Taking vet services to communities
THE Safari4u veterinary and pre-vet student volunteers have no trouble getting their hands dirty, especially if it means that animals can walk away healed and healthier.
Started by Chintsa local, Dennis Taylor, students participate in a community outreach programme under the non-profit organisation leg of Safari4u, known as the Wild Coast Community Vet Clinic or WCCVC Chintsa Dogs.
Started in 2013, Safari4u is a veterinary programme that gives pre-vet and veterinary students from all over the world an opportunity to gain field experience.
The NPO leg of Safari4u officially started this year.
“It started out as a conservation project and once we decided to incorporate a vet programme, it just kept growing. We started seeing where we were needed most and formed relationships with these communities,” said Taylor, who studied zoology.
The NPO operates in Chintsa, Mooiplaas, Kwelera, Soto, Ngxingxolo, Morgan’s Bay, Kei Mouth and Kefani.
“While one of our main focuses is treating dogs in these communities, the goal is to give students as much experience with different animals as possible, but also to help communities with the health and wellbeing of their pets as well as their livestock,” said Safari4u student liaison officer, Alex Tweedie.
From preventative measures such as deworming and anti-parasite treatment to treating mange outbreaks, wounds and various infections , the students take on the challenge fearlessly.
“I really like how hands-on the work is and knowing that you’re actually making a difference. It’s super-rewarding, because you actually get to see the results and see how much you are helping people and their animals,” said Maya Gitter-Fox, 23, who is a returning student from New York.
Taylor said: “Many of these communities just don’t have the means to care for their animals. It’s more complicated than just a lack of knowledge; they have no access to veterinary care and often no way of getting their animals to the nearest vet, so by going to them we’re filling that gap.”
Mooiplaas resident, Bangile Mpambai, said the WCCVC started with treating the community’s dogs and were now also treating their cattle.
“I can’t pay for my animals to get care so this is a big help. I need my cattle to be healthy,” he said.
Currently one of the NPO’s main projects is a spay/ neuter programme within these township communities.
Relying on donations from the public, and teaming up with the Wild Coast Vet in Chintsa and a team of state vets, the spay/ neuter programmes have expanded to reach Butterworth and Mthatha.
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