FAQ

BARC provides 24/7 emergency rescue, veterinary surgery and sterilization, intensive care, treatment for infectious diseases, wound management, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, wildlife rescue, vaccination drives, and a permanent sanctuary for animals with chronic conditions. We serve dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, horses, and other wildlife.

BARC operates a 24/7 emergency rescue service that responds to distress calls throughout Bhutan. We rescue injured, sick, and abandoned animals and provide them with veterinary care. For more remote areas of Bhutan, we organize rescue and transport efforts in collaboration with other animal welfare organizations and supporters. Your support can help us to strengthen our rescue services so we can help more animals in need.

In 2025, we treated 1,508 animals, including 301 in-patient animals and 1207 out-patient animals.

BARC currently provides full-time residential care for approximately 230 dogs, 22 cats, 77 macaques, 21 birds, and large animals at our sanctuary facility.

We prioritize returning animals to their communities or rehoming them with loving families once fully recovered. Animals with chronic illnesses or permanent disabilities who cannot be released receive lifelong care and comfort at our sanctuary.

Yes! When you sponsor a BARC animal, your recurring contribution goes directly toward their food, medical care, and daily needs. Visit our Meet the Animals page to learn about the dogs, cats, macaques, and other animals currently in our care. Each animal's profile includes their rescue story and the type of support they need most.

If your sponsored animal no longer needs BARC to live a good life, or if they pass away, we will inform you and give you the option to transfer your sponsorship to another animal in need or redirect your contribution to BARC's general care.

BARC rehomes recovered animals with loving families when possible. Adoption availability depends on the animals currently in our care and their readiness for placement. Contact us to learn about animals available for adoption or to discuss the rehoming process.

BARC opposes the capture or breeding of wildlife for human entertainment.

We provide rescue and treatment for injured wildlife, including monkeys, birds, and other native Bhutanese species that would otherwise be unable to survive without intervention. We currently house 77 macaques and other wildlife at our sanctuary. Our goal is rehabilitation and release when possible, with permanent sanctuary for those who cannot survive in the wild.

Working in Bhutan's mountainous, road-limited terrain means BARC's large-animal capability must be mobile, rugged, and self-contained.

BARC needs large-animal slings and a hoist system for downed cattle and equines, plus rescue gear for steep-terrain incidents — heavy-duty webbing harnesses, A-frame hoists, and winch systems.

Not yet — and it is one of our most pressing capability gaps. Bhutan's terrain means many animals in need of care live hours from Thimphu on roads that become impassable in the monsoon season, so a fully equipped 4WD mobile veterinary unit would dramatically extend BARC's reach into rural communities for spay/neuter campaigns, emergency response, working-animal care, and disease surveillance. Building this capability is a near-term priority, and we are actively seeking funding partners to make it a reality.

BARC cares for the large animals most central to rural Bhutanese life: cattle, yaks, oxen, and horses.

The medical issues we see most often reflect the realities of working animals in mountainous terrain — road-traffic injuries and fractures, hoof and foot problems from rocky trails, harness and saddle wounds, parasite burdens (both internal and external), dental disease in older equines, and abandonment or neglect cases involving malnutrition and untreated chronic conditions. We also respond to emergencies such as falls on steep terrain, predator attacks on grazing livestock, and birthing complications in remote villages where veterinary care is otherwise unavailable.