the street-- dogs, cats, cattle, horses, donkeys etc. A lot of these animals are starving, sickly and injured. We encourage people to bring them in for free treatment.

Dogs are the most common pets. Very few people have cats. Pet owners are often illiterate about the proper care and feeding of their animals. Animal care is given very little priority. Many health conditions are the result of poor diet and living conditions. A lot of people give only bread and milk to their pets.

The most common injury we receive are dogs/cattle hit by cars. In many cases the backbone is fractured. We need a protocol for such an injury and what to do for the pain.

Our vets need to understand what antibiotics are suitable for which condition. We get a lot of sickly puppies. Nasal discharge is a common condition that we have very little success with treating. We need to learn how to set fractures better , how to treat eye conditions like cherry eye, glaucoma etc.

We need a proper euthanasia protocol wherein suffering animals with no hope of recovery need to be put down painlessly at the earliest. We need to learn about more effective sedation.

We need a less painful way to treat maggot wounds than chloroform and turpentine both of which sting. We need to learn to suture wounds to prevent re-infection. We need to learn how better to treat venereal disease.

We need to learn the basics of avian care.

We have 10 vets and 90 staff at this facility who are doing a good job of coping with huge numbers. The staff is hardworking and good at handling animals, but largely untrained. However they are ready and willing to learn. The vets have recently been trained by foreign experts on how to use an ultrasound machine and in canine dentistry.

We are ready to offer accommodation, food (for vets and volunteers) and a small stipend (for official vets only).

Ideally, we would want someone to stay for a minimum of 2-3 months. The longer, the better.

Working Conditions:

From mid April to mid Oct, the weather in Delhi is hot. In June and July this could go up to 45 degrees celsius. However the clinic area is air conditioned as is the residential accommodation.

Simple, basic vegetarian food is provided to all vets and there is one cleaning help assigned to the doctors' quarters.

Visiting doctors will be invited out occasionally so that they get a taste of the city. The doctors do speak English but not all the staff. However most everyone can understand it.

The hospital is located close to a metro station so travel around the city is possible. SGACC will also be happy to help with making travel bookings to other parts of the country.

Doctors have the authority to request for whatever medicine may be required if it is not available. Doctors have also the authority to euthanise non-recoverable cases. We need to establish a protocol for identifying such conditions.

There are two airconditioned operation theatres with anaesthesia facilities for small animals. We have a pathology lab with an x ray and ultrasound facility.

The animal enclosures do tend to be overcrowded but construction is continuing to create additional space. Kennels are cleaned twice a day but protocols need to and can be better enforced. The shelter is sprawled over 4 acres so hygiene standards cannot be the same as in a small closed clinic.

It is important not to be overwhelmed by the numbers and the severity of the cases brought in. Instead show us how to better cope with the kinds of cases we face on a daily basis.

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Wil je hierover verder van gedachten wisselen? Bel mij dan eens op, dan kunnen we deze speciale mogelijkheid verder bespreken.

Het zal in ieder geval een heel bijzondere ervaring gaan worden!

Voor meer informatie:

Hanno Berger - 010-420 23 44