When Belima become unwell, our vets were on hand to help him recover. We diagnosed him with external parasites and treated him with an anti-parasite medication.
Belima is an eight-year-old donkey who works hard at the rubbish dump in Mali’s capital city, Bamako. The city faces a severe waste management crisis. With a growing population and a lack of formal waste services, it relies on working donkeys for waste removal.
Donkeys like Belima transport tonnes of rubbish from the city’s neighbourhoods to landfill sites, helping their owners to earn an income. The work is incredibly tough and the rubbish dumps are a difficult and dangerous working environment, putting the donkeys at serious risk of injury and illness.
When Belima’s owner Issa noticed red patches of skin around one of Belima’s eyes, he brought him to SPANA’s Garantibougou mobile veterinary clinic, which regularly visits the dump.
At the clinic, our vet gave Belima’s eye a thorough examination and discovered tiny red spots of bleeding on the skin around his eye. The vet diagnosed external parasites which were biting the donkey’s skin. Belima was given an anti-parasite medication, which would remove the parasites in one injection and allow Belima to recover fully within a few days.
Parasites – both internal and external – are a common problem that we diagnose in working animals like Belima every day. Although at low levels some parasites can be relatively harmless, left unchecked, they can cause all kinds of problems.
The vet praised Issa for taking such good care of his donkey and said that Belima was in great shape for a donkey who works in such difficult conditions.
Without Belima, his owner Issa would be unable to work to support his wife and family. Issa said: “If I have no donkey, I can’t work.”
Your continued support enables us to operate mobile veterinary clinics that can provide emergency treatment to working animals like Belima. You’re also helping owners develop their animal care skills through community training sessions and workshops. Thank you so much for your ongoing support.
