As South Africans band together to flatten the curve of the spread of COVID-19, animal welfare organisations face all their usual problems and then some!
The Cart Horse Protection Association has been helping working horses on the Cape Flats for 25 years.
They have built strong relationships with horse owners and can proudly say that CHPA is the first call they make when they have a problem. Right now, they need us, and we need you.
They write that they need R100 000 over the next two months to enable them to further subsidise oat hay and 10%. This will ensure that horses do not go hungry while their owners are unable to work.
Although some of us are able to work from home, the majority of our staff work directly in the field, either with horses owned by “carties” or with horses at the Recovery and Rehabilitation Center.
Contingency plans have been put in place so that owners can get medication for horses should they need it. Field staff will still respond to veterinary emergencies if and when they arise. In the meantime, they will stay in contact with owners telephonically.
We received a consignment of oat hay just before the lock-down and urged owners to buy as much feed as they could afford and one staff member will assist owners with feed deliveries if they are too far away from Epping to have made the trip.
We will have two staff members at the R&R for the entire three weeks to make sure things run smoothly with our resident grooms on duty as well.
With the entire country in lockdown and all movement restricted, cart horse owners who live from hand to mouth will be unable to earn an income. On a good day, they earn R280 and are thus unable to stockpile food for themselves or feed for the horses. When owners cannot work, horses cannot be fed and we do not want to see an increase in under-condition horses on the road. This would force us to book the horses off work, forcing the owners to take further strain.
Instead, we would like to help them as best we can. We do subsidise horse feed but would like to increase our subsidies to help owners through these very trying times and minimise the impact on the horses.
With your help, we can ensure that the horses stay happy and healthy!
Please consider making a donation today to our COVID19 Feed Relief.
