Disaster in Mongolia as herders lose livestock to extreme weather

Mongolian dzud kills millions of domestic animals

Damien Woodberry, a veterinarian with The World Society for the Protection of Animals' (WSPA) disaster response team, recently visited Mongolia, where he worked with WSPA's member society, the Cambridge Mongolia Development Appeal (CAMDA), to deliver emergency aid to animals.

"The landscape is literally littered with dead animals--cows, sheep, goats, yaks, horses and camels. It is horrific," said Woodberry. "Most the herders' gers or yurts--semi-permanent tents that they live in--have large piles of dead animals next to them. The ones left alive are sick or so weak they barely move when you approach, and all are extremely thin."

Cold weather happens every winter, but this Mongolian dzud is a combination of events causing a far higher rate of animal death:

• Summer droughts: These prevented many herders from stockpiling sufficient hay and fodder reserves to last their animals through the winter.
  
• A higher-than-usual winter snow fall: Animals couldn't access what pastures remained and herders' efforts to feed with their own stocks was hampered.
  
• Extreme cold: Snow on the ground turned to ice, making it impossible for animals to use what little pasture had been available. The animals, who already suffered from malnutrition, then became extremely vulnerable to hypothermia.
  

The last dzud in 2001 killed about 11 million animals. However, experts estimate this dzud will be worse. With no relief until at least May, possibly even as late as June. A total loss of 4-5 million animals is expected by spring. By the end of the disaster, an estimated 20 million animals could have died.

Struggling to survive Mongolia's freezing winter

The Galsaikhan family have lost 800 of their 900 animals. Chumedtseren, the mother, says the mornings are the worst. "Every day when we wake up we have the same fear. How many have died overnight?" She says sometimes she and her husband are frightened to go to check. "If we lose all our animals we'll have lost everything," she says. The frozen carcasses of the animals lie where they have dropped, several of them in the pen where the others seek shelter from the wind. The herders' cattle, their sheep, their goats are their cash. They use them to pay for everything from food to medicine to schooling for their children. So for the family losing so many is disastrous. Renchan, Chumedtseren's husband, says the greater pressure at the moment is mental, not physical. "Our only source of livelihood is slipping away. If we lose all our livestock how will we keep going?"