Helping those who help dogs

Life for millions of dogs and cats in China is tragic, short and horrific

• It is estimated that in China alone, over 10 million dogs and 4 million cats are consumed each year. Some are abandoned pets, left to fend for themselves after being relinquished by their owners, many are strays born on the streets and millions more are simply bred or stolen for their meat. Dogs and cats, many of them family pets still wearing their collars, are snatched and packed into small, rusty cages. Some suffer broken limbs as they are squashed during transport over vast distances, without food or water, to the meat markets. The tortuous transport and inhumane slaughter methods suffered by these animals is some of the most extreme animal abuse in the world, yet there are no laws to protect them and relentlessly year on year the torture continues. Government authorities organise euthanasia campaigns in an attempt to reduce stray dog and cat populations and dogs, cats, puppies and kittens suffer horrendous abuse at the hands of people who see them as ‘pests’.  In China we champion Du Yufeng of the Bo Ai Animal Centre in Guangyuan, the most incredible animal activist and dog rescuer who works tirelessly and at great personal risk to say no to dog and cat meat and fight against the Yulin festival.

70% of all dogs and cats in Mexico suffer abuse, malnutrition and neglect

• Although there are no hard and fast statistics for how many dogs are eking out an existence in Mexico, Mexico City authorities report that they capture and kill an estimated 20,000 dogs per month in their city alone. In Manzanillo, a city in Colima, there are more than 16,000 dogs and cats living on the streets. Affording veterinary care is difficult for many families in Mexico and canine sterilisation and vaccination aren’t common practice as a result. Pet dogs are often allowed to run loose and when these animals are hit by cars, become sick or pregnant they are often abandoned by their owners. Anti-cruelty laws are few, enforcement is ambiguous and authorities typically don’t prosecute offenders. For every animal given treatment and care by a charity group, an uncountable number across the country continue to suffer due to indifference at all levels of society. Government legislation is supposedly in place for animal welfare but common practice continues to verge on neglect and outright abuse.  In Mexico we champion Mutt Scouts as they work to rescue as many dogs as possible from Mexico and find them homes in the USA.

Mass execution of dogs and cats in Japan is widely accepted as the norm

• Statistics show that Japanese nationals legallykill approximately 500 dogs and cats every day, and about 300,000 pets in total are cruelly killed each year using primitive means such as suffocation, drowing or poisoning. Dog fighting also is big business in the country and there are no laws to prohibit the use of animals in this way. In Japan, it is not uncommon for dogs to be disposed of with no regard for their sentience. Each year thousands of unwanted animals are taken by animal control to so-called “dream boxes”, where they face an inhumane death by gassing. These gas chambers are not back-alley businesses, but are sanctioned by the government Department of Public Health (“hokensho”) to deal with the stray dog and cat problem. And it’s not just the strays rounded up on the street that are sent here; Japan has very few rehoming shelters, so when someone hands their pet over to a “hokensho”- run “animal welfare center,” usually they will end up in the dream boxes. Death by gassing is a cruel process, with different sized animals being given the same gas exposure, meaning that the larger animals may take up to 30 minutes to die. In Japan we champion the Okinawan American Animal Rescue Society in Okinawa.

Egypt is a country that is well-known for its mistreatment of animals

• Similarly to China, very few laws exist against causing animal suffering in Egypt and overt cruelty to dogs and cats goes unpunished by authorities. Local communities often see torturous treatment of stray animals by both adults and children and as children are taught that homeless pets are a scourge, the cycle continues into the next generations. Many Egyptians despise street dogs because they believe they are dirty, carry disease and pose a substantial risk to the general public. The number of stray dogs in Egypt exceeds 20 million so there are real concerns about population control and no laws to protect these animals.  In Egypt we champion the work of The Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals (ESMA).

Greece has an overwhelming problem with stray dogs

• It is a daily occurrence to read about them being poisoned in an attempt to simply “get rid” of them. Some years ago, the government decided to poison thousands of dogs before the Olympics to clean up the streets. It is also not uncommon to see Greek dogs being kept on chains and refused food or medical care leading to a very slow and painful death. You’d expect to see some improvements in this regard given the track record of other countries, but the situation has actually only worsened in recent years as the country continues to suffer a recession that has no end in sight. Authorities said there were over one million stray dogs on the streets of Greece in 2015 with more being abandoned every day. In Greece we champion Ilioupolis  Animal Welfare

Here canines are viewed to be “unclean” animals, a generally accepted Muslim belief

• Saudi Arabia has robust animal protection laws, having signed the Gulf Cooperation Council-wide Law on the Humane Treatment of Animals in 2013. However, implementation of the laws has yet to catch up with the intention. The small percentage of dogs that are owned as companion animals in Saudi Arabia must be “working dogs” in order to be legally kept as pets. In accordance with the strict interpretation of Islamic sharia, dogs are primarily allowed for specific roles such as hunting, protection, assistance (e.g., seeing-eye dogs), and work. Although trends of dog ownership, in general, are very slowly changing in the country, there is still not wide acceptance of dogs as part of the family.