Fwd: Fw: 3 JAPANESE STATES TO BAN POUND SEIZURE

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" WAVA "

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Sunday, March 16, 2003 10:15 AM

3 JAPANESE STATES TO BAN POUND SEIZURE

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> WAVA (World Association for Voice of Animals) Mailing List

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>

> 3 JAPANESE STATES TO BAN POUND SEIZURE

>

> After two years of campaigning by WAVA (World Association for Voice of

> Animals), 3 Japanese Governments - the Hokkaido, Iwate and Yamagata

> Prefectures voted to end the transfer of homeless dogs and cats from local

> pounds to research institutions for animal experimentation by March 31

2003.

>

> The decision followed media exposure by WAVA of annual pound seizure by

> these 3 states, and WAVA's continued demand that the transfer be stopped

on the grounds that it was completely unacceptable to use abandoned animals

for these painful and cruel experiments after, in many cases, suffering abuse,

> neglect and abandonment by their owners.

>

> The Hokkaido, Iwate and Yamagata Governments initially said that they were

> properly following " Guidelines on Acceptance of Dogs and Cats and Injured

> Animals into Pounds " and that WAVA's protest would not affect next year's

> transfer.

>

> Yet the media reported that the national trend was the continuing

> abolishment of this decades-old practice.

>

> Government officials also feared being criticised as beneficiaries of

" pound seizure " , the practice of selling pound animals that have not been

claimed

> or who have been abandoned by their owners to the research institutions.

>

> Yamagata Government transferred 149 dogs in 2000 and 80 dogs in 2001 from

> pounds to Yamagata Medical School, and would have supplied a similar

number of animals in 2003. In 2000, Hokkaido Government transferred 656 dogs and

> 125 cats to medical schools, followed by 176 dogs and 90 cats In 2001.

Iwate Government transferred 30 dogs and 43 cats in 2000, and 32 cats in 2001.

>

> Prior to this unprecedented ban by 3 prefecture, WAVA had made official

> submissions and petitioned to the governments. Graphic images of the

> conditions of laboratory animals and the experiments they go through were

> also shown to the government officials.

>

> After the U.S.A, Japan has the highest number of animals killed annually

in the name of scientific progress. Every two seconds an animal dies in

> Japanese laboratories after suffering atrocious routine burning,

poisoning, scalding, mutilation, starvation, gassing etc.

>

> There are no legislative restrictions or regulations concerning

vivisection in Japan.

>

> WAVA has also previously convinced the Fukushima Government (which was

> supplying animals to Fukushima Medical School), Tochigi Government and

> Hiroshima Government to stop the transfer of pound animals for scientific

> experimentation.

>

> WAVA's President Stephanie A. Nakata said " The decisions will have a huge

> impact on other Prefectural governments still continuing this outdated

> practice and we are confident that more will soon follow the lead of these 3

governments. The banning Japan-wide would not happen overnight, but we are

confident that the practice will cease in the near future. "

>

> " This is not only an inhumane practice, it is also against the new animal

> protection legislation which came into effect in 1999 " Stephanie said.

>

> WAVA is now stepping up its campaign to end this archaic practice in other

> parts of Japan such as Kagoshima, Okayama, Aomori and Gunma.

>

> To receive petition forms or for further information contact:

> PO Box 71, Gordon NSW 2072 Australia

> Phone: +61 (0)2 9144 5221

> Fax: +61 (0)2 9988 4832

> E-mail: wava

> Website: www.wava.org.au

>

>

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> To / , go to: http://www.wava.org.au/mailing.htm

>

> For more information on WAVA, visit our website at: www.wava.org.au

>

> To become a member or to donate, you can visit:

> http://www.wava.org.au/support-international.html or call call (+612)

> 9144-5221.

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

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