Fw: Animals Asia Foundation's Friends....or Food? campaign

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

 

 

A feature and news piece on Animals Asia's work to end dog eating on the

mainland appeared in the Sunday Morning Post today.....the work continues!

 

 

Best wishes for a wonderful christmas!

Annie

 

 

Friend or food?

South China Sunday Morning Post, 19 December 2004

 

As more Chinese open their hearts to dogs, animal lovers are launching a

national campaign to have them taken off the menu before the 2008 Beijing

Olympics. Simon Parry reports

 

Mainland chef Zhang Xingguo has found that being an animal lover in the

northeast province of Liaoning can carry a heavy price. Since beginning his

career at 19, he has been sacked no less than 13 times in 13 years, for

refusing to kill or cook wild animals, cats or dogs.

 

" Dogs are our loyal friends and companions, " insists the 32 year old, who

earlier this year won the consolation of an award by the China Wildlife

Conservation Association for his principled stand. " They are not food.

They deserve our protection. "

 

Mr. Zhang is now one of the star of a 16-minute trilingual VCD which, from

next Saturday, is being distributed across China to try to persuade mainland

diners to stop eating dogs.

 

The Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation, best known for founder Jill

Robinson's high-profile campaign to stop bear farming, has produced 10,000

copies of the video in the first nationwide campaign by any group to try to

stop the practice.

 

The first 1,000 videos will be given out in packs containing information

sheets, stickers and fridge magnets at a dog show in Shenzhen next Saturday.

The rest will be distributed through mainland pet clubs in cities including

Beijing and Shanghai.

 

While Mr. Zhang may represent a new emerging sensibility, the foundation's

executive director Annie Mather admits that stopping the mainland dog-meat

trade will be a task of Herculean proportions. China is believed to be the

world's biggest consumer of dog meat, with estimates suggesting 10 to 20

million dogs a year are killed for food.

 

However, as pet ownership explodes in cities across the mainland, Ms Mather

believes the time is right to launch a campaign which she hopes could see

the government outlaw the practice of eating dog in time for the 2008

Beijing Olympics. Animals Asia is, she argues, following and not initiating

a trend.

 

" Dog eating has been going on for centuries in China and it is culturally

ingrained, " she said. " I am not pretending an older person is going to take

one look at our posters and not eat dog again, but younger people and people

who own pets can make a difference. We are in with a chance I think.

 

" China is changing fast - at least in the big cities and that is where the

opinions are made. "

 

" They are opening their minds to the unconditional love of a dog. Older

people living alone in apartments are getting dogs for company. In

one-child families, often the child is bought a dog and that dog becomes the

child's companion.

 

" Because of all these changing demographics, there is a window of

opportunity where we can bring in new ideas. "

 

The dog show in Shenzhen where the video is to be launched had already been

given the slogan " Is a dog a companion for life or a tasty dish? " by its

members before Animals Asia approached it. The Shenzhen club jumped at the

chance to provide a platform for the VCD handout.

 

Animals Asia was conscious as it worked on its video to ensure the tone was

not confrontational. It puts its message across through a combination of

cheery shots of its Dr. Dog programme - where dogs visit hospitals and

orphanages as " animal therapists " - and grisly black and white footage of

dogs heading for the slaughter at Guangzhou's notorious Hua Nam wild animal

market.

 

" What we didn't show is that they routinely kill the dogs very slowly to

maximize the adrenaline in the body and also when they finally dispatch the

dog, the want the heart to be beating very fast so that the blood really

gushes out, " Ms Mather said.

 

The film ends with a succession of doctors, pharmacists and celebrities

including Paul Wong Koon-chung, singer with rock band Beyond, rationalizing

the case for an end to the dog-meat trade. " We Chinese claim to be

civilized, " says Wong. " But in places in Asia including Hong Kong and

China, people see dogs as food and I think this is uncivilized. It makes me

ashamed. "

 

Ms. Mather stressed: " We are not pointing the finger at anyone. Our

campaign is called 'Friend or Food'. It is posing a question rather than

telling you shouldn't be doing something.

 

" There is cruelty - immense, horrible cruelty - to animals in the west. It

is different, but it is there. There is the cruelty of fur farming and

testing on animals. We are not pointing the finger and saying anyone is bad

or wrong. We are saying 'Hey, there is another way'. "

 

While the video is distributed, investigators for the foundation are

traveling through every province on the mainland to try to build up a

picture of the scale of the dog-meat industry. It is expected to report a

trade of massive proportions.

 

Dog farms across the nation make healthy profits breeding animals for the

trade. In some cases, according to Animals Asia, the farms cross imported

St Bernard dogs with the usual meat-producing dogs to breed faster growing,

fatter dogs for the market, which are usually slaughtered at 7 months or

less.

 

There is also a booming trade in dog fur for the European market, which can

have the effect of intensifying the cruelty of the way in which the animals

are slaughtered. Ms. Mather says she had heard of dogs having their penises

cut off and being left to bleed to death to avoid damaging a saleable fur

during slaughter.

 

" Cat and dog fur is being exported to Europe on a massive scale for use as

trim, " she said. " Dog fur looks a lot like rabbit. So you think you are

wearing a nice little rabbit stole but actually you are wearing a

Pomeranian. Dog and cat fur is also used for toys for pets. It is very

difficult to tell where fur comes from. To know whether it is from a rabbit

or a dog you have to do a DNA test, which is very expensive.

 

Many of the dogs that end up in the Guangzhou market are brought in by truck

and endure 3 day journeys from provinces further north, including Shandong

and Jiangsu, in cramped cages with no food or water. Sometimes between 1500

and 2,000 dogs arrive in one lorry load.

 

At this time of year, more dogs than ever end up on mainland dining tables.

Dog meat is served up most frequently as a " warming " winter dish and is

particularly popular during this week's winter solstice. In supermarkets

across the nation, if there's no fresh dog meat for sale, housewives can buy

vacuum packed dog meat and dog meat broth.

 

In a country where almost every living thing is a potential item on a

restaurant menus, it might seem problematic to try to argue an exception to

the case for one animal, but Ms. Mather believes she has a convincing case

to put to mainland diners.

 

" It's not up to me to say 'don't do that', " she said. " What I would say is

did you know that dogs can be trained to be search and rescue dogs. They

can be seeing eyes for the blind, hearing ears for the deaf. Did you know

there are St Bernards that save lives in the snow? Did you know they can be

trained to sniff out drugs and endangered species?

 

" If you are an epileptic, a dog can be trained to alert you when you are

about to have a seizure. Dogs can do all these things. Do you still want

to eat it?

 

" I believe that an animal that will love you unconditionally, that can be

trained to do all these things to help humankind, just shouldn't be on the

menu. I think we are trying to move to a more compassionate world in the

21st century and I feel that this is a good step forward. "

 

On the political level, she believes the approach of the Beijing Olympics

can only help the cause.

 

" Most people overseas don't know China is a dog eating country and that it

probably is the biggest dog eating country of them all.

 

" The reaction when people find out is going to be quite interesting.

Perhaps that can help to turn the tide. The accolades China would get if it

would address the issues would be quite something, not just from the west

but from animal-lovers across Asia. "

 

On a personal level she says that after her work with Animals Asia, the

incentive to make a difference is irresistible. " When you've had years and

years of going to these markets and being so heartbroken by what you see and

knowing that anyone of these so-called meat dogs could be a loving family

pet, you just walk away and think: 'I've got to do something. I've got to

try and change that'. "

 

Visit www.animalsasia.org for more details on the Animals Asia Foundation

campaign

 

 

ParknShop joins effort to end dog-meat trade

South China Sunday Morning Post, 19 December 2004

 

 

Supermarket shamed over canine carcasses in Guangdong stores

 

ParknShop has agreed to promote a campaign against eating dogs on the

mainland after being shamed into taking dog meat off the shelves in its

Guangdong stores.

 

The supermarket chain will put up posters and stock leaflets in its 28

southern China stores in the campaign, to be launched this week by the

Animals Asia Foundation to try to persuade people not to eat dogs.

 

It is also planning to stage a roadshow at one of its megastores in

Guangdong, where campaigners will hand out VCD's carrying the anti-dog

eating message.

 

The move by ParknShop comes after it admitted selling dog meat - which is

legal on the mainland - in 6 stores in Shenzhen and Dongguan despite

promising 2 years ago to stop the practice.

 

ParknShop managers in Hong Kong were alerted after a shopper took

photographs of dog carcasses hanging in the Dongmen megastore on November

28.

 

The photos were passed on to Animals Asia Foundation founder Jill Robinson.

 

Ms. Robinson and foundation executive director Annie Mather, held talks with

ParknShop at which they received an undertaking from the supermarket chain

to support the group's campaign.

 

Iwan Evans, chief executive officer for food, electronics and general

merchandise with ParknShop's parent company AS Watson, met Ms. Robinson and

Ms. Mather last Saturday.

 

Ms. Mather said: " He was absolutely appalled that they had been selling dog

meat. He was very shocked.

 

" We also took some pictures from the dog-meat markets to show him and sent a

video for him to look at. "

 

She believed ParknShop was " absolutely genuine " in its desire to help the

campaign rather than mounting a damage limitation exercise.

 

The company's involvement would be a boost for the campaign, she added.

 

" I think the fact they are involved in this campaign will send out a strong

message. "

 

Teresa Pang Sau-kwan, public relations manager for ParknShop, who also

attended last Saturday's meeting, denied there was anything cynical about

the store's involvement in the campaign. "

 

" ParknShop made a decision 2 years ago that we would stop selling dog meat

in our China stores, even though it was legal.

 

" There was a change of management in ParknShop China and the new managers

weren't aware of the principle.

 

" When we realized it we immediately took action to communicate it to the new

management and instructed them to follow company policy, " she said.

 

" We stressed those guidelines to all stores to ensure they will follow this

company policy strictly in future. "

 

Ms. Pang said of the campaign by Animals Asia Foundation: " We want to help.

We would like to help get the message across that a dog is a companion. "

 

The Animals Asia Foundation has teamed up with mainland pet clubs to

distribute its VCD, which shows footage of dogs going to slaughter in a

Guangzhou market and anti dog eating appeals from celebrities and doctors.

 

The charity is also launching its Dr. Dog programme, in which dogs visit

hospital patients and orphanages on the mainland.

 

The mainland is believed to be the biggest consumer of dog meat in the

world, with 10 to 20 million dogs a year being slaughtered.

 

Taiwan recently outlawed the consumption of dog meat, which is already

illegal in Hong Kong and many other countries in Asia.

 

" Culture can no longer be an excuse for cruelty, " Ms. Robinson said.

 

" The argument that a practice has occurred for millennia is unacceptable

today.

 

" We have a responsibility to break the cycle of cruelty and disrespect

towards animals and dogs, who benefit and enrich our community and everyday

lives. "

--

Annie Mather

Executive Director, Head of Media

Animals Asia Foundation

Hong Kong

 

ANIMALS ASIA HAS A BRAND NEW WEBSITE!

Find out more about the " China Bear Rescue " and " Friends....or Food? "

http://www.animalsasia.org