Rafie’s rescue
Together for Animals member SPANA first learned about Rafie when their veterinary team in Marrakech, Morocco, received an urgent call about a mule that had been spotted outside a souk. The team were highly concerned as temperatures that afternoon had risen to a sweltering 50 degrees. Being exposed to extreme heat for prolonged periods can be very serious for equines, where they risk heatstroke, stress and dehydration. Fearful for Rafie’s health, the team set off in their vehicle urgently to find him.
Tracking down the animal in a bustling souk made the search difficult, but it was a huge relief when the team eventually found him. Rafie was limping and slowly picking at bits of foliage and rubbish under the blazing sun. The team suspected the poor mule was abandoned and had been struggling to find food for several weeks.
As a result of ongoing economic uncertainty, many owners are struggling to afford to feed, or even keep their working animals. In desperate situations like these, working animals are often left to forage for food, as owners assume that they stand a better chance of survival.
Rafie was severely dehydrated, malnourished, and struggling due to lameness. The vet team rushed the mule back to the Marrakech centre, where a cool stable with nutritious feed and water was waiting for him.
Fortunately, the initial examination was reassuring, and the team felt confident Rafie would recover. The expert vets treated Rafie’s lameness with a relieving course of anti-inflammatories and a much-needed clean and trim of his overgrown hooves. Rafie will recuperate at the centre until he’s healthy again.