Update, 9 August: The amendments to Animal Protection Law No. 5199 have been signed by President Erdoğan and published in the Official Gazette, which were the last steps before they could enter into force. Humane Society International will continue to follow the news from Türkiye and is ready to offer its expertise in the field of dog population management and collaborate with decision-makers on finding a long-term working solution. At the same time, we are very concerned about the news of mass graves of dogs found recently in different parts of the country and strongly condemn all forms of cruelty against street animals.
Update, 30 July: Despite our and other animal welfare groups’ efforts to reach out to members of Parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye adopted the amendments to Animal Protection Law No. 5199, which open the door for mass killing of stray dogs and at the same time do not allow for animals who are neutered and vaccinated to be returned to their familiar territories. Before the law enters into force, it needs to be signed by President Erdoğan.
ANKARA, Türkiye—Humane Society International is deeply concerned about recent developments in Türkiye regarding the treatment of community dogs and cats living on the streets. The ruling coalition has announced plans to introduce a law to allow the killing of roaming cats and dogs who, after a short period in shelters, are not claimed by their family or adopted. This represents a significant and alarming shift from Türkiye’s previously progressive stance on street animal welfare.
Türkiye has long been considered a model for its humane and effective approach to managing street animal populations, historically prioritizing the well-being of animals through policies that emphasize spay, neuter and return to their communities. These progressive and compassionate efforts have not only helped control street dog and cat populations humanely but have also garnered international praise.
The proposed legislation threatens to undermine these achievements, causing unnecessary suffering and death to countless animals in a short-term fix that won’t deliver a long-term solution. In light of these developments, HSI haswritten to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressing our profound concerns and offering our expertise and assistance to both local and central authorities in Türkiye to implement effective and humane street dog and cat management programs that align with global best practices.
As an organization dedicated to animal welfare with a long track record of successful programmes to humanely manage street animal populations, we believekilling is not only cruel, but also ineffective. HSI strongly urges the Turkish government to reconsider this legislation and instead to invest in solutions that prevent the suffering of animals while sustainably and effectively addressing public health and safety concerns.
ENDS
Media contact: Yavor Gechev, communications director for HSI/Europe, ygechev@hsi.org ; +359889468098 ; +393515266629
Humane Society International / South Korea
A ban on the dog meat industry will come into effect until 2027. Meanwhile, call for a dog meat-free Bok Nal.
Up to 2.5 million South Koreans identify as vegan
Humane Society International / South Korea
Jean Chung
SEOUL—More than 20 Korean animal protection groups and hundreds of citizens are expected to gather in Seoul on July 13 to mark the start of South Korea’s first Bok Nal since the National Assembly voted in January to ban the dog meat industry.
Although appetite for dog meat soup (bosintang ) is at an all-time low, its consumption is most popular during Bok Nal, when it is believed by some to help beat the heat. This Bok Nal—which begins on July 15—Humane Society International/Korea is urging citizens to have a dog meat-free Bok Nal and believes the phase out plan and government support offers dog meat farmers an opportunity to leave behind them a dying industry with no financial future and embrace South Korea’s growing plant-based food culture.
A 2021 Statista survey estimates that up to 2.5 million people in South Korea identify as vegan and HSI/Korea believes instead of converting farms to rear other animals such as black goats or pigs, dog farmers should capitalize on consumer interest in eating for human health, animal welfare and the planet.
Since 2015 HSI/Korea’s Models for Change program has worked with 18 dog meat farmers, providing one-off grants to transition them out of the industry to a new life.
HSI/Korea’s dog meat campaign manager, Sangkyung Lee, says: “While some of the elderly dog meat farmers with whom HSI/Korea has worked have chosen to retire, most farmers have transitioned their businesses to humane, sustainable livelihoods such as growing crops, water delivery and other trades. With government support, it should be entirely possible for most dog farmers to switch to humane industries that don’t exploit dogs or any other animals such as black goats or pigs. With more South Koreans than ever before exploring healthier plant-based eating, it would be a smart move for dog farmers to switch to producing the fresh vegetables and herbs that consumers are seeking for meat-free cooking.”
The South Korean market for plant-based foods is booming. The Korea Vegan Union estimates that one-third of the population regularly enjoy vegetarian meals, and surveys show that Korean consumers are increasingly interested in eating more meat-free meals for health and environmental protection reasons. In a Nielsen Korea opinion poll commissioned by HSI/Korea in 2023, 32.1% of respondents believe that no animals should be killed for meat. The Korea Rural Economic Institute forecasts that the domestic plant-based alternative food market size will grow to KRW 280 billion by 2026, and the Korean Tourism Organization has even launched the country’s first ever vegan food tour to capitalize on its vibrant plant-based cuisine.
In addition to the market opportunities of plant-based agriculture, HSI/Korea believes that transitioning to farming other animals such as black goats or pigs would simply replace one work intensive and environmentally polluting animal-based industry with another.
Sangkyung Lee explains: “With improved environmental protection regulations in South Korea, one of the most common complaints local authorities receive about dog farms is the noise and the smell. We know that this has caused major issues for many dog farmers, so why repeat those issues with pigs and goats when you can grab this opportunity for a more peaceful and sustainable arable farming venture that plugs into people’s passion for healthful plant-based foods?”
The Special Act on the Prohibition of Dog Meat Consumption will see the breeding, slaughter and sale of dogs for meat banned by 2027. Dog meat farms, slaughterhouses and restaurants that submit a closure implementation plan by August 5 will qualify for government financial support to close or transition to a new business. By September, the government will publish its Basic Plan to End Dog Meat Consumption which is intended to include practical details of how it intends to phase out the estimated 1,507 dog meat farms, 163 dog slaughterhouses, 2,276 dog meat restaurants and how to address the more than 500,000 dogs who are estimated to be living on dog meat farms.
South Korea now joins a growing list of countries, territories, provinces, cities and regencies across Asia that have banned the dog meat trade (with varying degrees of enforcement), including Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, India, Thailand and Singapore, as well as the cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai in mainland China, Siem Reap province in Cambodia, and 45 cities, regencies and provinces in Indonesia. In 2022 HSI expanded its Models for Change program into Viet Nam where 5 million dogs and 1 million cats are trafficked and killed annually for meat; so far six dog or cat meat businesses have closed and transitioned as a result of the program.
ENDS
Media contact: Wendy Higgins, director international media ; whiggins@hsi.org
Notes
This survey was conducted online in August 2023, targeting 1,500 respondents aged 18 to 59, considering gender, age and regional demographics, with margin of error +-2.53%.
Cat farmer supports Humane Society International’s campaign to ban the cat meat trade
Humane Society International / Global
Meredith Lee/HSUS Quang Nguyen, Program Manager of Companion Animals for HSI Viet Nam, spends time with a kitten at the 6th Models for Change facility in Viet Nam, a cat fattening facility where cats are fattened before slaughter for the cat meat trade, on June 6, 2024 in Thai Nguyen province.
THAI NGUYEN , Viet Nam—The owner of a cat fattening farm and slaughterhouse in Thai Nguyen, where kittens were fattened up and killed for the cat meat trade, has expressed his relief at being able to leave animal cruelty behind him thanks to a charity program. Through working with Humane Society International’s Viet Nam team, the farmer has been able to close up shop and start a new life growing crops. An estimated 1 million cats a year are killed for meat in Viet Nam but recent opinion polls show that the majority of the population (71%) support a ban on both cat meat consumption and trade.
Sixty one-year-old Mr. Nguyễn Đức Thịnh, who ran the cat fattening farm and slaughterhouse for five years in Quyet Thang commune, Thai Nguyen city, received a one-off grant from HSI’s Models for Change program that enabled him to permanently close his business and transition the property to grow tea, guava and pomelo fruit for local markets instead. Mr Thịnh purchased kittens from local villages and fattened them to slaughter weight to be killed by scalding with boiling water followed by drowning. He said despite making a decent income, the guilt of causing so much suffering and becoming aware of the trade’s potential to spread deadly rabies weighed heavily on his conscience. Thanks to the collective efforts of HSI’s Viet Nam team and the provincial Department of Animal Health, he was relieved to be able to leave the cat meat trade behind him.
Mr. Thịnh said: “When I started the business five years ago, I had no idea that the cat and dog meat trades were linked to the spread of rabies and other diseases, and I never expected to be so affected by the suffering of the cats. Now that I am aware, I feel an immense sense of regret and I am hugely relieved to leave it all behind me. Scalding and drowning is a terrible death for any animal and I hate to think how many thousands of cats have endured that fate because of my business. I’m looking forward to leading a peaceful life growing crops instead. The cat and dog meat trades are a risk to the health of both people and animals, so I’m very proud to be a part of HSI’s Models for Change program. Without them my new life would never have been possible.”
HSI’s team in Viet Nam rescued 20 young cats—including some who had been born on the farm in filthy conditions—as part of the closure. The HSI team took the cats to a custom-made sheltering facility at Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry to receive medical care. Sixteen of the cats will be flown to the charity’s care and rehabilitation center in the United States to seek adoptive families, while the kittens will join them once they are old enough to fly with their mother.
Mr Thịnh’s farm is the sixth dog or cat meat trade business to permanently close as part of HSI’s Viet Nam Models for Change program since it launched in the country in 2022. The charity has operated Models for Change in South Korea since 2015, succeeding in seeing a similar scheme become part of the legislative ban on the industry passed by South Korea’s National Assembly in January this year. HSI hopes South Korea’s ban creates a blueprint for change that the government in Viet Nam can follow.
Quang Nguyen, HSI’s Viet Nam companion animals and engagement program manager, said: “Our Models for Change program here in Viet Nam is demonstrating that cat and dog meat business owners like Mr Thịnh can be part of the solution to end these cruel and dangerous trades. Trafficking and slaughtering millions of cats and dogs for meat each year, whether they are stolen from the streets, smuggled into the country, or transported on journeys sometimes spanning the county from fattening farms, jeopardises human health and causes immense animal suffering. South Korea’s recent ban on dog meat farming and sales proves that legislative change is possible, and we believe the health of Viet Nam’s citizens, as well as the welfare of its cats and dogs, would be safeguarded by a similar ban in this country.”
Most cats killed for meat in Viet Nam are strays and pets snatched while roaming the streets. Traders use food baits to lure the cats into homemade spring-loaded snares. Others are smuggled in on trucks and buses from surrounding provinces as far south as Ho Chi Minh City and even internationally from countries such as Cambodia. Those who survive these ordeals go on to be crammed together in cages and loaded onto trucks to be driven incredible distances across Viet Nam, often travelling for more than 24 hours without rest, food or water in suffocating conditions, with many dying along the way. Cat fattening farms like Mr Thịnh’s are far less common; the kittens are sold to farms at such a young age, they are highly vulnerable to disease and many succumb to the squalid conditions.
The link between the dog meat trade and the spread of deadly rabies has been well established by the World Health Organization and others, but cats are also susceptible to rabies and so the combined trades undermine rabies elimination efforts. This is another compelling driver to end the trade, in addition to the suffering and killing of 5 million dogs and 1 million cats a year for meat in Viet Nam.
Cat meat trade facts
Cat meat dishes called “thịt mèo” (cat meat) and “tiểu hổ” or “little tiger” are particularly common around the capital, Hanoi, and in northern provinces.
Northern Viet Nam shares a large border with Southern China where cat meat and cats are readily available and easily trafficked. In 2015 a truck loaded with thousands of cats in bamboo crates being trafficked from China was intercepted in Viet Nam. Despite animal groups pleading to offer help, the authorities buried the cats alive. In 2017, Vietnamese officials stopped a truck transporting5 tons of rotting cat and chicken carcasses which were on their way to the cat meat consuming “hotspot” of Thai Binh province. In 2018, nine cooler boxes containing almost one ton of frozen cats was intercepted between Dong Nai province in the south and Thai Binh province in the north.
In 1998, the Prime Minister issued a directive banning the hunting, slaughtering and consumption of cats in efforts to encourage cat ownership to keep the rat population under control. However, little to no action was taken to combat the trade, and the directive was eventually repealed in 2020.
A Nielsen opinion poll conducted in October 2023 and commissioned by HSI shows that cat meat is consumed by a relative minority of the Vietnamese population (21%). By far the top reasons for not consuming dog and cat meat are a belief that they are companion animals and an aversion to animal cruelty.
The poll also shows an astonishing 87% of people have either had a pet stolen or have an acquaintance whose pet has been stolen. Pet theft is becoming a growing societal issue in Viet Nam, with the increasing animal-loving and pet owning population frustrated with the lack of law enforcement to protect their animals from unscrupulous thieves and traders.
Download video and photos of the cat slaughterhouse closure operation HERE
ENDS
Media contacts:
HSI Global: Wendy Higgins, director of international media: whiggins@hsi.org
Nielsen’s online survey of Vietnamese citizens was conducted in September 2023 with recipients aged between 25 – 60 years old, with a total sample size of 800 and a margin of error of +- 2.53%.
The new Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, if passed, will set stricter penalties against animal cruelty and recognize five fundamental freedoms for all animals
Humane Society International / India
Erin Van Voorhies
DELHI, India—With the newly formed Government assuming office this month, Humane Society International/India and People for Animals urge the Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a letter to expedite passage of the long-awaited Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Amendment) Bill 2022 in the upcoming Monsoon session of the Parliament. The draft bill introduces amendments to the current animal law including stringent penalties for animal cruelty, newer cognizable offenses, and establishes five fundamental freedoms for every animal—freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury, and disease; and freedom to express normal and natural behavior.
Despite India having some of the strongest animal laws in the world, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 has remained unchanged since its adoption, giving scope to animal offenders to go scot-free after committing serious crimes against animals. Currently, the maximum fine for even the most heinous crime against animals—including beating, poisoning, raping or burning an animal—is a mere Rs. 50 (and Rs. 100 for repeat offenders).
The pressure to update this law has been increasing since 2016, with over 400,000 signatures submitted on petitions to amend the animal welfare laws. In 2022, over 180 parliamentarians demanded such an amendment, echoed by the 50,000 emails and letters sent in 2023 by animal advocates and the general public to PM Narendra Modi to amend the 1960 Act.
Alokparna Sengupta, managing director of Humane Society International/India, said: “There is an urgent need for bringing the new act. In the long run, the lack of a better law poses a great threat to society at large. In the pursuit of compassion, justice and a more humane society, the time to act is now and we need urgent reforms from the newly elected Government that will act as a deterrent against animal cruelty and be applicable to both individuals and institutions.”
Gauri Maulekhi, trustee of People for Animals, said: “Amending the PCA Act is imperative and long overdue. It is wellknown that violence against animals is a precursor to violence against other vulnerable members of our society, be it women, children or our elders. Strengthening this law protects animals and serves as a pivotal step towards cultivating empathy and respect, fostering a society where compassion thrives, and brutality finds no haven.”
Some recent cruelty cases of a highly disturbing nature include that of Jai, the community dog in Mumbai being brutally killed ; a pet golden retriever in Gurgaon thrashed in an elevator by a dog walker; and a street dog being beaten brutally in Jagatpuri, Delhi. The passage of this law is expected to set a strong precedent by raising fines and punishment for cruelty offenses against animals and helping to build a society that treats domesticated and wild animals with care and compassion.
Urge the new government to keep up with the times and adopt better laws against animal cruelty by signing the petition.
Facts:
Apart from the meager penalties, many offenses against animals under the current laws are bailable and non-cognizable, which means accused individuals can seek bail easily and prevent immediate police action without court permission.
The main objective of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is to prevent unnecessary pain or suffering on animals, to adopt guidelines regarding experimentation on animals for scientific purposes and to empower a committee to make rules with regards to such experiments, and to restrict the exhibition and training of performing animals.
#NoMore50 campaign was started by HSI/India and PFA after Shaktiman, a white horse, was beaten brutally by n member of the Legislative Assembly in 2016. #NoMore50 is a call to demand social justice and amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, by increasing the penalty from a mere Rs. 50. Since 2016, the campaign has received enormous support from people from all walks of life including eminent judges, celebrities and members of the Legislative Assembly.
Several MPs in the past including Hema Malini, Pankal Chaudhry, Arjun Lal Meena, Dr. K. Laxman, Margani Bharat Ram, Dr. Mohammed Jawed and Raja Amreshwara Naik had written to the Prime Minister requesting that the proposed Amendment Bill be brought up for discussion.
More than 50 puppies are rescued by Humane Society International
Humane Society International / Viet Nam
Meredith Lee/HSUS
THAI NGUYEN , Viet Nam—More than 50 puppies have been rescued from two dog meat fattening farms in Thai Nguyen as part of a joint effort between the local government and animal charity Humane Society International to crack down on the dog meat trade in one of Viet Nam’s dog meat hotspots. The owners of the two facilities, where puppies were bought from local villages and fattened up for weeks to reach slaughter weight, plan to transition to new sustainable livelihoods, one an agricultural supply store and the other a crop smallholding.
These are the fourth and fifth dog or cat meat trade businesses to close under HSI’s Models for Change program, coming less than three months after Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a directive instructing local authorities to strictly implement rabies prevention and control. The link between the dog meat trade and the spread of deadly rabies has been well established by the World Health Organization and others. The trade undermines rabies elimination efforts because it removes vaccinated dogs who are stolen for the meat trade from local communities, effectively removing the barrier to stopping the spread of rabies. This is a compelling driver to end the trade, as is the suffering and killing of 5 million dogs and 1 million cats a year for meat in Viet Nam.
HSI has a three-year agreement with the governments in Dong Nai and Thai Nguyen to transition businesses away from the dog and cat meat trades, implement rabies vaccination and humane dog population management programs as well as promote public awareness campaigns to discourage dog and cat meat consumption. HSI will also work with law enforcement agencies to crack down on dog and cat trafficking activities.
Fifty-two-year old Mr Phạm Dũng ran his puppy fattening farm for seven years before contacting HSI’s Viet Nam team to begin the process of closing up. Supplying puppies to local dog meat restaurants and slaughterhouses for so long has taken its toll on him and he feels deep remorse at the lives he has sent to slaughter.
Mr Dũng told HSI: “I’m looking forward to putting the dog meat trade behind me and growing crops instead. Harvesting beansprouts and sweet potatoes will be a lot more peaceful than fattening puppies for slaughter, and a lot better for my mental health knowing I’m not causing any suffering. It’s also a healthier lifestyle with no links to rabies, so my family and I are happy about this.”
Thirty-five-year old Mr Trần Lê Hậu plans to open an agricultural supply store in his local community supplying seeds and fertilizer for crop cultivation.
“When I first launched this business three years ago, I hoped it would be profitable, but I no longer want to be involved in the dog meat trade,” he said. “I know about the dangers of rabies and other diseases, and I don’t want that for my family or my community.”
Most dogs killed for meat in Viet Nam are stolen pets or strays snatched from the streets using poison bait, painful taser guns, pincers or ropes. Others are smuggled in on trucks and buses from surrounding countries such as Cambodia. Puppy fattening farms, which rely on traders going village to village on motorbikes to exchange puppies for cooking pots or cash, represent a smaller part of the trade but in dog meat hotspots like Thai Nguyen the farms are far more common. The puppies are crammed together in small cages and driven for hours to facilities like those run by Mr Dũng and Mr Hậu for fattening up, many enduring dehydration, suffocation, heatstroke and even death on the journey.
Quang Nguyen, HSI’s Viet Nam companion animals and engagement program manager, said: “The dog meat trade in Viet Nam is not only an animal welfare disaster but also incompatible with canine rabies elimination efforts. The mass, unregulated production and movement of puppies and dogs to supply fattening farms, restaurants and slaughterhouses contravenes internationally recognized guidelines issued by human and animal health experts on how to control and ultimately eliminate rabies.”
Dr Katherine Polak, HSI’s vice president of companion animals and engagement, said: “HSI is working towards ending the trade nationwide so projects like our Models for Change program, in tandem with dog vaccination, law enforcement and public awareness campaigns, are vital to crack down on this cruel and dangerous business. For the more than 50 puppies we’ve rescued from these two facilities, it’s been a lucky escape from the brutal dog meat trade and we look forward to seeing them start their journeys to find loving homes.”
Recent HSI research in Viet Nam has shone a spotlight on the vast network of dog thieves, traffickers and traders who operate across the country. In January this year, investigators observed dogs being brutally treated in holding centres in Thanh Hoa province where they were jabbed with metal poles, dragged by the neck with tongs and crammed into cages in the sweltering heat to be transported for slaughter. The investigators filmed truckloads of dogs, each carrying up to 500 animals, being taken on the highways on journeys lasting many hours without water, food or rest.
The HSI Models for Change project was attended by representatives from Thai Nguyen and Dong Nai provincial Department of Animal Health as well as the central government’s Department of Livestock Production and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Mr Vinh Le Dac, director of Thai Nguyen Animal Husbandry, Veterinary and Fisheries Sub-department, said: “Rabies is a common disease in Viet Nam and the dog meat trade is a cause contributing to the spread of the virus. Therefore, we are very pleased to collaborate with HSI in Viet Nam in the Models for Change program to contribute to promoting companion animal welfare and eliminating rabies in the province. Models for Change contributes to helping dog and cat meat restaurant, slaughterhouse and farm owners transition to better and safer livelihoods for themselves and the community.”
The more than 50 puppies rescued from the two fattening farms have been transported to custom-made sheltering at Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry where they will be vaccinated against rabies and receive medical care and rehabilitation before being made available for local adoption.
Dog meat fact:
HSI originally launched Models for Change in South Korea as part of a strategy to demonstrate to the government that a phase out of the dog meat industry there was achievable in cooperation instead of in conflict with dog farmers. Having played an instrumental role in creating the political momentum that ultimately led to a legislative ban in South Korea, HSI launched Models for Change in Viet Nam in 2022.
Most people in Viet Nam don’t eat dog meat. An Aug./Sept. 2023 Nielsen opinion poll commissioned by HSI found that around one quarter of the population (24%) had consumed dog meat (thịt chó) in the last year, with 64% and 68% of respondents respectively supporting a ban on dog meat consumption and trade. A belief by some consumers persists—despite no scientific evidence—that dog meat has medicinal properties and can increase male virility.
HSI research shows that dog meat is not an expensive delicacy, costing from 150,000 – 200,000 VND ($6 – $8) per dish in Thai Nguyen.
Data from Viet Nam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology shows that a significant proportion of rabies patients become infected with the virus after killing, butchering or eating dogs, as well as from bites. Studies of brain samples of dogs collected from slaughterhouses in northern and southern provinces have also tested positive for the rabies virus.
HSI Global: Wendy Higgins, director of international media; whiggins@hsi.org
HSI in Việt Nam: Thẩm Phượng, country director; phuongth@hsi.org
The Nielsen survey was conducted online in August and September 2023, targeting 800 respondents aged 25 to 60, considering gender, age and regional demographics, with margin of error +-2.53%.
Hunting Act, import and sale of foie gras and fur divides political parties ahead of election
Humane Society International / United Kingdom
HSI
LONDON—The four largest political parties in Westminster set out their animal welfare positions and commitments so far at a landmark first-of-its-kind “Animals Matter” hustings in Westminster yesterday evening as politicians and the public await the next general election.
The Labour Party has committed to ending the import of foie gras if elected. Speaking at the Animals Matter hustings, hosted by four of the UK’s leading animal protection organisations (Humane Society International/UK, Compassion in World Farming, FOUR PAWS UK and RSPCA), Ruth Jones MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Environment Food and Rural Affairs told the audience: “In terms of foie gras, yes we will ban it”, a move that would effectively bring an end to the sale of the cruel fattened duck and goose liver in the UK.
TV celebrity and animal campaigner Pete Wicks addressed a question to the panel about the fur trade, recounting his experience visiting a fur farm in Finland with Humane Society International/UK and how the cruelty he saw made him ashamed that fur from animals suffering in barren cages could end up being sold in the UK. Wicks asked the parties if they would commit to “ending imports of disgustingly cruel products like fur and foie gras”.
In response, SNP panellist Steven Bonnar MP, Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, stated that the SNP is “fully committed to ban fur and foie gras imports”, calling them “barbaric practices”.
Other party spokespeople stopped short of committing to banning fur imports, with Ruth Jones MP (Labour) telling the audience it’s “an obvious one” because of the strength of public support for a ban, but that Labour is waiting on the Government to release the results of its Call for Evidence on the fur market in Great Britain.
The Call for Evidence was launched in May 2021 with the stated intention of using the findings to inform possible future action on the UK fur trade, but over three years on, despite repeated calls from MPs and animal protection organisations, Defra has yet to make the results publicly available. Rebecca Pow MP responded by saying these results would be published “very soon”.
On cracking down on illegal hunting with dogs, the Labour and SNP panellists confirmed they would strengthen the Hunting Act, to close loopholes that facilitate illegal hunting with dogs and to increase penalties, however when pressed for a yes or no answer on whether the Hunting Act should be strengthened the Conservative Minister Rebecca Pow said: “leave it as it is”.
Representing the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron MP committed to ending the ‘cage age’ for hens kept in cages saying “we should ban it” adding that “if we set higher standards for our farmers we need to be applying that also for imports coming into this country because we want to make sure we spread good animal welfare practice across the world”.
The SNP’s Steven Bonnar MP commented: “The SNP knows that animals matter; to our climate, to our health, to our economy, and to all of us as sentient beings. The SNP is proud of its record on animal welfare and we are committed to maintaining our place as leading the way in progressing animal welfare standards across the UK. […] We will also push for bans on trading in cruelty, including stopping the imports of fur, foie gras and hunting trophies, as we know that these cruelties have no place in our nation of animal lovers.”
Conservative Rebecca Pow MP said: “We’re going to be supporting our livestock farmers using public funds to pay for health and welfare enhancements. We also want to make it easier for farmers to transition to the types of production systems that we know the public value. So for example, enabling them to move away from farrowing crates for pigs.” She added: “We just dramatically increased the budget for horticulture to help farmers and growers produce more of our vegetables. That’s a real priority.”
Speaking about fur imports Ruth Jones MP from Labour said: “royalty have said they don’t wear it anymore. The public don’t want it.” She went on to add that if elected, Labour would “build on our legacy and make animal protection a priority, including cracking down on smuggling of puppies and banning the import of hunting trophies. All animals deserve to be protected against inhumane shipment and to be able to live a life of dignity.”
A spokesperson for the Animals Matter coalition said: “We welcome the parties using this platform as an early opportunity to set out their stalls on many critical issues that impact the welfare of millions of sentient beings. The two biggest parties have yet to take a stance on many points, including caging of animals on farms and imports of fur, and we encourage them to include strong commitments in their manifestos. At the upcoming election millions of compassionate voters will be looking at which political parties commit to translate warm words into concrete policies that will improve the welfare of millions of animals at home and abroad.”
Attending the event, Green Party Deputy Leader Zack Polanski told the room that his party would introduce an Animal Protection Commissioner, saying: “We need to make sure that when animals can’t speak up for themselves, we have people elected in Parliament and a Minister in Parliament who can.” Polanski also accused the main parties of being a “weathervane and not a signpost” in tackling animal cruelty, and said that the Green Party would prioritise animal welfare and decency above big profits to big business.
Actor and animal advocate Peter Egan was also in attendance, and said: “Animals matter so much to me. That’s why 15 years ago, I stopped eating them, wearing them, or using them for entertainment, and I find a plant-based life is the most compassionate way of living and it answers a huge amount of the problems that we’re discussing here tonight.”
Protecting animals is a priority for millions of voters, with more than two thirds of UK voters saying that political parties who implement better animal welfare policies have the right priorities.
The event provided a platform for party spokespeople to be directly questioned on their plans – both by the audience and panel moderator ITV news presenter Lucrezia Millarini – across a number of high-profile issues including fox hunting, ending intensive farming practices such as keeping hens and sows confined in cages, and the import and sale of fur, and to address whether they will attempt to deliver on the expectations of millions of animal loving voters when the country goes to the polls. While party manifestos have not yet been finalised, there were commitments put forward by spokespeople which could make a difference for animals across the country.
To request video footage of the event, please contact: sivens@hsi.org
ENDS
Media contact: Sally Ivens, senior media manager, HSI/UK , sivens@hsi.org , 07590 559299
Notes:
The panellists who took part in the event were:
Rebecca Pow MP (Conservative), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Ruth Jones MP (Labour),Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Tim Farron MP (Liberal Democrats), Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Steven Bonnar MP (SNP), Environment, Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Veterinarianss, animal organisations and government authorities trained in new geolocation tech and low-stress methods for street dogs
Humane Society International / India
HSI.
INDIA—To celebrate World Veterinary Day, Humane Society International/India launches an innovative street dog spay and neuter training program to equip veterinary professionals, animal welfare organisations and relevant government agencies with essential skills to improve the well-being of dogs living on the streets. The initiative seeks to address critical challenges in caring for and managing street dogs by improving spay and neuter practices and aligning them with the Animal Welfare Board of India’s 2023 Animal Birth Control Rules.
The program will initially train two animal protection organisations—Jeevdaya Charitable Trust and Just Be Friendly—using a multifaceted curriculum including street dog survey methodologies, low-stress dog handling and catching techniques, GPS tagging procedures facilitated by a mobile application launched by Humane Society International/India, kennel management protocols, clinic protocols, and hands-on spay and neuter surgical training. By integrating newly trained professionals into city directories, the initiative aims to cultivate a network of veterinarians and animal welfare organiszations equipped to adopt humane and innovative techniques to care for dogs living on the streets.
“Veterinarians play a pivotal role in shaping the future of animal welfare, and we are thrilled to announce this groundbreaking program on World Veterinary Day,” said Dr. Sanjay Ahir, Senior Manager, Veterinary Training and Capacity Building Program at Humane Society International/India. “At its core, this initiative is about empowering veterinarians and organisations to become champions for street dog welfare and ultimately reduce conflict between street dogs and people. We hope to create a pool of next generation veterinarians and individuals who will further the movement of animal protection,” he added.
To join the veterinary capacity building program or to learn more about street dog management training opportunities, veterinarians, animal welfare organisations and government agencies can reach out to HSI/India via email at india@hsi.org.
Stray and community animals can endure hunger, disease, injury and abuse
Humane Society International / Africa
Kobus Tollig for HSI
CAPE TOWN―This World Stray Animal Day, Humane Society International/Africa is promoting the role that street animal health can play in protecting human health. According to the Mars State of Pet Homelessness Report, over 360 million dogs and cats are homeless across 20 countries studied, 4.05 million in South Africa alone, of which 650, 000 live in shelters and 3.4 million live on the streets. Many street dogs live alongside some of the world’s poorest communities which have little access to spay/neuter, vaccination or other veterinary services. Life can not only be extremely tough for these animals battling starvation, untreated disease and injuries, but lack of veterinary care can also create human health issues from untreated tick, mite, lice and fly infestations as well as rabies.
HSI/Africa’s Healthy Pets, Healthier Community pilot program in Struisbraai and Bredasdorp, Cape Agulhas, is improving the welfare of roaming and owned community dogs and cats through sponsored veterinary services, mass sterilisation, vaccination, deworming and other treatments. The program also delivers humane education for local schools and families as well as an animal law enforcement component to strengthen the protection of animals in these communities. Soon, the charity will expand the program to reach people and animals in other regions.
Fagan Vollenhoven, campaign manager for HSI/Africa’s companion animal and engagement program, said: “There are around 4 million homeless dogs and cats living in South Africa, which not only presents an animal welfare challenge, but as so many of these animals live within some of our most underserved communities, keeping these animals safe and healthy also benefits human health. Our Healthy Pets, Healthier Community program brings sponsored veterinary services including spay/neuter and vaccinations to communities living with owned and roaming dogs and cats who may struggle to find enough food, water, shelter, veterinary care and safety. Meaningful and effective community engagement and humane education play a central role in the success of our program and we’re proud of our work to foster safer, peaceful coexistence between people and the companion animals with whom they live.”
On this World Stray Animal Day, help reduce the number of homeless cats and dogs in South Africa by adopting a companion animal instead of purchasing and ensuring that your furry companions are equipped with adequate identification.
Media contact: Leozette Roode, HSI/Africa media specialist; LRoode@hsi.org; 071 360 1104
Humane Society International / Southeast Asia
Chau Doan AP Images for HSI
HANOI—Viet Nam’s Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has been urged to take decisive action to end the country’s trafficking and slaughter of 6 million dogs and cats for meat every year, if his recent Directive to tackle deadly rabies is to be successful.
Rabies is endemic in Viet Nam with government statistics reporting an increase in human deaths, including 82 human rabies-related deaths last year across 30 provinces and cities and 27 deaths in the first three months of 2024. Nearly 70,000 people required rabies prophylaxis treatment. Interaction with dogs through bites as well as dog meat butchery and consumption—are responsible for 99% of rabies transmissions to humans. While the Prime Minister’s Directive rightly calls on provincial authorities to increase dog vaccination rates, global animal welfare experts Humane Society International warn that such efforts will forever be undermined as long as the country’s dog and cat meat trades continue unabated.
Phuong Tham, Viet Nam director for Humane Society International, said: “The most effective way of eradicating rabies in humans is to eliminate the disease in dogs. Mass canine vaccination is therefore vital, but so too is ensuring that those vaccinated dogs remain in their localities so that herd immunity is created. It is virtually impossible to achieve that herd immunity while dog traders are stealing and trafficking millions of dogs around the country. Every single month in Viet Nam there are tens of thousands of dogs of unknown disease and vaccination status being stuffed into trucks and driven from once province to another, disrupting any potential benefit from canine vaccination and helping to spread new rabies infections. We must also stop the unregulated importation of unvaccinated, and possibly rabies infected dogs from neighbouring countries including Cambodia and Laos, which threatens provincial rabies control programs.”
Recommendations from leading human and animal health experts―including the World Health Organization, Global Alliance for Rabies Control, World Organisation for Animal Health, Pan American Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States ―stipulate that mass dog vaccination must happen in lockstep with restricting mass dog movements so that a sufficiently high level of rabies vaccination coverage remains in the stable dog population to interrupt rabies transmission.
Dr. Katherine Polak, veterinarian and HSI’s vice president of companion animals, says: “Allowing the dog and cat meat trades to continue essentially unravels all the hard work of vaccination programs and puts humans throughout the supply and demand chain in direct contact with potentially rabies-infected dogs and cats. So while we very much welcome Prime Minister Chính’s Directive, we urge him to go further and bring forward a nationwide ban on the dog and cat meat trades. The recent ban in South Korea on the dog meat industry there demonstrates that where there is political will, we can achieve great strides forward to protect people and animals.”
HSI also calls on the Ministry of Information and Communications to include anti-dog meat trade messaging in its public awareness raising outreach to ensure that the public is aware of how much such activities increase the risk of rabies transmission.
There is considerable evidence spanning decades from throughout Asia of the link between the dog meat trade and rabies transmission. Studies from Viet Nam, China and Indonesia have shown that rabies-positive dogs and carcasses often appear in markets and slaughterhouses. In one study in Viet Nam, 16.4% of samples tested positive. The movement of different strains of the rabies virus in dogs being traded for human consumption has also been tracked. There have been a number of human rabies deaths in Viet Nam directly linked to slaughtering, butchering, handling and consumption of meat from infected dogs. For example, in 2007 in Ba Vi a rabies outbreak saw 30% of human deaths linked to exposure during the slaughter and butchery of dogs, according to the Department of Animal Health.
HSI’s team in Viet Nam has been campaigning to end the dog and cat meat trades since 2020. Most recently, the charity expanded its Models for Change program in South Korea helping dog meat farmers transition out of the industry, to also include dog and cat meat slaughterhouses and restaurants in Viet Nam. The program facilitates the transition of dog and cat meat-related businesses in Dong Hai and Thai Nguyen in addition to which HSI now has a three-year agreement with the government in both provinces to advance an holistic approach to tackling rabies through a rabies vaccination program, humane dog population management, public awareness campaigns to discourage dog and cat meat consumption, and law enforcement of anti-dog and cat trafficking activities.
Dog meat facts:
On 14 March 2024, the Prime Minister issued Directive No. 22/CD-TTg calling on provincial authorities to establish local taskforces to implement rabies prevention and control measures. Those localities with low dog/cat rabies vaccination rates were advised to expand coverage.
A recent Nielsen opinion poll (Aug – Sept 2023) commissioned by HSI found that around one quarter of the population (24%) had consumed dog meat (thịt chó) in the last year, most notably in north Viet Nam (40%). A significant proportion of respondents support a ban – 64% and 68% respectively support banning dog meat consumption and trade, while 71% equally support banning cat meat consumption and trade.
HSI research shows that dog meat is not an expensive delicacy, costing from 150,000 – 200,000 VND ($6 – $8) per dish in Thai Nguyen.
While the sale and consumption of dog meat is not illegal in Viet Nam, both the unregulated trans-provincial movement of dogs and pet theft are punishable offences. Officials in several cities including Hanoi and Hoi An have pledged to end the trade, but law enforcement is rare.
Data from Viet Nam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology shows that a significant proportion of patients become infected with the rabies virus after killing, butchering or eating dogs, as well as from bites.
Studies of brain samples of dogs collected from slaughterhouses in northern and southern provinces have also tested positive for the rabies virus.
In 2018 and 2019, the authorities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City respectively urged citizens not to consume dog meat to reduce their risk of disease transmission.
