Company profile : International Animal Rescue

At International Animal Rescue (IAR) we do exactly what our name says: we save animals from suffering around the world.

IAR’s sanctuaries in India are home to several hundred dancing bears that have been rescued from the streets. These endangered sloth bears now live free from fear and pain in a safe, semi-natural forest environment. At the end of 2009 IAR and its coalition partners in India, Australia and France made animal welfare history by rescuing the last dancing bears off the streets and ending this cruel practice for good.

An integral component of the bear rescue and rehabilitation project has been the retraining of the bear handlers to teach them new trades and enable them to continue supporting their families. International Animal Rescue works to find solutions to welfare and conservation issues that benefit people as well as animals, enriching their lives through a greater awareness and appreciation of wildlife and the natural environment.

In Indonesia IAR’s rehabilitation centres care for primates rescued from the pet trade and orangutans that have been driven from the rainforest to make way for oil palm plantations. The ultimate goal is to reintroduce these primates into protected areas of forest but first they receive specialist veterinary care and are taught the skills they will need to survive in the wild.

Our wildlife rescue and rehabilitation work is inextricably linked to habitat protection and conservation. In Borneo we have joined forces with other welfare and conservation groups to tackle the real threat posed by deforestation and palm oil production to the very survival of the orangutan. Our aim is to identify and secure suitable release sites for rehabilitated orangutans where they can live safely for years to come. Post-release monitoring will be carried out to observe the orangutans and evaluate the success of the rescue, rehabilitation and release project.

In India IAR’s clinics sterilise and vaccinate stray dogs and cats to regulate numbers and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. We also treat wildlife, as well as cattle that roam the streets and beaches. Our veterinary teams and rescue ambulances also come to the aid of victims of disasters like the Asian tsunami.

At our small wildlife hospital in Malta we rescue and rehabilitate migrating birds injured through indiscriminate shooting – from British songbirds to birds of prey. Our campaigning has also helped to strengthen animal welfare laws and enforce them by supplying the police with vital equipment including a high speed patrol boat.