transporting dogs from China to U.K.

[Guest guest]

Dear John and others:

 

Mina Sharpe's dog rescue work in Taiwan did a great deal to

raise awareness of the problem of homeless dogs within Taiwan. We

have one of her rescues: a little street puppy named Simon who had

been hit by a taxi and had his hips broken. We spent many thousands

of dollars on surgery for Simon, which one could argue might have

been better spent sterilizing other dogs, but Simon is the ANIMAL

PEOPLE " poster dog " who represents all street dogs in Asia and

elsewhere in the world. His story has touched many hearts, and his

presence in our household pack keeps the plight of the street dog

always before us.

Not only did Mina do a great deal in Taiwan, when she went

to Thailand and rescued a crippled mother street dog and puppies and

transported them to new homes in the U.S., she got major media

coverage in Thailand.

After returning from Beijing in September, we tried to

arrange an " airlift " of Pekinese dogs from one of the shelters to the

North Shore Animal League America adoption center in New York. Both

parties were interested, but I think the cost proved an obstacle.

Mina lined up adoptions for her dogs via the internet and

found people traveling from Taiwan to the US on nonstop flights who

were willing to take her dogs along as baggage or excess baggage.

It is essential that any flights for dogs or other animals be

nonstop, as connecting flights can be perilous for many reasons.

Animals should not be transported when outside temperatures are high,

as they may become overheated during loading and unloading even if

the baggage compartment is air conditioned. A healthy dog or cat can

withstand cold temperatures better than hot.

The U.S. has no quarantine for dogs. Dogs may be imported as

long as they have a health certificate signed by a veterinarian and

proof of rabies vaccination. I believe the quarantine period for

dogs entering the U.K. is still six months unless the dog is coming

from a country that is designated " rabies free. " China is not rabies

free.

It may be that a dog " pipeline " from China to another

European country could be more easily established.

 

--Kim Bartlett, ANIMAL PEOPLE

 

>Dear Liz and Jeremy - and everyone else!

>

>Thank you for your letters to AAPN. It is a news AND discussion group and

>you are right that all too often there is miserable news and no obvious way

>of helping. But from time to time there is discussion - more often, which is

>a pity, off-line than on-line - which results in plans being formed and

>organisations set up to DO SOMETHING to find a solution to a particular

>problem. Yes, it is not enough just to hear news - but hearing the news is

>an essential first step. AAPN is only involved in this first step but hopes

>that the knowledge and ideas it disseminates will result in some people

>taking some constructive action.

>

>I would like to start a discussion on Liz's idea of exporting street dogs

>from China to UK. As far as I know, no one has exported Mainland Chinese

>dogs in any systematic way - though quite a number of dogs have been rescued

>and exported over the years by individuals. In Taiwan, an American teenager

>called Mina Sharpe organised Taipei Abandoned Animal Rescue Foundation. This

>has been criticised as a poor use of resources in that a lot of money is

>needed for transportation which perhaps could be better spent on encouraging

>local long term solutions. On the other hand the publicity involved raises

>more awareness and funds - and of course many individuals are benefited.

>http://www.geocities.com/t-aarf/main.html

>

>What do readers think?

>

>John, Web Manager, AAPN.

>

 

--

Kim Bartlett, Publisher of ANIMAL PEOPLE Newspaper

Postal mailing address: P.O. Box 960, Clinton WA 98236 U.S.A.

CORRECT EMAIL ADDRESS IS: <ANPEOPLE

Website: http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/

 

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your message.

 

Something to think about: We believe that the Golden Rule

applies to animals, too. We don't accept the prevailing notion

that " people come first' " or that " people are more important than

animals. " Animals feel pain and suffer just as we do, and it is

almost always humans making animals suffer and not the other way

around. Yet in spite of how cruelly people behave towards animals

-- not to mention human cruelty to other humans -- we are supposed to

believe that humans are superior to other animals. If people want

to fancy themselves as being of greater moral worth than the other

creatures on this earth, we should begin behaving better than they

do, and not worse. Let's start treating everyone as we would like

to be treated ourselves.