The conurbation consisting of the towns of Bharatpur and Ratnanagar and several smaller municipalities is rapidly growing. It is situated adjacent to the Chitwan national park. HART already has a clinic in Ratnanagar but there is an unmet demand for its programmes to be extended along the whole conurbation. There are increasing numbers of street and community animals, including abandoned pets and street bred litters. HART is the only animal welfare NGO working in the area for street animals
The project will double the capacity of the existing clinic in Ratnanagar by adding an extra vet and vet technician. It will also improve diagnostic capacity with the introduction of an ultrasound scanner. The current clinic has one vet, one vet tech and three assistants/dog handlers. The demand for vet services is increasing as inhabitants realise that their community animals can receive care and recover from diseases and injuries if treated. HART is not able to respond to all the calls for rescue it currently receives and the clinic has to close when teams are away on outreach work. The additional staff will enable further mass vaccinations and an extended neuter programme. The staff employed will be local and they will benefit from the training in companion animal care they receive as this is not on the current vet schools curriculums. Ultrasound scanning will help with diagnosis of the many internally injured cases seen. A supplier ( Probo Veterinary) has offered a used machine at £2500 ( Euro 2976 ), original cost £7500, and a volunteer vet has offered training for the HART vets on interpretations. This upgrade to the staff and diagnostics will enable the clinic to reach thousands more animals in the first year and beyond.
The existing clinic will be doubled in capacity and have improved diagnostic facilities. This will build on the work of earlier years and enable delivery of the ongoing programmes of neutering, vaccination, rescue, and low cost vet services to double the numbers of street animals. It will also serve as a model to other NGOs who aim to alleviate the suffering of the street animals in other large conurbations in the south of Nepal
