Tuesday, August 27, 2024

VIVA Wheelers Bike 'n Hike - Ennistymon September 21st

 

This September the VIVA Wheelers are returning to the Burren for the third time, basing themselves in Ennistymon at the Fall’s Hotel and offering two routes (60km and 100km) for the cyclists along with a guided hike for the non-cyclists who’d like to join them.

The 100km route runs from Ennistymon to Lahinch and Doolin and then follows the coast to Ballyvaughan where we'll have a lunch-stop in the Tea Rooms there. After lunch we head into the Burren via the R480, passing the Poulnabrone Dolmen on our way to Kilfenora and home to Ennisdymon. 

The 60km route runs from Ennistymon to Lahinch  and Doolin before turning for Lisdoonvarna and Kilfenora and back to Ennistymon and will also have a refreshment stop. 

Set off time is 10.00am for both routes.

Rooms available in the Falls (approx. €260 for double / twin & €230 for single including breakfast). We'll be having our dinner there that evening with the cost included in your sponsorship.

The sponsorship for the cyclists is €200 and €150 for the hikers. Our "Heifer Draw 2024"is up and running again and participants can sell tickets for the draw to raise the sponsorship if they wish. (We have a special deal for first-time participants and younger vets - less than 5 years qualified - their sponsorship is €100).

As always, we are grateful to Zoetis for their sponsorship of the meal for the participants. The Zoetis sponsorship of €2,500 this year brings their total sponsorship since 2011 to over €27,000.

Please register as soon as possible to give us an idea of the number of participants which helps the planning of the event. 

For more information and to register please contact Mike Burke on mike@viva.ie / 086 – 2568357

The Wheelers are fundraising this year for a new project in Nepal which commenced in December 2023. The project, which aims to support marginalized goat keepers in the central Kaski district is being run in conjunction with a local NGO, Animal Health Training and Consultancy Service (AHTCS) and will run for three years and VIVA are providing €75,000 over that period to fund it. VIVA has a long association with AHTCS with their Chairperson, Ciaran Gobl, spending a year working with them back in 2008. In a unique initiative, the Mid-West Veterinary Clinical Society (MWVCS) have also come on board with a grant of €10,000 towards the cost of the project.


Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Vacancy - Coordinator

 Up to now we have been a volunteer-based organisation with no paid staff but with increasing regulatory and fundraising demands we are now seeking a highly organised and self-motivated individual to join our team at VIVA.

The Role

Reporting to the CEO, the role is broad based and will include responsibility for and involvement in areas such as funding applications, maintenance of social media presence, fundraising event organisation, financial management, organisational communication as well as general administration and board support activities.

The position is based on working remotely for four days a month, with monthly hours varying according to priorities in any particular month. There may also be a requirement from time to time for attendance at some fundraising events to provide logistical support.

Main Responsibilities

The following are the main responsibilities attaching to the role:

·       Maintain database of supporters and manage donations

·       Organise regular fundraising events

·       Research funders and help prepare proposals for funding

·       Maintain and update social media feeds and website on a regular basis

·       Maintain accounts and process payments

·       Prepare annual accounts with accountant / auditor

·       Prepare Board Meetings / AGMs

·       Prepare annual newsletter and annual report

·       Co-ordinate reporting from projects

·       Liaise with VSF International (An international network of organisations like VIVA)

 

Role Requirements

The suitable candidate will be highly IT competent and have demonstrated experience and proficiency in office and financial administration, event management, as well as use of remote working tools and social media platforms.

Exceptional written and oral communication skills and an ability to work on own initiative and prioritise tasks are essential.

Experience in fundraising is an advantage but not essential.

The initial contract is for one year. However, this is a dynamic position with scope for the successful candidate to develop the role themselves and depending on the outcomes there is potential for the role to expand in the future.

To apply please send a covering letter and CV to mike@viva.ie by Monday, July 22nd

Join us in making a positive impact on livestock farming communities worldwide

Friday, May 20, 2022

Mid-West Clinical Club supporting VIVA

 VIVA was delighted to recently receive a donation of €5,000 from the Mid-West Clinical Society. The funds, which were presented to VIVA's Mike Burke by Bill Carmody, bring to €14,900 the total donated by the Clinical Society over the last twenty years. A big 'Thank You' to all involved.

Monday, May 2, 2022

VSF in support of Ukraine

Three months after the start of the war in Ukraine, millions of people have either fled the country or been displaced internally, while humanitarian needs are increasing exponentially. Every day thousands of people flee from Ukraine with only what they can carry: often this is their pet. From the first information received by VSF from the Polish border at Medyka about 30% of refugees have a pet, and some of them need veterinary care. 

Usually, pet care goes beyond the mission of VSF International, whose main field of expertise remains the support to small-scale livestock keepers and pastoralists. However, the urgency and exceptional nature of the situation cannot leave us indifferent, and compels us to act in our role as veterinarians. Companion animals play a significant role in fostering the psychological wellbeing of pets’ owners, especially in extreme situations like this. Taking care of pets means preserving a connection with the life that so many people have been forced to leave. While health care and support is given to humans, pets also need their needs and welfare maintained: many animals, as their owners, arrive exhausted or with some wounds that need to be taken care of. 

Moreover, rabies is still present in Ukraine, in contrast to many European countries, which are free from rabies. The sudden arrival of non-vaccinated pets can pose serious threats to public health and requires a prompt reaction from the local veterinary services to vaccinate them against rabies or impose a quarantine. 

Two VSF International’s member organizations are already active in providing support to refugees’ pets:

 VSF-Czech’s project “Seeking Refuge Together” is assisting Ukrainian refugees arriving in Czech Republic in need of veterinary care, pet food and pet care for their animals. The organization helps locate suitable veterinary clinics, offers interpreting services for veterinary clinics taking care of Ukrainian refugees, runs an information hub - www.spsom.cz - where incoming refugee pet owners can find relevant information and provides financial aid to allow pet owners to take care for their pets. For further information on this program go http://www.vsf-cz.eu/en/projects/seeking-refuge-together  

VWB/VSF Canada is assessing the situation along the Polish border and will continue to do so along other bordering countries. Currently their main focus of work is supporting a number of key local partners within Ukraine to provide food and medical supplies to over 700 local shelters and animal care providers. For further information on this program visit their Ukraine emergency page.

For the moment precise information on the situation of farm animals in Ukraine are still lacking. But it is likely that livestock and livestock keepers will be soon in need of support. VSF International will keep assessing the situation and evaluating whether we can scale up our activities in support to Ukrainian people.

How can you help? 

If you want to support our activities for Ukrainian refugees, you can donate to:

VSF Czech Republic: https://www.darujme.cz/projekt/1206004?locale=en 

VWB/VSF Canada: https://www.vetswithoutborders.ca/component/civicrm/?task=civicrm/contribute/transact&reset=1&id=214

In addition, the Federation of Veterinarians in Europe (FVE), along with other veterinary organisations has been involved in efforts to coordinate aid by European veterinarians to help Ukrainian veterinarians, their families and animals. For more information - https://vetsforukraine.com/

Monday, September 27, 2021

World Rabies Day

World Rabies Day is held every year on September 28th. This date was chosen as it is the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, the first person to successfully create a vaccine against rabies. Our partners in Vétérinaires Sans Frontières International (VSF) have just published an infographic on their contribution to the goal of eliminating human deaths from dog rabies by 2030. Click here to read the report

Monday, May 11, 2020


One Health to address future crises

The entire world is facing complex challenges linked to the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease COVID-19. Epidemiologists and virologists are in the first line in understanding where the virus originated, how it adapted to a new host (humans) and how it spreads. Even if to date there is still uncertainty about the exact source, currently available evidence identifies horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus affinis) and pangolins as intermediate host that might have facilitated transfer to humans (1) in Wuhan region, followed by a rapid spread across China, Europe and the rest of the world. The possibility that new viruses emerge from wild or domestic animals, is well known (e.g. viruses of HIV, H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza, H1N1 swine flu, Ebola, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, etc). The first severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2002 showed us the devastating impact coronaviruses can have in term of economic disruptions to affected countries, mortality rate, and possibility of re-emergence (2).

Animal, human and environmental health: everything is interconnected

Diseases that are transmitted between animals and humans, called zoonotic diseases, are becoming more and more frequent as the distance between people and wildlife is shrinking and contacts becoming more frequent, as human populations encroach on natural areas. The increasing demand for raw materials and resources such as wood, minerals, fuel and crop land mainly for producing livestock feed, is leading to a widespread degradation of ecosystems and causing ecological disruption. There are many challenges in relation to our models of agricultural production, esp. in the Global North, in relation to loss of biodiversity, soil and water contamination and emission of greenhouse gasses. We need to look at these models and ask ourselves how they fit into a changing world in light of climate change and global pandemics. We also need, as a society, to ask ourselves what we are willing to pay for our food if we change these models and if we are prepared to give farmers the economic incentives to change their systems. Intensification is also increasing the risk of transmission of diseases due to the proximity of large numbers of animals in restricted spaces. Deforestation driven by logging, mining, road building, and rapid urbanization leads to the disruption of habitat that pushes wildlife to move and mix with other animal species and with humans, increasing the risk of zoonotic pathogens’ spread (3). All these changes are happening at unnatural speed and contribute to shorten the distances and increase contact between people, wildlife and possible disease reservoirs.

One Health key to address complex health crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasises once more that human health and animal health are interdependent and bound to the health of the ecosystems in which they exist. This interconnection between the health and well-being of people, animals and the environment is known as One Health. One Health as a concept was developed (4) to respond to the spread of serious infectious diseases and zoonoses through an integrated approach to health. After many failures in properly addressing complex health crises, it became clear that collaboration between different sectors – involving researchers, laboratories, public services and civil society – is fundamental to tackle disease spread from all possible angles and create a solid basis for disease control.

Despite some efforts in making One Health operational, disease surveillance and response systems often remain siloed between the human, veterinary and environmental scientific communities. If collaborations are effectively put in place, we would be better prepared in responding quickly and effectively to new diseases. Veterinarians and ecologists, for instance, have a central role in identifying disease reservoirs both in wild and domestic animals.

In the global South, these collaborations are key to optimise the few resources available and to strengthen public health. The fact that in Africa and South East Asia more than 241 million people fall ill and 312,000 die each year for food-borne diseases (5) (many of them directly linked to consumption of contaminated animal-sourced food or water) shows clearly that there is no health and food security without food safety and hygiene. In solving this simple equation, joint efforts from different sectors are required: human medicine; veterinarians; microbiologists; experts in water, sanitation and hygiene; sociologists; gender specialists, economists, etc.

In order to limit the spread of COVID-19, it is central to understand that each local context is unique from a socio-cultural perspective but also in terms of available infrastructures or housing conditions. Millions of people lack access to running water (44% of African urban populations lack access to piped water (6) and the percentage increases dramatically in rural areas). People without access to water will struggle to enact the basic hygiene recommendations – such as washing hands – that are repeated again and again by medical authorities during this COVID-19 crisis. Social distancing is also difficult to perform where entire communities base their livelihood on the informal economy and live in confined spaces.

Adapted solutions and messages should be developed in order to maximise populations’ capacity to adopt them and effectively limit the propagation of the virus. The role of NGOs, local civil society and community leaders that know local contexts well is fundamental to develop adapted prevention strategies in areas that are poorly served by public services. Again, all this should be done under a One Health collaborative approach.

A paradigm shift

In the current situation, One Health proves to be important not only as a response to a specific health crisis, but as a way to rethink the foundation of our societies and production systems. Examining how human, animal and environmental health systems can work together is clearly an important part of learning from the current crisis in order to build our resilience throughout this pandemic and as we prepare for other threats such as future pandemics and climate change related threats.

The global situation caused by COVID-19 is more than a public health emergency. It is a political, economic and social crisis that will have long-term impacts on the economic well-being of people, on their habits and on the role of politicians in managing complex global emergencies. In finding ways out of this crisis, we urge a deep questioning of our global models of production, consumption and trade; of local and international markets, of agriculture and livestock production.

Sustainable agricultural practices such as agro-ecology can help to re-establish ecosystem balance by producing healthy food in an environmentally sound way, protecting biodiversity, promoting fair and sustainable marketing channels, supporting local food systems, and respecting animal welfare, all contributing to the wellbeing of humans, other living beings, and entire ecosystems.

In the midst of confinement measures, limitation of movements and international transport, local food systems are proving to be much more resilient than industrial agriculture, whose complex value chain is fragmented and dependant on international trade (7). Local food systems, small-scale farming and agro-ecological practices should be strongly supported worldwide. Globally, small-scale farmers provide 70% of the food in the markets, forming a pillar of food security, while preserving natural areas and biodiversity through sustainable agricultural and livestock practices integrated in natural processes.

If we want to be better prepared to face new diseases, we need to embrace One Health in all its nuances: by putting in place collaborations between the human, veterinary, and environmental communities, by strengthening public health, but also by changing drastically the way our societies and economies relate to nature, starting with supporting local food systems, small-scale farmers and agro-ecological production methods.

(1) Lam, T.T., Shum, M.H., Zhu, H. et al. Identifying SARS-CoV-2 related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins. Nature (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2169-

(2) Vincent C. C. Cheng, Susanna K. P. Lau, Patrick C. Y. Woo, Kwok Yung Yuen (2007) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus as an Agent of Emerging and Re-emerging Infection. Clinical Microbiology Reviews Oct 2007, 20 (4) 660-694; DOI: 10.1128/CMR.00023-07










Monday, May 20, 2019

Vaccinate for Africa 2019


In April, World Animal Vaccination Day marked the contribution vaccines make in the control of disease in animals.  Currently, vaccines exist against more than 100 animal diseases and around 30 human diseases. They have saved the lives of millions of people and animals and they contribute to the need to use less antibiotics while reducing the exposure to zoonotic diseases.

Next week (May 27th - 31st), VIVA is launching a new campaign – “Vaccinate for Africa” – in conjunction with our partner organisations in Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (VSF) across Europe. The concept is simple – for one week veterinary practices agree to donate a percentage of their pet vaccination fees to VIVA to support our animal health programmes. Clients may also contribute if they wish.

The funds raised support our animal health programmes in the Developing World. For example, in Uganda we are training local farmers as Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs or “Village Vets”). As well as providing basic veterinary services to local farmers in their community they are also participating in government-run vaccination campaigns. They carry out the vaccinations of livestock against important local diseases such as Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia  (CBP) and Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCP) which cause large losses in local cattle and goats.

For more information on the campaign or to register for participation contact Mike Burke on mike@viva.ie / 086 - 2568357 or Ciaran Gobl on 086 - 7015253


Cattle being vaccinated by a CAHW