Himalayan Animal Rescue Trust (HART) has established a small clinic in Pokhara, now a tourist destination about 200km from Kathmandu with a population of around 200,000 people, the third largest city in Nepal. The clinic currently serves the whole community.

HART has also built a small facility in the compound of the  District Livestock Office of the town of Bharatpur, 126 km. from Pokhara. Again, this is the only veterinary service for the whole community.

This is a brief account of the problems HART faces and what they are doing to help. Staff from the base in Britain have just returned from another busy visit to Nepal.

Dogs
There are significant populations of street-dogs in all urban areas of Nepal.
These live short, difficult lives. The local authorities have traditionally controlled the numbers of roaming dogs by the inhumane use of strychnine poison.We are working very hard to persuade them that our Animal Birth Control programme offers a humane, but effective, alternative. Our written agreements with both the Pokhara and Bharatpur Municipalities include undertakings that they will not employ dog poisoning.

HART seeks to humanely reduce the roaming dog populations and to improve their status and their treatment by the communities in which they live.

Cats
The cat population appears to be less than the dog population but feral cats are notoriously difficult to count. We would welcome contact from anyone who was interested in making a study of cats in Nepal.

Equines
Mules, donkeys and ponies are used as pack animals in some parts of the country and as carriers in the brick kiln factories of the Kathmandu valley. HART supports Animal Nepal and AHTCS who run programmes to alleviate the situation of working equines.

Cattle
As a Hindu country, cattle are generally revered. However, bull calves and non-productive females are frequently abandoned to a life of scavenging on the streets. HART is closely involved in an initiative with other stakeholders in Pokhara to provide a cow sanctuary, or Gaushala, for the town.

Our Programmes:

• Dog Population Census & Community Questionnaire Survey
• Mass Anti-Rabies Vaccination
• Sterilisation
• Public Awareness & School Education Programmes
• Rescue & Treatment
• Mobile Neutering Clinics
• Collaborative Working with Other Organisations
• Research

The photos below show educational programmes run in the area. For more information, please visit www.hartnepal.org