(JP) Animal group strives to change attitudes

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http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020226m1.htm

 

HELPING STRAY PETS

Animal group strives to change attitudes

 

By TETSUSHI KAJIMOTO

Staff writer

 

URAYASU, Chiba Pref. -- On a freezing Saturday

afternoon in February, a group huddles with two dogs

in front of the station near Tokyo Disneyland. A

banner behind them reads " A society of foster parents

-- help us! "

 

But rather than orphaned children, the group of local

citizens asked passersby to become owners of abandoned

dogs and cats.

 

" This is the best possible place to attract attention

and call on people from all over the country to become

owners of those animals, " said Mari Onda, a member of

the UC (Urayasu City) Animal Protection Society.

Through its weekend campaigns and other PR activities,

the 40-member group tries to save the lives of

abandoned dogs and cats, and change public attitudes

toward pets.

 

" We want to improve the situation in Chiba

Prefecture, " where the number of abandoned dogs and

cats put to sleep by authorities is the country's

second largest and the local government is criticized

for being lax in animal protection, said Ryoichi Abe,

the group's representative.

 

In fiscal 2000, the prefectural government took in

17,344 dogs and cats at no charge to the people who no

longer wanted them.

 

In addition, 8,056 stray dogs were caught by

authorities after receiving complaints from local

residents.

 

More than 25,000 of these abandoned animals were

killed in carbonic acid gas chambers at the

prefecture's ironically named Animal Protection Center

in the town of Tomisato, and 13 were transferred from

there to three research institutes in the prefecture

for experiments.

 

" To prevent the animals from being sent to the center,

we must act fast to find new owners for them, " Onda

said.

 

Launched in May 2000, the UC group has saved 227 dogs

and cats from this fate as of the end of December,

with 137 of them taken in by new owners and 19 dogs

returned to their former owners.

 

Currently, one cat and 17 dogs are in the temporary

custody of the group's members, waiting for someone to

take them in, Abe said. He is currently caring for

three such dogs and 12 cats at his Urayasu home.

 

In Chiba Prefecture, the number of animals put to

sleep by authorities, especially dogs, has been on the

decline since it peaked in 1988 at 36,067. However,

the overall figure was still the nation's largest

after Fukuoka Prefecture, where the number came to

about 29,000 in fiscal 2000, according to Fusako

Nogami, director of All Life In a Viable Environment,

or ALIVE, a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization.

 

Nationwide, about 700,000 dogs and cats are killed at

public facilities every year after being brought in by

their owners or captured as strays, Nogami said.

 

" There seems no end to capturing, taking in and

disposing of abandoned animals, " lamented Hideki

Maruyama, a veterinarian at the Animal Protection

Center.

 

The facility also claims to protect animals by

educating the public in how to take care of them,

giving medical treatment to injured animals and

finding new owners for abandoned dogs and cats.

 

However, Maruyama said his staff is too busy putting

animals to sleep, as all of the captured and abandoned

dogs and cats are gathered here from across the

prefecture.

 

" Many owners lack a sense of morality, " Maruyama said.

" Many dogs have ended up being sent here after they

became strays, after being let loose or abandoned at

beaches or fishing ports. "

 

Since the burst of the bubble economy in the early

1990s, large pedigree dogs such as Labrador retrievers

and Siberian huskies often become strays, he said.

 

Thanks to the recent efforts by the prefecture, 532

stray dogs and cats were returned to owners and 238

were given new owners in fiscal 2000, according to

Jinya Kaseki, an official of the prefecture's health

guidance division.

 

Still, Chiba has no choice but to accept more pets

without charge and capture stray dogs to prevent them

from hurting people, Kaseki said.

 

The tight controls on stray dogs date back to the

early 1970s, when three children were killed by wild

dogs in separate cases around the prefecture.

 

One of the incidents prompted the victim's parents to

sue the prefectural government, which ended up paying

some 2 million yen in compensation, officials said.

 

But, unlike neighboring prefectures, Chiba has not

taken strong measures to protect animals, critics say.

 

The governments in Tokyo and Kanagawa and Saitama

prefectures have taken animal protection measures,

including prohibition of abandoned animals being used

for experiments, abolition of collecting unwanted

animals from owners free of charge, and promotion of

finding new owners for adult dogs and cats as well as

puppies and kittens.

 

ALIVE has urged Chiba to set up a new ordinance on

animal protection and tighten regulations on animal

traders, owners of dangerous animals and those engaged

in experiments on animals, as well as their

facilities.

 

The group also wants the prefectural government to

keep a closer eye on pet owners and shops.

 

Meanwhile, Abe of the UC Animal Protection Society

said the group will intensify its activities in

collaboration with private citizens and local

authorities.

 

The Japan Times: Feb. 26, 2002

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