There was a time when livestock breeders in the UAE were at the mercy of diseases. That was when veterinarians were non-existent here. But the farmers in the emirate were a tough lot. And as the number of farms increased, so did the number of farm animals.
The rapid transformation of the UAE over the last three decades has also witnessed a radical modernisation of animal husbandry - from artificial insemination to the establishment of state-of-the-art animal hospitals.
One of the most important services that farmers receive today is free consultation and medical care for their animals.
But this didn't happen overnight.
The fast growth was due to the personal attention given by President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who has encouraged agriculture and assured government support for farmers.
Through the Abu Dhabi Municipality and Town Planning Department, farmers receive foodstuffs and price-support services. The government also generously allocates farms to nationals for free to further encourage cultivation.
Abu Dhabi's first veterinary clinic was established in Ghabat Zayed area in 1979, with only one specialist and a few technicians. But that wasn't enough to meet the needs of many farmers in the emirate as the clinic served only the surrounding farms and areas.
With only basic equipments available, the clinic could only handle small problems. In the mid-1980s and under the instructions of Sheikh Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed, Abu Dhabi Ruler's Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Municipality and Town Planning Department, the clinic was relocated to Al Wathba Area.
It opened three additional clinics in Al Khatem, Delma Island, and Baynona.
The veterinaries were later merged with the municipality's Agriculture Guidance, Marketing and Animal Wealth section. Today, the department has 12 veterinary clinics covering the whole of Abu Dhabi and its suburbs.
Meanwhile, the clinic in Al Wathba has been transformed into one of the most modern and advanced veterinary hospitals in the region. The Central Veterinary Hospital in Al Wathba offers the best medical care to animals and support to animal owners, free-of-charge.
Guidance
Dr Abdul Wahab Yass, head of the veterinary clinic and laboratories, said: "The hospital offers free medical care, guidance as well as supplements to animals. These supplements are first inspected by a team of specialists to make sure that they satisfy the animal's dietary requirements."
The clinic's technicians guide farm owners and animal grazers on ways of combating animal diseases. The hospital helps to get rid of disease-causing insects and germs by spraying them with environmentally-friendly pesticides. "They are not directly sprayed on the animals but specialised machines are used to spray the farm. This decontamination is done at regular intervals," explained Dr Yass.
The municipality holds regular workshops every two months to brief farmers on new diseases and methods to prevent them. Pamphlets and booklets are also distributed in the city while vets visit farms to inspect animals.
The Treatment and Prevention unit of the hospital treats all animals that are ill or have sustained fractures.
Animals too sick to be moved to the clinic are transported by a special veterinary ambulance fitted with the necessary life-saving gear - the first of its kind in the world - to a 24-hour emergency unit.
The Treatment and Prevention Unit uses the latest X-ray and medical diagnostic machines. A team of specialists conducts complex operations.
Operations
Operations are done with utmost care and the operating process is similar to the ones humans go through.
Animals that go under a veterinary surgeon's knife are given anaesthesia. After the operation, they are transferred to a "recovery room" to recuperate for a number of days.
While in the recovery room, the animals are fed and taken care of by a team of nurses. The unit also has a large operating table to support large animals and a smaller one for birds. Animals that have diseases that can infect others are kept in isolation till the problem is taken care of.
Those that have died or were put down by the doctors are burned in a large furnace positioned outside the hospital.
Dr Abdul Wahab said animals are regularly inoculated to ensure they live a healthy life and are safe of seasonal diseases. Vaccines are engineered at the laboratory after a survey is conducted over common diseases that affect them.
The municipality's veterinary clinics also give artificial insemination for cattle. Animals treated at the Central Veterinary Hospital were required to obtain individual health cards. "Issuing health cards to animals is a very advanced step towards the development of animal wealth in the capital," said Dr Abdul Wahab.
He said an account of all animal owners in Abu Dhabi has been prepared by the hospital.
It includes the numbers and type of each chicken, goat, cow, horse and other animals that the farmer owns. The farmers are then categorised geographically and are classified according to a serial number set by the veterinary.
The different geographical areas are: Al Wathba, Al Samha, Al Khatem, Bida Zayed, Khanor, Mzyraa, Ghiathi, Baynona, and Al Salaa Dr Abdul Wahab.
"The cards will help the veterinary follow up the cases of the animals in terms of their treatment. It will also help us in classifying animal numbers and record the numbers and types of animals they own," he explained.
The cards will also streamline the process of giving out medicines to animals. Dr Abdul Wahab said, "Illnesses can also be easily classified geographically, which in turn will help in its containment."
The health cards will help researchers in conducting more focused studies on farm animals since the hospital's archives provide easy access to information.
Keeping pace with changing times
* Abu Dhabi's first veterinary clinic was established in Ghabat Zayed area in 1979.
* In the mid-1980s the clinic was relocated to Al Wathba Area.
* The veterinaries were later merged with the municipality's Agriculture Guidance, Marketing and Animal Wealth section.
* The clinic in Al Wathba has been transformed into one of the most modern and advanced veterinary hospitals in the region: the Central Veterinary Hospital.
* The hospital helps to get rid of disease-causing insects and germs by spraying them with environmentally-friendly pesticides.
* The clinic's technicians guide farm owners and animal grazers on ways of combating animal diseases.
* Operations are done with utmost care and the operating process is similar to the ones humans go through.
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