ANIMAL RESCUE
Live to Rescue
Live to Love UK supports Live to Rescue in Ladakh, Northern India. Live to Rescue provides humane treatment of homeless dogs in Ladakh with sterilisation and the chance to find a home. Live to Rescue is Ladakh’s most effective animal protection organisation working towards reducing the suffering of animals and fostering harmonious relationships between animals and people of the region in the face of rapid development and tourism.
Background
According to the Animal Husbandry Department of Leh, the feral dog population in Ladakh in 2014 was around 15,000 to 20,000, of which more than 5,000 were located in the town of Leh. This has led to increasing conflict between people and dogs, resulting in a significant increase in dog bite incidents and on rare occasions, fatalities. The instinctive reaction to control the dog population was to cull the animals. However His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, a leading Buddhist in the area, emphasised that the humane and compassionate way to deal with the problem was through Animal Birth Control (ABC). The Live to Rescue project along with the Young Drukpa Association and the Animals Jusbandry Department of Leh was founded to help manage this growing situation.
Dog Birth-Control Clinic
The birth control clinic in Changspa, Leh provides spaying and neutering facilities to help mitigate the problems of stray and feral dogs in the Leh area and surrounding villages. Since 2014 a total of 1,300 dogs have been successfully sterilised. Dogs that are sick, weak or with pups are taken to the Animal Care Centre in Nang Village, about 35km from Leh.
Animal Care and Management Centre
The centre in Nang Village currently looks after over 100 dogs in three homing sections: aggressive dogs, injured dogs and puppies. In addition, the centre provides care and accommodation for injured and abandoned domestic animals including cows, horses, goats, sheep and chickens.
Live to Rescue also runs an education programme to help raise dog awareness and encourage greater responsibility amongst the public in managing the dog population. There is even an adoption programme for those who appreciate that a dog can be “man’s best friend”.
Overall, the education programme raises public awareness and understanding of:
- The importance and need for dog population management
- Why Animal Birth Control and not mass killing
- Public health issues and zoonotic diseases (rabies)
- Importance of safe waste disposal
- Dog adoption – a step towards better dog population management
WE NEVER TURN AWAY A SICK, INJURED OR ABANDONED ANIMAL
Please click here to download our leaflet
Animal Care and Management Centre: Phase 2
Phase 1 facilities at Nang have been a tremendous success. The ABC programme has already made a significant difference to the numbers of feral dogs roaming the streets and many dogs taken into the Nang centre are adopted by loving Ladakhi families. However, there continues to be a high demand from the general public to accommodate more dogs. Live to Rescue therefore plans to extend its care facilities to accommodate up to 5 times the number of dogs and will cater for the following activities:
- Feeding of dogs
- Swimming and bathing
- Planting of trees to provide extensive green coverage and a walking area for new owners to get to know their dog
- Medical treatment for old, young and sick
- Water supply
- Shading for dogs from summer sun and a shelter in winter
- Play area for the dogs
How you can help
Live to Love UK wants to do everything it can to save lives and minimise the suffering of animals in Ladakh, especially dogs, and to encourage Ladakhi people to discover why a dog can be “man’s best friend”.
If you would like to support Live to Rescue Ladakh, then please made a donation using the link below.
- £30 pays for sterilisation under the ABC programme
- £50 pays for vital surgery, medication and care for an injured animal
- £10 a month / £120 per annum (standing order) gives an injured, old or frightened dog a home for life
Alternatively, you can made a donation of any size towards Phase 2 construction at the Animal Care and Management Centre in Nang.
If you have friends who would like to support this vital work, then please send them a link to this page or download and print the leaflet below.
TOGETHER WE CAN HELP STOP THE SUFFERING OF THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS!
Partners:
Pel Drukpa Charitable Trust, Live to Love International, Druk Padma Karpo School – Staff and Children, Sining Century Holdings Ltd., The Nubra Peoples Community
ENVIRONMENT
CLEAN WATER MONITORING
Live to Love works closely with the Waterkeeper Alliance to launch the Himalayan Glacier Waterkeeper program. The Himalayan Glaciers feed the most important rivers in Asia and provides water for over 1.5 billion people in the region. The threat is increasing with climate change, introduction of plastic into water sources and as the political situation wavers, water disputes are raising. Live to Love works to educate Himalayan people on water preservation, in particular the Indus and Zanskar Rivers.
ONE MILLION TREES
Inspired by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai, Live to Love launched an initiative to plant one millions trees in Ladakh. As part of this initiative, Live to Love volunteers broke the Guinness World Record twice for most trees planted simultaneously.