WSPA is receiving daily updates from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) while preparing its rapid assessment and response team.

Philip Russell MBE, WSPA's Director of Disaster Management, said, "No one else, Governments, humanitarian NGOs or owners have the resources to care for these animals, most of which are owned by poor impoverished families. If those that survived die, so too will the livelihoods of thousands of people."

He added that, as WSPA so often finds, when operating in emergencies many families will have or be in the process of selling off their remaining livestock at severely reduced prices to ensure some monetary value for immediate subsistence, mainly because they cannot now keep them alive.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will assess and respond to the needs of animals.

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