Author: Kristin Stone

Humane Society International

Barely visible beneath a tangle of filthy, matted hair, the dog’s blue eyes reflected fear mixed with hope as his rescuers lifted him off a truck in Qinhuangdao, China last month. He and 194 others had been on the way to a slaughterhouse, near-victims of the dog meat trade. Heartless men with only profit in mind had packed the animals into crowded cages and driven them for miles in the summer heat without food or water.

On July 9, brave activists pulled over the vehicle and changed Xiao Jiu (Little Ninth Angel, aka Blue Eyes)’s fate. Hardly a year old, looking like a total mess, he seemed to ask his liberators,” What are you going to do to me now?”

He was very lucky. A young man named Yu Duoduo and his mother took the dog home. They cleaned him up and shaved him themselves, revealing injuries new and old that shocked them.

Fortunately, despite his poor physical condition, Xiao Jiu was not too scarred emotionally. He has become a complete sweetheart. He eats well and has gained weight. Very possibly a stolen former pet, he must be so relieved to find himself once more in a loving home, safe and secure.

We will not rest in our fight to help millions more like him.

Humane Society International




  • Better laws will offer greater protection. HSI

Cruelty to animals persists for many reasons, including ignorance, lack of laws and redundancy of existing laws. In Sri Lanka, the legislation that defines this issue—The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance No. 13 of 1907—falls short of its mission: The penalty provided for its violation, set more than 100 years ago, is too small to serve today as an effective deterrent.

In 2010, a proposal for reform was presented as a Bill to the Parliament. It seeks to replace the old ordinance and to recognize “duty of care” for people in charge of animals to treat them humanely. It further aims to secure the protection and welfare of animals, to establish a National Animal Welfare Authority and Regulations and Codes of Practice, and to raise public awareness of animal welfare concerns.

HSI is reaching out to organizations in Sri Lanka in an effort to create a healthy discussion and pave the way for change. We hope to set up a coalition of local groups to lead the work on animal protection in the country and help lobby for a new and improved Animal Welfare Bill with real authority.

Humane Society International

Humane Society International/Europe is working hard to reduce the consumption of animal foods in the European Union.

Consumption of animal foods in the European Union

Worldwide, more than 77 billion land animals were raised for meat, eggs, and milk in 2013 alone. Of this, the EU raised 8.3 billion land animals for human consumption—approximately 16 per EU citizen per year—with the UK and France accounting for more than one billion each.

Europe is one of the highest meat, dairy, and fish consuming regions in the world, second only to North America. The EU is responsible for 16 percent of the world’s meat consumption. The EU is also the second highest meat producer in the world, behind China and just ahead of the USA.

Numerous academic studies have documented the detrimental effects of our high levels of animal consumption on our health and environment. Within the EU, animal agriculture accounts for 12.8 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A reduction in the consumption of animal products could also decrease the incidence of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and obesity.

Aside from this, there is the moral question of treating animals, recognised in the EU Treaties as sentient beings, as agricultural commodities. During their often short lives, farm animals suffer myriad assaults to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and are typically denied the ability to engage in their species-specific natural behaviours.

By reducing consumption of animal foods, we can make a huge difference. In the U.S., the number of animals killed for food dropped by 400 million between 2007/2008 and 2014.

EU policy

HSI actively participates in EU legislative activity in a number of ways, from drafting parliamentary questions and proposing motions for a resolution, to drafting amendments to relevant parliamentary reports and resolutions. HSI also responds to European Commission consultations on subjects varying from climate change to food waste.

Public procurement

Public procurement has a significant impact on the consumption of animal foods in the EU. HSI is a registered stakeholder in the revision of the European Commission’s Green Public Procurement in Food and Catering, which is carried out by the Joint Research Centre. HSI is working to ensure that the revised criteria reflect the need to increase availability of plant-based foods and decrease animal foods in public institutions.

The European Parliament’s Sustainable Food Systems Group

HSI works closely with the European Parliament’s Sustainable Food Systems Group, an informal cross-party initiative of Members of the European Parliament, which is committed to tackling unsustainable food system practices across the food chain and developing appropriate policy solutions.

For more information on meat-free eating, please see our HSI Guide to Meat Free Meals.

Gadhimai Temple Trust agrees to cancel all future animal sacrifice, urges devotees not to bring animals to the festival

Humane Society International

New Delhi—In a move that will spare the lives of millions of animals over coming years, animal sacrifice has been cancelled indefinitely at Nepal’s Gadhimai festival, the world’s biggest animal sacrifice event held every five years for around 265 years. The decision announced by the Gadhimai Temple Trust follows rigorous negotiations and campaigning by Animal Welfare Network Nepal and Humane Society International/India. Read the declaration.

Gauri Maulekhi, HSI/India consultant & Trustee, People for Animals, who petitioned India’s Supreme Court against the movement of animals from India to the Gadhimai festival, said, “This is a tremendous victory for compassion that will save the lives of countless animals. HSI/India was heartbroken to witness the bloodshed at Gadhimai, and we’ve worked hard to help secure this ban on future sacrifice. We commend the temple committee but acknowledge that a huge task lies ahead of us in educating the public so that they are fully aware. HSI/India & People for Animals will now spend the next three and a half years until the next Gadhimai educating devotees in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal on the Temple Trusts’ decision not to sacrifice animals. Animal sacrifice is a highly regressive practice and no nation in the modern world should entertain it.”

Manoj Gautam, founding member of AWNN and campaigner against the Gadhimai festival, said, “We applaud the temple committee’s decision to end this mass slaughter of innocent animals and hope that they will continue to support us in our future endeavors for protecting animals in the country. AWNN’s progressive move to work directly with the temple committee, with Humane Society International/India’s support has been the key that changed the whole face of the campaign and is the reason for the achievement we have now.”

In 2014, HSI/India and AWNN’s global campaign against the Gadhimai animal massacre captured the public imagination when thousands of national and international supporters expressed their ire and displeasure against the ruthless killing. Protests were held worldwide.

With the Supreme Court of India’s intervention to prohibit the movement of animals from India to Nepal, AWNN and HSI/India saw a reduction of up to 70 percent in the number of animals sacrificed from 2009. The Supreme Court’s order resulted in more than 100 arrests of those breaching the order, and more than 2,500 animals saved. Earlier this month the Supreme Court of India issued directions to states to set up mechanisms to prevent animals from being taken to Gadhimai in future and create awareness against animal sacrifice.

Earlier this year, following the global outrage stemming from the Gadhimai massacre, the temple committee also decided not to sacrifice any animals during the harvest festival (Sankranti). Instead, the temple officials have been confiscating the animals and caring for them until rescuers can rehome them.

Mr Ram Chandra Shah, Chairman of the Gadhimai Temple Trust, issued a statement on the decision to stop holding animal sacrifices during the Gadhimai festival, which can be found here.

Facts:

  • It is estimated that more than 500,000 buffalo, goats, chickens and other animals were decapitated at Gadhimai in 2009, but in 2014 the numbers had reduced by 70 percent.
  • The origins of Gadhimai date back around 265 years ago, when the founder of the Gadhimai Temple, Bhagwan Chowdhary, had a dream that the goddess Gadhimai wanted blood in return for freeing him from prison, protecting him from evil and promising prosperity and power. The goddess asked for a human sacrifice, but Chowdhary successfully offered an animal instead, and this been repeated every five years since.
  • Among others, President Emeritus of the World Council of Arya Samaj and noted social activist Swami Agnivesh were at the forefront of urging Indian devotees to boycott the mass slaughter by holding a hunger strike at the heart of the temple.
  • B. D. Sharma, director general of SSB, was awarded with the ‘Leadership in Animal Welfare’ award for his exemplary contribution in curbing the illegal transport of animals during Gadhimai.

Media Contact: Navamita Mukherjee, nmukherjee@hsi.org, +91-9985272760

HSI/India: “How We Stopped the Massacre.”

Humane Society International

For the last two mornings, Adam Parascandola, director of animal protection and crisis response for Humane Society International, has woken up at 3 a.m. in China to bear witness to one of the most horrific scenes you can imagine: the slaughter of thousands of dogs—and cats—for the Yulin dog meat “festival.” Adam is in Yulin with 22 other activists from HSI and our local partners on the ground. Their aim is to build momentum to stop this monstrous spectacle that persists despite surging local protests and a growing international clamor for this cruelty to end.

It pains me even to give voice to Adam’s firsthand account, since what he’s witnessing is so truly atrocious—but we must document it to rally China and the world to halt it.

“The killing has not stopped,” writes Adam, who has witnessed many scenes of animal brutality over his career with The HSUS and now HSI. “I will be haunted for the rest of my life by the sight of dogs so crowded into the slaughterhouse pen they were standing three deep on top of each other. I will never forget their cries as they were beaten.”

The Yulin dog meat “festival” is held to mark the beginning of the summer solstice. Dog meat traders falsely claim it is a time-honored traditional festival—in fact, they created it in 2009-2010 to boost their business. Many of the dogs and cats slaughtered here are stolen pets who are transported to the event site over several days, often without food and water for days on end during the long journey that can cover half of China. They watch in shock as their cage mates are ruthlessly butchered, before that same fate befalls them.

HSI staff and our Chinese partners have organized protests in front of the Yulin city government building, sponsored a 50-city protest campaign calling for an end to the festival, and sponsored four city candlelight vigils against the dog meat industry. HSI also sponsored an international Chinese open letter addressed to top leaders in Yulin, calling for a stop to the event. And all the time, we have kept the international media’s attention focused on the events in Yulin, making sure that the world learns of these atrocities. (HSI staff has also rescued one dog and two cats who will be brought to the United States for adoption—survivors and ambassadors for the continuing campaign.)

The Yulin dog meat “festival” has very little support among local Chinese who were shocked when local authorities gave enthusiastic support to the opening of this event in 2009, believing it would attract tourists. Instead, Yulin, a city of 6.7 million people, has only earned an indelible black mark and worldwide condemnation.

More and more Chinese today accept dogs and cats as friends and companions, and there are now more than 130 million dogs in China, including 27 million pets. In response to the public outcry, Yulin’s government has responded by banning public slaughter of the animals, and by removing the words “dog meat” from all banners related to the festival. But the killing continues behind closed doors and in the middle of the night.

There is no doubt that change is coming to China, as locals become more aware of the human-animal bond. Adam reported how a brave group of young activists unfurled protest banners at Yulin’s festival. Each time they unfurled a banner, they were chased by groups of unidentified men who would rip their banners away. But they kept coming back again and again, determined to ensure that their voices were heard.

In 2011, the Jinhua Dog Meat Festival was banned after huge protests. And more and more advocates are invoking China’s existing laws and regulations to expose dog meat traders who are engaging in criminal conduct by kidnapping pets. In 2014, 18 trucks bound for the slaughterhouses were stopped by activists and more than 8,000 dogs were rescued from their journeys to sure death.

A prominent Hong Kong businessman and artist, Mr. Genlin, has directed a documentary, “Eating Happiness,” about the cruelty of the dog meat trade and the work of courageous Chinese to end it. I look forward to sharing details with you about the documentary when it is released soon.

As the most influential regional power, China occupies a strategic position in the global campaign against the dog meat trade. Its success in ending the dog meat trade has the potential to set off a chain reaction in the region.

“It is so important we be there to expose this horrendous cruelty,” Adam argues. “We must send a message that hiding the killing in the dead of night will not bring an end to the protests against the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. Only an end to the festival can do that.”

 

Humane Society International

by Peter Li

2014 was a banner year for China’s animal protection movement. In particular, the campaign against eating dog meat gained significant momentum.

In March, a nationwide protest called for the shutdown of the Yulin “Dog Meat Festival,” an annual event promoted by the city’s dog meat traders.

Between August and December, thousands of activists took part in highway rescues of dogs on trucks bound for northeast China’s dog meat markets. Of 23 attempts, 18 trucks carrying more than 8,000 dogs were successfully pulled over.

Incredible results—but even so, these activities could have been planned, organized and coordinated better. Even more importantly, activists, if equipped with knowledge of China’s existing laws and regulations regarding animal product safety, animal disease control, and trans-provincial animal transport, could have been more effective in assisting officials with efforts to punish the traders, who have never been able to meet the proper legal requirements for transporting live animals across provincial boundaries. In fact, no dog meat traders can produce the required documents since most of the dogs are stolen household pets.

In other words, the framework already exists to deter the shipment of dogs across the country for slaughter—the activists just need to know how to work within it.

This past May, in collaboration with VShine Animal Protection Association, Hebei Buddhist Charity Foundation, and the California-based Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project, Humane Society International sponsored the “Chinese Young Activist Summer Workshop” in Tianjin, some 80 miles east of Beijing. The workshop brought together two Chinese attorneys and three American experts to help activists lay a road map for their campaign against the dog meat industry.

The Chinese made participants aware of the laws they could use to help them, while the Americans introduced ways to plan for action and coordinate emergency rescues, along with information about typical behaviors of traumatized animals and how best to care for them.

The 79 attendees were mostly born in the late 1980s, part of the Chinese generation that is least tolerant of animal abuse. Among them were those involved in the highway interceptions and the anti-Yulin Festival demonstration. With these passionate young people now even better-equipped to fight for their cause, the days of the dog meat industry are numbered. Please, donate to help shut down the dog meat trade and keep all animals safe.

Dr. Peter Li is HSI’s China Policy Specialist.

Cats and cat lovers support disaster relief for animals in Nepal

Humane Society International

When Gwen Cooper, mom of celebrity feline Homer the Blind Wonder Cat, heard that millions of animals had been injured or fallen ill as a result of the calamitous earthquakes in Nepal, she wondered how to help. Finally, she hit upon a brilliant idea. When she put it out to Homer’s fans, they responded with enthusiasm!

Within five days, 8,000 cats from all over the world had submitted their “selfies” to be included in a new book—”Kittenish”—a compilation of the photos submitted by “Homer’s Heroes” (Homer’s community of rescuers and animal lovers) in parody of Kim Kardashian’s selfies book, “Selfish.” Here’s one of our favorites:

Chipiron of Maspie, France. Who knew it was possible for a cat to “look French,” but somehow he does, n’est-ce pas?

Gwen is the New York Times bestselling author of “Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat.” All proceeds from the sales of “Kittenish” will go to support the efforts of Humane Society International and our local partner groups to provide ongoing aid to animals in Nepal.

On the ground with our Animal Rescue Team in the days immediately following the initial quake, HSI has now committed to helping long-term, from continuing to deploy veterinarians to providing tarps for shelter, medicine and other vital supplies.

Enjoy, and thank you for caring!

You can help! Buy the book and save a life.

HSI helps rescue 64 dogs from a Costa Rican puppy mill

Humane Society International

On April 17, 2015, HSI helped rescue 64 dogs—including poodles, Maltese, Shih Tzus, Chihuahuas, Yorkshire terriers and Pekingese—from a puppy mill in Costa Rica.

Amanda Chaves/HSI

Neglected and used

Many had been kept in overcrowded, filthy aerial enclosures and had never seen sunlight or received veterinary attention. They were forced to birth litter after litter, their owners profiting from selling their babies.

Donate to our Animal Rescue Fund.

Amanda Chaves/HSI

In bad shape

After the rescue, the animals were seen by a veterinarian, who found that eight of them were pregnant, including some at high risk due to their ages. Others had eye infections, teeth in terrible condition, ear issues, mange, untrimmed nails, broken bones that had healed inadequately and other problems. Several have now undergone surgery and a few have already had their puppies.

Amanda Chaves/HSI

Visible change

The change in the dogs’ dispositions since arriving at our shelter is incredible. They were nervous, despondent and ill when we found them, but they’re now able to go outside and their personalities are shining through. They are much more active and seem to be very happy. It’s particularly interesting to watch the ones who had never before touched the ground—some stood in place, confused, while others began playing right away.

Amanda Chaves/HSI

Building a case

We found twice as many dogs as we had expected when we entered the property. We are working to ensure that the dogs will not be returned to the puppy mill owner. Every week until the trial, we will gather information about the health and progress of the dogs to help serve as evidence that they are better off out of their former owners’ hands.

Amanda Chaves/HSI

New lives await

If the dogs are released, we will spay/neuter them and then work hard to find each one a loving new home. We hope that the suffering they endured for so long will soon become a distant memory for the mother dogs and that their newborns will frolic in the grass instead of languishing in cages.

Please give now to support our life-saving work and sign up to receive news and action alerts to learn more about what you can do to help animals.

With thanks to La Asociación Nacional Protectora de Animales

Executive Director, HSI/Mexico

Humane Society International

Anton Aguilar is the Executive Director of Humane Society International/Mexico, based in Mexico City.

Mr. Aguilar holds an M.A. in Comparative Politics from the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po Paris) and a B.A. in International Relations from El Colegio de Mexico.

Mr. Aguilar had previously served in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Advisor to the Deputy Minister and G20 Director. He was part of the team responsible for the strategic planning of the Los Cabos G20 Summit that took place in 2012.

Mr. Aguilar is currently responsible for the development and implementation of a wide range of programs focused on animal welfare in Mexico, including campaigns to prevent the cross-border transport of U.S. horses for slaughter, enhance legislation, stop the spread of intensive confinement agriculture, and improve life for street dogs.

"Xi'an Angels" intervene to rescue dogs bound for slaughter

Humane Society International

In Xi’an, China last week, members of an animal protection volunteer group called “Angels” spotted the latest in a series of trucks caught driving down the highway loaded with dogs headed for slaughter. When confronted, the truck driver and trader admitted that many of the dogs were stolen and that they did not have the required certificates of quarantine inspection.

Mission accomplished

The government confiscated the exhausted, starving, dehydrated dogs, who had spent days on the road crammed into chicken cages, and handed them over to the Angels. The trader was fined 2000 yuan and the truck driver, 300 yuan; the animals will be treated, rehabilitated and put up for adoption.

Please, give now to help end the horrific dog meat trade and keep all animals safe.

Two HSI partner groups joined the rescue soon after the truck was stopped. The director of Xian Red Megranate Companion Animal Rescue Center, Ms. Jiang Hong, has attended several conferences with HSI sponsorship, including our 2015 Animal Care Expo in New Orleans. Mr. Hao Wei of Xi Jing Animal Protection Association, who  also participated in the interception and rescue, was sponsored by HSI last year to lobby the Yulin government and assisted in last year’s Yulin dog meat festival field investigation.

The dog meat trader signed a note agreeing to give up the dogs, who will be accommodated in local shelters for vet care and rehabilitation. They will be ready for adoption when they recover fully from the physical and psychological trauma. Humane Society International has been following the rescue operation and will provide funding to support the dogs’ recuperation.

Surprise additions

Not long after the animals were unloaded and moved into transport cages, two exhausted females delivered puppies. This came as a bittersweet surprise to the activists. “You really should not have come to this world that is no loving and caring home for you,” Jiang Hong told the newborns. “But, if not for the rescue, you could have died in the crammed cages.” One of the mothers did not naturally have milk, so the young activists were calling for milk donations to help feed the puppies.

Putting on pressure

According to the 2013 “Agriculture Ministry Notice on Strengthening the Dog and Cat Quarantine Inspection Management Work at the Place of Origin,” every dog and cat transported across provincial boundaries must have a certificate of quarantine inspection issued by a certified veterinarian. For this particular truck, there should have been 153 certificates. The trader and the trucker did not have any. The intercepted trucks last year all produced fraudulent documents that were proved to be fake by the Agriculture Ministry, resulting in the confiscation of thousands of dogs, fines, and firing of the vets who had signed the fake documents.

HSI is the major international animal welfare organization supporting efforts by Chinese activists to fight the country’s dog meat trade. Last year, we helped fund five more highway rescue operations—saving the lives of more than 2,000 dogs—and we’re encouraging our local partners to put pressure on authorities to shut down this horrific industry completely. Donate now to help.

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