In the past few days there have been reports that China is planning to shoot dogs and cats left homeless by the recent earthquakes in Sichuan. You can read about this plan on Jill Robinson’s blog and the Human Society International’s earthquake relief page.
There is no regulated rabies vaccination program in China. One of Animals Asia Foundation’s many missions is to educate the Chinese people on proper care of their companion animals (vaccinations, they’re not food, etc.) through their Friends … or Food?, Professor Paws, and Doctor Dog programs. Now, Jill announces on her blog that AAF has obtained “official authorization today for us to go into Dujiangyiang, collect dogs and cats that need help and place a notice on the government bulletin boards and surrounding areas alerting the public that we can help with companion animals wherever required.
“We will also be providing a hotline for the public to call should they have pet dogs or cats they can no longer keep and would like to be fostered, and for people to contact us if they see stray animals in the streets.
“Christie and Rainbow have been working hard all week to secure free food and vaccinations and have been talking with the authorities in allowing us to work officially in Dujiangyiang. We have now secured 500 vaccinations from Intervet for dogs in the disaster area and are going prepared to meet local vets there to coordinate a rescue programme, which will be highly sensitive to the needs of people and authorities alike. Also, Purina has kindly sponsored more than 200 kg of dog food.”
AAF will take in any dogs and cats that do not have human families and care for them the rest of their lives. They’ll need help for all this work and you can donate to the rescue on the AAF Web site. We still do not know what’s become of the captive bears at the bear bile farms in Sichuan. I’m certain that AAF is trying to get that information and will post about it soon.
The Humane Society International is supporting non-human animals left homeless by the quakes through grants. “It has been reported that officials in Qingchuan have decided to round up and kill homeless dogs, fearing that these hungry animals could be aggressive toward humans and cause an outbreak of rabies. Reactions from Chinese dog lovers are already strong; comments posted on the Internet call for mercy for the dogs and ask for a different solution to be found. HSI is offering assistance in using humane and effective methods of controlling the canine population rather than culling the animals.
Meanwhile, little is known about the quake’s impact on the thousands of pig farms and water fowl farms in the area.”
HSI is giving two grants, “One will go to the US China Environmental Foundation, with which we’ve partnered in the past, to support the famous Wolong Panda Research Institute—located just 20 miles from the quake’s epicenter. The other grant will go to the Chinese Embassy in Washington as a gesture of HSI’s concern and goodwill during this difficult time. HSI is also offering the government assistance in humanely managing dog populations in the affected area.”
Please donate to either organization to help them rescue non-human animals who are suffering as much as the human animals from the earthquakes.
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Filed under: animal rights | Tagged: china earthquake, dog culls, earthquake, homeless pets
