Groups in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia take in the dogs for adoption
Humane Society International
Jean Chung/for HSINara Kim of HSI holds a puppy rescued at a dog meat farm in Hongseong, South Korea. May 6, 2020.
WASHINGTON (July 16, 2020)—More than 100 dogs saved from South Korea’s brutal dog meat trade are headed for loving homes in the United States. Humane Society International rescued the dogs as part of its campaign to end the dog meat trade and flew them to the U.S., where the Humane Society of the United States placed them with several Shelter and Rescue Partners in the mid-Atlantic.
“Rescuing animals from suffering and neglect is as important as ever,” said Kitty Block, CEO of Humane Society International and president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. “Thanks to the hard work of our staff and partners — both in Korea and the U.S. — these dogs will now have the happy lives they deserve: with families who love them.”
Sixty of the dogs arriving in the United States were rescued from a single dog meat farm by HSI in May (the remaining dogs from that farm are scheduled to go to Canada). This was the 16th farm the organization has helped to close since 2015. The dogs stayed in a temporary shelter in South Korea until modification of travel restrictions made it possible for HSI to bring them to the United States.
While dog meat is eaten in several countries in Asia, South Korea is the only country that farms dogs for human consumption on a large scale. An estimated 2 million dogs a year are reared on thousands of dog meat farms across the country. The conditions on these farms are horrific – most dogs live their entire lives in barren wire cages without adequate shelter or veterinary care until they are brutally slaughtered, usually by electrocution or hanging.
HSI’s pioneering program works with Korean dog farmers to rescue their dogs and transition the farmers to more humane and profitable livelihoods. The farmers sign a 20-year contract, stipulating they will not breed dogs or any animals, and the cages are demolished to ensure that no animals will suffer on the property in future.
At each dog meat farm closure, a veterinarian vaccinates the dogs against the H3N2 (dog flu) virus, rabies, DHPP, corona virus, distemper and parvo. HSI then quarantines the dogs on the farm or at a temporary shelter with no dogs permitted in or out prior to transport overseas. The dogs are given another check-up before their flight to ensure they are healthy enough to fly.
So far, HSI has saved more than 2,000 dogs from Korean dog meat farms. The dogs are brought to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for adoption. While pet ownership is on the rise in South Korea, adopting instead of buying a dog is still not a widespread practice there.
Media contact: Nancy Hwa, Humane Society International, nhwa@hsi.org, 202-596-0808 (cell)
Humane Society International/India and People for Animals welcome “major turning point” in campaign to end dog meat cruelty
Humane Society International / India
Alokparna Sengupta/HSIDogs tied up in sacks for the dog meat trade in Nagaland, India. 2015
NEW DELHI—In a landmark decision, India’s Government of the state of Nagaland has ended the brutal dog meat trade. The decision announced today by the cabinet will end the import, trade and sale of live dogs and dog meat. Humane Society International/India and People for Animals have campaigned for years to end India’s dog meat trade, and welcome this decision as a major turning point in ending the cruelty of India’s hidden dog meat trade. HSI/India estimates that around 30,000 dogs a year are smuggled into Nagaland where they are sold in live markets and beaten to death with wooden clubs.
HSI/India’s campaign to end the dog meat trade was launched in 2016 with an investigation revealing shocking video footage of dog meat death pits in Nagaland. Dogs were seen being clubbed to death in front of each other, beaten multiple times in protracted and painful deaths. Most dogs were beaten several times before dying. Download footage.
Alokparna Sengupta, HSI/India’s managing director, said: “The suffering of dogs in Nagaland has long cast a dark shadow over India, and so this news marks a major turning point in ending the cruelty of India’s hidden dog meat trade. Our own investigation in Nagaland showed terrified dogs being subjected to horrific deaths in some of the worst inhumanity to animals HSI/India has ever witnessed. And the dogs we have rescued from this trade over the years have had to learn to trust humans again after the cruel treatment they endured.”
Dog meat consumption is prohibited in India through the Food Safety and Standard (Food Products Standard and Additives) Regulation, 2011. However, this is poorly enforced, and in the states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh, thousands of dogs each year are illegally captured from the streets or stolen from homes, and cruelly transported from neighbouring states in gunny bags to be brutally slaughtered for consumption by being beaten to death.
Earlier this week, Indian Member of Parliament Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi made an urgent public appeal to urge the Government of Nagaland to stop the trade and consumption of dog meat after receiving new photographs of the trade from a Nagaland-based animal protection organization. The appeal led to more than 125,000 people writing to the Nagaland Government.
HSI/India’s Sengupta continued “We warmly thank Smt. Maneka Gandhi for her leadership and the vital impetus she has provided in achieving this decision from the Government of Nagaland so quickly after the latest evidence emerged. We also congratulate the Government of Nagaland and offer our support so that this decision can be robustly implemented. The Government of Nagaland has shown great leadership and we urge other states such as Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh to follow by implementing a dog meat trade ban too.”
The Government of Nagaland is considering how to allot land to accommodate dogs rescued from the trade, and to promote the adoption of these dogs. HSI/India, which has rescued more than 150 dogs from the dog meat trade, will work with PFA and the state government to support adoption and implement the practical mechanisms needed to enforce the new order and end the dog meat trade.
HSI/India’s campaign is part of HSI’s broader campaign to end the dog meat trade across Asia in countries including South Korea, China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
ENDS
Media Contact: Shambhavi Tiwari, HSI/India media manager: stiwari@hsi.org
Humane Society International says move would spare many thousands of animals
Humane Society International / Global
WASHINGTON—In a move applauded by global animal protection leader Humane Society International, China’s State Council has finalized regulations that significantly modernize cosmetic safety assessment and lay critical groundwork for removal of the longstanding requirement to animal test all imported ordinary cosmetics, a practice which in the past decade has consumed between 50,000 and more than 120,000 rabbits each year. Effective Jan. 1, 2021, imported ordinary cosmetics such as shampoo, blusher, mascara and perfume may no longer have to be animal tested for eye and skin irritation in Chinese laboratories. Ordinary cosmetics make up the bulk of personal care products imported to China; so-called “special” cosmetics will still require animal testing.
Kitty Block, CEO of Humane Society International, which leads the global #BeCrueltyFree campaign and has long supported training in non-animal test methods in China, said: “We are delighted that China has taken this important step toward cruelty-free cosmetics regulation. China remains one of the few countries in the world to require animal tests for beauty products, so removing this requirement for everyday cosmetics would be a game changer for cruelty-free beauty. The era of cosmetic animal testing is nearly at an end, and through our global #BeCrueltyFree campaign we are passing laws in key cosmetic markets to ensure that no animal is ever again made to suffer in the name of beauty. We are also excited to be working with brand leaders and scientists in the beauty sector to build trust, acceptance and national capacity in animal-free approaches to cosmetic safety assessment.”
The new Regulations on Cosmetics Supervision and Administration encourages and supports cosmetics producers and operators in adopting modern science and technology and advanced management standards to improve the quality and safety of cosmetics. Validated and internationally recognized alternatives to animal testing are readily available to companies, and, through the Animal-Free Safety Assessment Collaboration, Humane Society International and our industry and NGO partners are developing and delivering free training resources to help countries increase their capacity to make cosmetic safety decisions without reliance on new animal test data.
The regulation also provides for routine post-market sampling inspections by provincial authorities, including for cosmetics with reported safety problems. It is unclear whether such inspections and investigations could involve animal testing. This uncertainty has long been a barrier to cruelty-free beauty brands entering the Chinese market.
Worldwide, nearly 40 countries have outlawed animal testing for cosmetics, driven in large part by the #BeCrueltyFree campaign led by HSI and our national affiliates and partners. Today
HSI is leading simultaneous legislative efforts in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the Association of South-East Asian Nations, with the goal of having robust bans introduced by the end of 2023.
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Notes to editors:
Cosmetics used for hair and skin coloring, perming, sun protection, anti-hair loss, children’s products and cosmetics claiming new effects are termed ‘special’ cosmetics and are still subject to animal testing requirements. Cosmetics other than special cosmetics are ordinary cosmetics.
China new cosmetic import registrations between 2010 and 2013 reflected between 6,000 and 13,606 government approvals for non-special-use (ordinary) cosmetics. Each of these products would have been subject to 3 animal tests, each using 3 rabbits (6,000 x 3 x 3 = ~54,000 rabbits in 2010; 13,606 x 3 x 3 = ~122,454 rabbits in 2013).
HSI’s #BeCrueltyFree campaign was instrumental in securing cosmetic animal testing bans in India, Taiwan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Guatemala, Switzerland and seven states in Brazil. A parallel effort in the U.S., led by the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund, has secured three state-level bans, together with an unprecedented agreement with the industry trade group Personal Care Products Council on language for a federal bill.
Humane Society International / Global
We have watched the events of the past week with great sadness and anguish. We must grapple with the poisonous legacy of racism that continues to cause the disempowerment and deaths of our family, friends and loved ones.
While our mission is changing the systems and industries that harm nonhuman animals, that work is only accomplished through the efforts of people. That means that confronting intolerance is not only a matter of justice: Working toward the equitable empowerment of all people goes to the very heart of our mission. To build a stronger movement for animals, we must stand against racism and alongside those who have been marginalized. We must listen and work to ensure their voices are heard, both in our movement and in society as a whole.
Racism and intolerance have no place in the humane society we are fighting for.
Humane Society International dismayed at listing of farmed wildlife as livestock despite COVID-19 risks
Humane Society International / China
62 dogs rescued from Yulin slaughterhouse June 2019.
WASHINGTON—Just three weeks ahead of China’s infamous Yulin dog meat festival at which thousands of dogs are killed for consumption, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has made official its declaration that dogs are companions and not “livestock” for eating.
Dr Peter Li, China policy specialist for animal protection group Humane Society International, which campaigns across Asia for an end to the dog and cat meat trades, welcomed the news, saying: “Now that the Chinese government has officially recognised dogs as companions and not livestock, we are hopeful that China will take stronger steps to hasten the end of the dog and cat meat trade for which millions of animals continue to suffer every year. The announcement presents cities across China with the perfect opportunity to act upon the government’s words by protecting dogs and cats from the meat trade thieves and slaughterhouses.
In just a few weeks’ time, the dog slaughterhouses of Yulin city will fill up with terrified dogs awaiting brutal slaughter for its infamous festival. A great many of those dogs will have been stolen from homes and streets before being transported to Yulin. They will be precisely the much loved companions and helper dogs referred to in the national government’s statement as being not for food. The Yulin festival is a bloody spectacle that does not reflect the mood or eating habits of the majority of the Chinese people, and its continuation flouts the sentiment expressed by the Ministry of Agriculture. As the Ministry observed, attitudes and appetites about dogs have changed and so now it is time for Yulin’s dog slaughterhouses to lay down the butcher’s knife, and consign the festival to the history books.”
The Ministry’s official statement confirmed that the majority of people who participated in the public consultation process opposed including dogs as livestock. It went on to say that dogs have a long history of domestication from traditionally helping guard the family home, helping in hunting, to now being companions and pets, search and rescue police dogs, assisting those with visual impairment, and generally having an intimate relationship with humans. It noted that the United Nations FAO livestock list does not include dogs, and that internationally dogs are not treated as livestock. The statement concluded by reflecting on the fact that times are changing, and that people’s awareness and diets are changing too including changes in some traditions and customs regarding dogs.
The finalized livestock list includes almost all the animal species published in an earlier draft proposal. A number of wild animals are now officially declared “livestock” such as sika deer, red deer, reindeer, alpaca, guinea-fowl, ring-necked pheasant, partridge, mallard, ostrich, and the three most commonly farmed wild species for China’s fur trade – raccoon dog, silver fox and mink. A separate list of aquatic species is expected to follow.
Dr Teresa Telecky, vice president of wildlife at HSI, says: “The inclusion of wild animal species such as foxes, raccoon dogs and mink, on the finalised livestock list is highly regrettable. Intensively farming these animals in commercial captive breeding environments presents insurmountable welfare challenges as well as potential human health risks from zoonotic diseases. It is self-defeating to close wildlife markets on the one hand while on the other sanctioning the rearing of millions of wild animals in overcrowded and stressful conditions. Rebranding them as livestock instead of the wildlife that they truly are, doesn’t remove the risk to humans or the suffering of those animals. We strongly hope that China removes these species when the list is next reviewed.”
Facts about China’s dog meat trade
Thirty million dogs a year are killed across Asia for meat. There are estimated to be more than 91.49 million dogs and cats kept as pets in China. An estimated 10 million dogs a year are killed for China’s dog meat trade.
The World Health Organization warns that the dog trade spreads rabies and increases the risk of cholera.
Most people in China don’t eat dogs, in fact dog meat is only eaten infrequently by less than 20% of the Chinese population. A 2017 survey revealed that even in Yulin, home of the notorious dog meat festival, most people (72%) don’t regularly eat dog meat despite efforts by dog meat traders to promote it. Nationwide across China, a 2016 survey conducted by Chinese polling company Horizon, and commissioned by Chinese group China Animal Welfare Association in collaboration with Humane Society International and Avaaz, found that most Chinese citizens (64%) want to see an end to the Yulin festival, more than half (51.7%) think the dog meat trade should be completely banned, and the majority (69.5%) have never eaten dog meat.
WASHINGTON—The Chinese city of Wuhan, which was the first to record human cases of COVID-19, has banned the consumption of all wildlife. This follows similar bans in the cities of Beijing, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, and an as-yet temporary nationwide ban on wildlife consumption. Unlike the other cities which have brought in permanent bans, the Wuhan ban will be in place for five years.
Dr Peter Li, Humane Society International’s China policy specialist, said: “Wuhan’s ban on wildlife consumption is extremely welcome as a clear recognition that the public health risk of zoonotic disease spread via the wildlife trade must be taken very seriously if we are to avoid another pandemic. There will however be no less severe of a disease risk from wildlife consumption in five years’ time, so anything short of a permanent and comprehensive ban is still a risk too far. Wuhan becomes the fourth city in mainland China to show such leadership, but we now need cities and countries across the world to step up to the plate and shut down the dangerous wildlife trade.”
The Wuhan ban follows news earlier this week that wildlife farmers in several provinces in mainland China are being offered a buy-out to move away from breeding wild species for consumption, as part of the country’s crackdown on the wildlife trade. Hunan and Jiangxi provinces are among those providing compensation for farmers to transition to alternative livelihoods such as growing fruit, vegetables, tea plants, or herbs for traditional Chinese medicine. Hunan province will offer farmers compensation to the tune of 120 yuan per kilogram of cobra, king rattle snake or rat snake; 75 yuan per kilogram of bamboo rat; 630 yuan per porcupine; 600 yuan per civet cat; and 378 yuan and 2,457 yuan per wild goose and Chinese muntjac deer respectively.
ENDS
Media contact: Wendy Higgins, Director of International Media, whiggins@hsi.org
Humane Society International urges farmers to farm for the future of meat-reduced diets
Humane Society International / Europe
Chat Photography/HSIVegan macaroni and cheese
BRUSSELS—The European Commission will promote a shift to planet-friendly plant-based diets, according to its long-awaited Farm to Fork Strategy published today. As well as tackling climate impacts of food, reducing obesity rates and cancer prevention are cited as key health reasons why meat reduction and a shift to a more plant-based diet is necessary. However, the Commission backed down from making a commitment – seen in an earlier leaked version of the strategy – to cease spending millions of Euros each year on promoting meat production and consumption. Instead, the strategy focuses on how the EU can “use its promotion programme to support the most sustainable, carbon-efficient methods of livestock production”.
The shift in emphasis is part of the Commission’s strategy for a sustainable food system. The push for plant-based foods has been welcomed by animal welfare campaigners at Humane Society International who urge Europe’s farmers to get behind the strategy by farming for the future of meat-reduced diets.
Dr Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for Humane Society International/Europe, says:
“Animal farming makes up roughly 70% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, and climate scientists have long agreed that big reductions in meat and dairy are vital if we are to have any hope of reaching our climate change targets. So within that context, it is deeply disappointing that the EU has chickened out of ending the practice of pouring millions of euros into promoting inefficient and unsustainable meat production and meat consumption. Climate-conscious citizens across Europe are increasingly shifting their diets to include more planet-friendly and animal friendly plant-based foods and so we welcome the fact that EU research funds will now be dedicated to expanding the availability of plant-based proteins and meat substitutes.
It is, however, lamentable that the Commission has partly kowtowed to a factory farming industry that is wholly based on a high-volume, low-price production model routinely propped up by government subsidies. The Farm to Fork Strategy published today should have put this low-animal welfare model on notice, but it has fallen short. If we want to save the planet, we need to stop producing so much meat and dairy, and support a transition to more sustainable forms of agriculture. Farming for a meat-reduced future is something that all farmers should get behind because they are a vital part of the solution. Far from taking away their livelihoods, the plant-based revolution offers a wealth of new and more sustainable possibilities. We should be supporting farmers to transition to new crops and production models, to grow the peas, pulses and vegetables at the heart of rocketing demand for plant-centric diets.”
HSI/Europe welcomes the Commission’s commitment to revising animal welfare legislation and to align it with the latest scientific evidence. This should not just be restricted to animal transport and slaughter. Much of the present animal welfare law is outdated and poorly enforced by most Member States. It is vital that revised legislation is implemented and easily enforced and the European Union achieves a higher level of animal welfare. For example, it is high time to end the confinement animals on farms. For example, the Laying Hens Directive 1999/74/EC should be revised to phase-out and eliminate the use of enriched cages to confine hens, once and for all. Finally, it is welcome that the Commission will also be considering options for animal welfare labelling as part of the strategy. It is a good idea to use labelling to link production methods to consumer demand.
As ever, the devil will be in the details. The Farm to Fork Strategy does not include any concrete plans to reduce the numbers of animals kept on farm in the EU, nor does it put an end to the CAP subsidies that sustain intensive animal agriculture.
Notes
“The Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system” is an important component of the European Green Deal, which seeks to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050, improve people’s well-being and to protect the natural habitat, while ensuring a just and inclusive transition;
The key goals of the strategy are to ensure Europeans get affordable and sustainable food, tackle climate change, protect the environment, preserve biodiversity and increase organic farming;
The strategy encompasses a range of actions relating to ensuring sustainable food production and food security, stimulating sustainable practices in food businesses, reducing food loss and waste, combating food fraud and promoting the global transition;
A number of issues raised in the strategy are specifically relevant to the protection of animals. A commitment is made to revise existing animal welfare legislation. There was virtually no progress made on advancing animal welfare standards during the previous Commission’s mandate and revision is greatly needed to reflect recent developments in animal welfare science. Only the legislation on animal transport and slaughter were explicitly mentioned, but this does not exclude additional legislation from being updated; animal welfare labelling is also proposed;
Action on antimicrobial resistance, which is also linked to animal welfare, is also included in the strategy. A commitment to the reduction in sales of antimicrobials for animals on farms and in aquaculture is proposed;
The strategy recognises that the current food consumption patterns in the EU are unsustainable from both a health and environmental perspective. Reducing obesity rates and cancer prevention are cited as the key health reasons why meat reduction and a shift to a more plant-based diet is necessary;
The strategy seeks to reduce the environmental and climate impact of animal production through supporting innovative solutions and requiring sustainable animal production practices, rather than explicitly calling for a reduction in the number of animals on farms.
To enable the transition to more plant-based diets, the strategy also commits to dedicating EU funds to research into increasing the availability and sourcing of alternative plant proteins and meat substitutes.
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Media contact: To request further information or interview Dr Swabe, email Wendy Higgins whiggins@hsi.org
Deadline: Thursday, May 21 (midnight Brussels-time)
Humane Society International
The European Commission is inviting public input on its strategy for beating cancer.
Currently, more than 1 million animals are used each year in European cancer research, funded by taxpayers to the tune of millions of euros. Yet despite the high welfare cost to animals, industry reports reveal that a cancer drugs that show promise in animal tests have a mere 5.1% ‘likelihood of approval’ for clinical use.
To develop the urgently needed, affordable and effective treatments for patients, the EU needs to prioritise funding for research of innovative, advanced technologies that are focused on humans.
After registering using a social media account for authentication, click on the yellow ‘Respond to the questionnaire’ box to begin.
The consultation includes 22 questions, most of which are optional, but ones marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory for statistical purposes.
Below are some tips on completing 5 key questions in particular:
Question 2, third bullet point: What do you think public authorities/national governments can do to help beat cancer?
To develop the urgently needed, affordable and effective treatments for patients, EU public authorities need to prioritise funding of human-relevant, animal-free research. Horizon’s Europe’s Cancer Mission should focus on sophisticated human cell culture, computational approaches, and other innovative, advanced technologies and methodologies to better model human cancer. These approaches are proving more accurate than mouse models, and already offer a route to personalised tumour treatments for people with cancer today, as well as an effective platform for evaluating new treatments.
Question 4: Do you have enough information about how to prevent cancer? When selecting ‘No’, the survey asks ‘What information would you need?’
The EU needs to invest in and adopt human-based, animal-free safety assessment strategies that allow us to better understand which chemicals have the potential to cause cancer in humans. By speeding up the replacement of failing animal models with new human-relevant technologies that better predict cancer hazard, EU authorities will be able to take swifter and more appropriate measures to limit exposure to harmful chemicals that could lead to cancer.
Question 8: What could Europe do to ensure that cancer patients across Europe receive the best available treatment at an affordable price, independently of where they live?
Patients and health systems end up paying more because they currently have to cover the cost of development of the overwhelming number of potential cancer drugs that fail to work in humans after being tested in animals. To make cancer drugs more affordable, we need to stop funding unreliable preclinical strategies that use animals as human surrogates and fully invest in human-based, animal-free platforms that faithfully replicate human diseases.
Question 18: Tell us what a successful cancer plan means to you. 10 years after we implement the plan, what should have improved in the lives of European citizens?
A successful plan will have saved more lives than ever before! It will have provided cancer patients with better quality of life, less drug side effects, and improved access to high quality treatment. It will also have reduced the incidence of cancer through education and by offering better screening and diagnostic tests. Crucially, a successful plan will have contributed to advancing science and improving the health and well-being of all citizens by funding innovative biomedical research technologies that are human-focused and reject the use of animal surrogates to mimic the human condition.
Question 22: Is there anything else that you would like to add that has not been covered in this consultation?
Despite more than 1 million animals being used each year in European cancer research, a shocking 97% of cancer drugs that appear promising in animals fail to work in human patients. It is clear that current methodologies for developing and testing new cancer treatments are not working. Cancer is a highly complex and very individual disease that cannot be fully understood whilst research focuses on experimentation with animal models that cannot accurately mimic human cancer. The EU needs to invest in human-relevant research and testing that accelerates the replacement of failing animal models.
Farmers offered $88 per porcupine, $84 per civet cat, or $17 per kg of cobra snakes
Humane Society International / China
Trevor Mogg/Alamy Stock photoLive animals for sale at a market in China in 2020
WASHINGTON—Wildlife farmers in two provinces in mainland China are being offered a government buy-out to facilitate a move away from breeding wild species for consumption, as part of the country’s crackdown on the wildlife trade in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plans, published on May 15th, see Hunan and Jiangxi provinces provide an exit strategy for wildlife farmers who will be compensated to allow them to transition to alternative livelihoods such as growing fruit, vegetables, tea plants, or herbs for traditional Chinese medicine. Some may choose to switch to breeding other animals such as pigs and chickens.
On February 24th, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress banned wild animal consumption for food, and wildlife campaigners at Humane Society International hope that the province-sponsored buy-out plans will help to ensure the ban is a success.
Hunan province will offer farmers compensation to the tune of 120 yuan per kilogram of cobra, king rattle snake or rat snake; 75 yuan per kilogram of bamboo rat; 630 yuan per porcupine; 600 yuan per civet cat; and 378 yuan and 2,457 yuan per wild goose and Chinese muntjac deer respectively.
Dr Peter Li, Humane Society International’s China policy specialist, said: “By subsidising wildlife breeders to transition to alternative livelihoods, these provinces are demonstrating global leadership on this issue, which other provinces and countries must now follow. Chinese farmers not only have an opportunity to leave a trade that poses a direct threat to human health – something that can no longer be tolerated in light of COVID – but also to transition to more humane and sustainable livelihoods such as growing plant foods popular in Chinese cuisine. This is a model for change that Humane Society International has been putting into practice with dog meat farmers in South Korea for some years, with dog farmers transitioning over to farming chillies, mushrooms, and water parsley. In China you can easily imagine the vast sheds that once factory farmed bamboo rats and other unfortunate wildlife, being adapted to grow mushrooms and herbs instead.”
Dr Li believes the closure of China’s destructive wildlife consumption trade could have the advantageous consequence of boosting the availability of healthy plant-based foods, in line with China’s national dietary guidelines recommending a 50% reduction in meat consumption. “People in China are increasingly interested in plant-based foods, in fact, a more plant-centred diet is far more traditional than one based on wildlife meats, or intensively farmed domesticated animals, as Chinese cuisines have led the way with plant proteins such as tofu and seitan.”
The buy-out plan does have a blind spot, it does not include the vast number of wild animals bred in China not for consumption but for fur, traditional Chinese medicine and for entertainment/pet trade/display. China’s overall wildlife trade is worth around 520 billion yuan ($73 billion/£57 billion), but although global focus has understandably been on wildlife consumption trade worth 125 billion yuan ($18 billion/£14 billion), the largest proportion of China’s wildlife farming – the fur industry worth 389 billion yuan ($55 billion/£43billion) annually – is conspicuous by its absence from any COVID-19 related bans or buy-outs. In fact there are plans afoot in China to reclassify the millions of raccoon dogs, foxes and mink farmed for fur from “wildlife” to “livestock” as part of a new resource list by the Ministry of Agriculture, State Forestry and Grassland Bureau.
Dr Teresa Telecky, HSI’s vice president of wildlife, said: “Rebranding fur-bearing wildlife as livestock doesn’t alter the fact that there are insurmountable challenges to keeping these species in commercial captive breeding environments, and that their welfare needs simply can’t be met. In addition, there’s clear evidence that some of these species can act as intermediate hosts of viruses, such as COVID-19, which is why governments around the world must stop all trading in wildlife.”
As part of the buy-out plans in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, the fate of the wildlife stock is also a welfare issue of concern. There are three options proposed – release of animals into the wild in suitable and non-residential habitat; utilisation by other industries such as zoos, laboratory research, and traditional medicine; or mass culling.
HSI’s Dr Li said: “While the transition of wildlife farmers to other livelihoods is of course a very positive move for both people and animals, a really sad inevitable consequence of that is that a vast number of the wild animals being mass produced on farms across China will likely be culled or moved to other exploitative industries such as zoos and traditional medicine where animal welfare is typically extremely low and conditions woefully sub-standard. Culling programs in China and other countries in Asia can also involve truly barbaric methods such as live burial, and so we really hope to see the Chinese authorities mandating against such cruelty. The wild animal breeding farms and factories facing closure and transition must not sacrifice animal welfare in an effort to implement the new changes.”
Only farms that have been operating legally with breeding permits before February 24th are eligible for compensation. The initial roll-out covers 14 species of farmed wildlife. A second group of farmed species will be announced after the finalisation of the government’s “livestock” list.
ENDS
Media contact: Wendy Higgins, Director of International Media – whiggins@hsi.org
40 million dogs and cats killed annually despite rabies risk
Humane Society International / Global
Hoang Xuan ThuyLive dogs being sold by a dog trader in Vietnam May 2020
WASHINGTON—Animal protection groups from around the world have joined forces to urge governments across Asia to act urgently to permanently shut down unsanitary and brutal dog and cat meat markets and trades, amid growing global concern about zoonotic diseases and public health danger zones. Member organisations from the Asia for Animals coalition, including Humane Society International, FOUR PAWS International and Change for Animals Foundation, say the dog and cat meat trades pose a serious danger from the deadly rabies virus and other notifiable diseases, such as cholera, with dogs and cats often traded and slaughtered in the very same wildlife markets as wild animals who are the focus of COVID-19 concern.
Download video & photos (taken April, May 2020) of dogs on sale at markets in China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
An estimated 30 million dogs and 10 million cats are killed every year for the meat trade, mainly in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, India, and Laos. Most of this trade is in dogs and cats stolen from homes and back yards, as well as owned and roaming dogs snatched from the streets, with well-established links to the spread of rabies, cholera and trichinosis.
Kelly O’Meara, vice president of companion animals at Humane Society International, said: “Across the globe, nations are united in a collective response to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, including calls to close wildlife markets that can act as a petri dish for zoonotic diseases. Within that context, it is only responsible for governments across Asia to also tackle the dog and cat meat trades that, while not connected to COVID-19, undoubtedly pose their own significant human health risks, such as the spread of trichinosis, cholera and rabies that kill tens of thousands of people every year. With hundreds of dogs at a time crammed onto trucks and driven across provincial and even international borders to filthy slaughterhouses and markets where these highly stressed animals are then displayed and slaughtered alongside myriad wild and domestic species, it’s easy to see how this trade is not only utterly brutal, but also the perfect breeding ground for the next serious public health disaster. New pathogens could jump to humans in a number of ways – a dog trader wounded during the day’s slaughter, a local consumer eating cross-contaminated dog meat bought at a nearly stall, or a tourist breathing in microscopic blood droplets as they sight-see in the market. This is no time for complacency or turning a blind eye; the dog and cat meat trades need to be shut down with urgency.”
The rabies virus has been found in brain specimens of dogs traded for human consumption in China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Not only is there a risk in handling the dogs, and in the extremely unsanitary slaughter and butchery process, but there is also some reason for concern surrounding consumption itself, likely through contamination due to unhygienic conditions. The cholera bacterium has also been found in samples of dog meat, equipment and waste-water released from slaughterhouses in Hanoi, Vietnam. There have also been historical reports in Vietnam and the Philippines of patients with signs of rabies infection who had been involved in preparing and eating dogs and cats who may have been infected.
In a statement to the Dog Meat Free Indonesia coalition, the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed, “There are reports that dog-meat markets have a higher rate of rabies than the general dog population, as people often sell dogs to the markets when they act sick; some of these sick dogs have rabies.… Furthermore, there are at least three published reports of humans acquiring rabies from activities associated with the dog meat market, emphasizing that the risk is very real.”
In many countries, the trade in dogs and cats for meat is largely fueled by criminal activity. Lola Webber, from the Change for Animals Foundation, says: “The dog and cat meat trades in Indonesia rely on criminal activity and there is increasing frustration among pet owners at the lack of action by law enforcement to deter or punish armed thieves who terrorise neighbourhoods and steal people’s dogs and cats. Once stolen, the animals are sold to slaughterhouses, markets and restaurants, kept in squalid conditions often alongside many other species of animals from various sources. The slaughter of dogs and cats is brutal, they are bludgeoned in the streets and then blowtorched, often whilst still alive. The streets are covered in pools of blood and the remains of other slaughtered animals. The cruelty alone is horrifying, but the risk of disease transmission is huge for anyone trading, slaughtering, butchering or even visiting these live animal markets. The Indonesian Government pledged it would ban the trade in August 2018, but we’ve seen very little commitment for action from provincial or central government. If COVID-19 isn’t a wake-up call, I don’t know what will be. If you told me tomorrow that there was a disease outbreak originating in one of the markets in North Sulawesi, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised, and with the number of tourists visiting these places, the result could be terrifying.”
In Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and parts of India, it is not unusual to see dogs and cats sold and slaughtered alongside other species including wildlife such as bats, snakes and rats, as well as other animals such as chickens and ducks. With growing global concern regarding the emergence of novel and deadly viruses from markets where multiple species are sold, the campaign groups are urging governments to take action. These markets provide an ideal environment for viral recombination and transmission between species, with potentially deadly results.
Cambodia’s government is being urged to publicly dispel myths that dog meat has medicinal benefits, including the belief it can ward off viruses including the one that causes COVID-19. Veterinarian Katherine Polak with FOUR PAWS in Southeast Asia, says: “The proliferation of completely unfounded, unscientific misinformation about dog meat is really worrying, with physicians even recommending dog meat to patients to treat various ailments. While we completely appreciate that cultures and habits are not easily changed, the government has a responsibility to safeguard the health of the nation as well as comply with global animal welfare standards. In Cambodia, dogs are being bludgeoned and drowned in fetid drowning pits, with total disregard for rabies which is endemic across Asia, while the government continues to do very little to protect people or animals.”
Asia overview
Vietnam: An estimated 5 million dogs and 1 million cats are killed every year despite laws and regulations being in place to make it illegal. Implementation is extremely poor, with traders having a total disregard for law enforcement. In 2018, Hanoi government officials called for an end to the dog meat industry, citing health and public image concerns. A pledge to phase out the slaughtering and trading of dogs for meat by 2021 is yet to be actioned, but a nationwide crackdown is needed to avoid the trade simply shifting elsewhere.
India: The cruel transport and slaughter of dogs violates several provisions of India’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the consumption of dogs is illegal under the Food Safety and Standard Regulations in India, and yet in the north-eastern states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and others, an estimated ten thousand dogs a year continue to be brutally bludgeoned to death in ‘killing pits’. Dogs are also smuggled from across Assam, West Bengal within India and Bangladesh and Myanmar from outside of India.
Indonesia: An estimated 2 million dogs and significant number of cats are killed a year, with many hotspots trading tens of thousands of dogs every month. In addition to slaughterhouses and dog meat-selling restaurants operating throughout most provinces of Indonesia, in dog meat-eating hotspots such as North Sulawesi, live dogs and cats are sold and slaughtered in live animal markets, where conditions are incredibly unsanitary, and domestic and wildlife animals and meats are sold alongside each other. The Dog Meat Free Indonesia (DMFI) coalition has conducted nationwide investigations documenting the inherent cruelty, illegality and dangers of the dog and cat meat trades.
China: An estimated 10+ million dogs and 4 million cats are killed for the meat trade annually, the vast majority of whom are stolen pets. There is no nationwide animal protection legislation in China, however in recent weeks the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai have introduced city-wide bans on dog and cat meat consumption, and the national government also publicly stated that dogs are considered companions not livestock. This distinction could inspire other cities in mainland China to follow this lead and introduce bans.
South Korea: Up to 2 million dogs a year are intensively reared on farms, without veterinary treatment or basic welfare such as water provision. Humane Society International works co-operatively with the growing number of dog farmers seeking an exit from the trade, to close dog farms and rescue dogs. Many dogs HSI encounters on these farms are former pets abandoned at the farm gates, or dogs originally bred for the pet trade.
Cambodia: Up to 3 million dogs are killed each year in the Kingdom, with an unknown number exported into Vietnam for consumption. According to a market research study conducted by FOUR PAWS, a total of 53.6% of respondents indicated that they have eaten dog meat at some time in their lives (72.4% of men and 34.8% of women), however the practice remains controversial among Khmer people. Supplying the demand, dogs are routinely snatched from the streets, stolen from homes, or traded for aluminium pots and pans and trafficked across the country to slaughterhouses and restaurants. There are more than 100 dog meat restaurants in the capital city of Phnom Penh alone, most having opened in the last 2-3 years.
Lao PDR: The consumption of dogs in Laos remains relatively undocumented. However, reports of theft and trafficking of dogs for consumption are common. Laos lacks any animal welfare laws, including those that would prohibit killing dogs for consumption.
Download video & photos (taken April, May 2020) of dogs on sale at markets in China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
ENDS
Media contact: Wendy Higgins, Director of International Media: whiggins@hsi.org
