Army vet turns 'Herriot of Helmand'
25 Nov 09
A British Army veterinary officer has started up a pioneering veterinary clinic where Afghan farmers from the villages near Camp Bastion can bring their livestock, which are their lifeblood, for a free check-up and dose of preventative healthcare.
Captain Miles Malone treating a local Afghan farmer's flock during his monthly veterinary clinic
[Picture: Lt Sally Armstrong RN, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
Under the watchful eye of Kalashnikov-armed Afghan Army guards, perched on top of four-wheel-drive Ranger vehicles as security look-outs, Captain Miles Malone and his moustachioed Sergeant Major survey the distant desert horizon for signs of movement. Both carry pistols at their waists.
'Here come the first customers of the day' announced Capt Malone as a herd of livestock accompanied by human figures appears, still several kilometres away on the bronzed desolate moonscape stretching ahead.
The soldiers busy themselves preparing drugs for the arrival of the livestock. Today, for the third time in as many months, they are doing something that was, until recently, unheard of in this remote corner of the world - running a veterinary clinic.
Meanwhile, a turbaned, wizened Afghan farmer moves slowly across the sandscape on his motor scooter. Riding pillion are his three young sons, grasping their father's billowing dish-dash and each other as the vehicle bounces over an uneven dirt track.
Another slightly older boy walks alongside, unhurriedly herding a flock of a hundred or so sheep towards the makeshift wire pen of the vet camp clinic.
Dubbed the 'Herriot of Helmand' by fellow soldiers, after the British veterinary surgeon and writer James Herriot, Capt Malone is a cheery 28-year-old officer in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, and currently a member of 102 Military Working Dog Support Unit, normally based in Sennelager, Germany.
He is currently half-way through a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan based at the British forces main hub of Camp Bastion.
Capt Malone's main role there is to provide preventative healthcare and emergency care to the working dogs used to search out improvised explosive device components and suspicious objects or to guard and provide protection for the many camps where troops are based.
Captain Malone getting to grips with a flock of sheep
[Picture: Lt Sally Armstrong RN, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
But he has also become the dynamic force behind the monthly veterinary clinic held to improve the standard of living for the farmers who live and work in the small villages dotted to the north west of Camp Bastion.
Click here to see video footage of Captain Malone's veterinary clinic
In this remote corner of Helmand, local, semi-nomadic families eke a living out of the desolate landscape by growing a few crops - usually poppy with its ready made market in the Taliban - and farming livestock.
The goats, sheep, cows and donkeys are prized and valuable possessions, so much so that the womenfolk make colourful beaded necklaces to adorn the necks of livestock:
"Animal livestock forms the lifeblood of these local communities," said Capt Malone. "By improving the health of the herd, we can in turn have a positive impact on the health, wealth and general well-being of the population.
"If we reduce the disease state of the animals, the knock-on effect will be improved meat and milk production. This not only increases the value of the animals at market, but it increases the amount of protein in the locals' diet.
"If the meat doesn't contain worms or diseases which can be transmitted to humans, so the health of the local population also improves."
Giving assistance to the Afghan population also serves a useful purpose for British forces in the area. Capt Malone continued:
"By helping the locals with a project like this, we build up good relations with them and they repay us with information about the surrounding area and local Taliban activity."
Sergeant Major Greg Reeve added:
Captain Malone listens to a local Afghan farmer's worries about his flock
[Picture: Lt Sally Armstrong RN, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
"The economy of Helmand is 70 per cent agricultural, 20 per cent livestock and 10 per cent other. If an Afghan man owns an animal, it will be more prized to him than any other possession, apart from his sons.
"Everything in Afghanistan has a price, but you cannot compare local values to Western values. Apart from the family compound, animals - cows, sheep, goats - are a farmer's most valuable commodity. Female children and wives come low down in the pecking order."
Notwithstanding the cultural differences between Afghan and Western values, in an area where the average daily income is around one US dollar per day, a healthy goat costing 70 US dollars is indisputably a sizeable investment.
Capt Malone explained further:
"A farmer may well be more concerned about an animal dying than he would his child or one of his wives.
"It sounds harsh, but life is harsh here. If a farmer's herd is in poor health, his family's income will be reduced and all the family members will suffer.
"Once you start to understand the way Afghan society works and the crucial dependence on animals for existence, you can see why a project like this could really benefit the local population.
"The concept of a vet is virtually unknown in Afghanistan, particularly in these rural communities. However, the concept of a doctor is better understood so when it is explained that I am a doctor for animals, the villagers are more accepting.
"I think there is a certain suspicion of 'white man's magic', however an important aspect to the clinic is the education which we simultaneously endeavour to give the locals about animal welfare and husbandry."
Despite the value Afghans place on their livestock, Sgt Maj Reeve said there is a staggering ignorance amongst the largely illiterate populace about how to care for their beasts:
"Farmers here have absolutely no idea about animal husbandry. There is near total ignorance about causes and spread of disease, breeding cycles and how milk is produced.
Captain Malone approaches a local Afghan farmer's flock during his monthly veterinary clinic
[Picture: Lt Sally Armstrong RN, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
"If a goat stops milking, it is said to be Allah's will rather than the fact that it has not bred for 18 months and therefore has no anatomical reason to produce milk."
As such, the natural health of herds is poor, with cattle usually underweight and riddled with worms, mites and other parasites. They also frequently carry infectious diseases which can spread to humans with devastating consequences.
Brucellosis, a disease now virtually extinct in the UK through vaccination programmes, is commonplace in Helmand and results in abortion and premature births in both cattle and humans. The intestinal worms carried by sheep and goats also spread to humans via the food chain.
Capt Malone said the priority is firstly to de-worm and de-louse. By eradicating parasites, the animals are able to absorb more nutrients, and therefore become stronger and more resistant to disease.
Once the animals have achieved a baseline of health, he then vaccinates, because the vaccinations are less effective on sick animals. He explained:
"From a slightly geeky veterinary perspective, these herds are fascinating because the goats and sheep are extremely ancient breeds.
"They have not been engineered by breeding programmes and are as they would have appeared in biblical times. Because they have not been exposed to drugs and have built up no resistance, they respond extremely well and quickly to the products I give them.
"Our main effort has to be focused on herd health. De-worming and vaccination programmes which will steadily see an improvement in the overall quality of all the animals will reap long term benefits. Of course if specific animals present with sickness I'll do my best to treat them too."
Captain Malone and Sergeant Major Reeve assess a local Afghan farmer's flock during their monthly veterinary clinic
[Picture: Lt Sally Armstrong RN, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
This is the third time in three months that Capt Malone has held his vet camp. Already he is seeing the same farmers returning with their herds for treatment:
"The improvement in herd health is marked, even in such a short space of time. But it is important that the locals understand they need to continue with treatments. That is where education is so important. It is not a one-stop-shop and I aim to provide a continuous service to give preventative healthcare."
To immunise and worm each animal costs around £1.70 in medication, rising to £4 per head if antibiotics are needed.
Sgt Maj Reeve said:
"This needs to be sustainable, so we ensure we source the drugs from local suppliers. We advise them on what they need to stock, storage methods and use-by dates.
"In the future we also hope to train Afghans in basic veterinary skills so that they can be the ones treating the farm animals. That way, we hope to leave a lasting and beneficial legacy as the result of this project."
After his livestock have been treated, the Afghan farmer shakes hands with the vet, mounts his motor scooter and wends his way slowly home, accompanied by his children and animals.
Sgt Maj Reeve commented:
"That farmer and his brother are, by Afghan standards, very wealthy and therefore influential. If we can get him on side to spread the word about the veterinary programme, I think we will have loads more customers in future."
Sure enough, the next day several more local farmers arrive at the clinic together with around five hundred head of sheep, goats and a couple of donkeys for Capt Malone to inspect and inject with medicines.
When all is done, he stretches his aching back, sips some water and cracks a broad grin. It is the satisfied smile of a job well done, by a man confident in the fact that he is making a difference.