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Jan 12
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Look at Dogs and See Friends? Well, Some See FOOD

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IAR on Dog-eating in Yulin, China

Yulin dog meat dealing2010 was quite a year in Yulin’s history–the small, remote city in Guangxi China woke up from a typical muggy summer night and found itself world-famous…or, more accurately, INFAMOUS; before that its name were hardly known to most Chinese. All this sudden attention could be traced to the coming of Xia Zhi (beginning day of summer), which the locals celebrate with feasts featuring one specific “delicacy”: dog meat.
The revelation of the brutal dog-eating behavior has brought Yulin severe condemnation from the international society, but the custom (now commonly known as Yulin Dog Meat Festival) has its defenders as well. According to the latter, dog-eating is merely one of the many traditional practices and therefore provides no ground for public outrage. While the issue continues to arouse heated debate, there are some indisputable hard facts that constitute the best refutations of the “not-a-big-deal” pro-Festival arguments.
  • The sources of the dogs are suspicious. Given the nonexistence of food-use dog farms, the simple question of where the dogs come from can lead to discoveries of nasty crimes in the industry. Around 10,000 dogs are killed for their meat for the Festival every year. Some of these dogs are stray dogs captured from streets, but even more stunningly, many others are pet dogs stolen away from their owners, as the poor creatures have dog collars around their necks till the last minute of their lives. It is undeniably a criminal act to steal pets, not to mention the heartbreaking endings of those once-beloved animals.
  • The slaughter of dogs is usually conducted in an extremely cruel way. The captured dogs are often shipped in overly crowded cages and kept in vile environments after arriving in Yulin, which results in countless deaths from stress, injuries and diseases even before the Festival. When the time comes, the remaining dogs would be forced to watch yet another horrible scene, where other dogs are abused, slaughtered and dismembered right in front of their very eyes as they make desperate yet futile attempts to escape.Rabies in China, Guangxi
  • Dog meat can put public health in peril. Since dogs are never food-use livestock, the absence of legal standards for dog meat production suggests enormous difficulty in guaranteeing the safety of dog meat. Therefore, potential diseases of the dogs can have a massive impact on the consumers’ health. As a matter of fact, Yulin, along with several other cities in Guangxi Province has been under frequent attack of rabies, and it is hard not to relate that with the dog-eating custom of the region.
Dogs have been companion animals ever since they were domesticated in primitive ages, and throughout the long history they have proved themselves the most loyal friends of human. But if that is not enough to convince the dog-eating defenders, maybe it is time to confront them with the cold facts listed above. Please pass on the information to more people if you are against dog-eating like IAR, and save our friends from bloody kitchens!
Photo: A dog meat stand in Yulin.  Source: www.gxnews.com.cn
Graph: Guangxi, the province under most rabies attacks in China.  Source: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Jan 12
0

More on Dog Meat: Behind and Beyond Yulin

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dog meatYulin has become one of the most-discussed Chinese cities on the internet in recent years, only for a bad reason: the city was suddenly thrown under the spotlight in 2010 for its dog-eating event, known as the notorious Yulin Dog Meat Festival. Contrary to the pouring criticism from the international society, Yulin locals insist to see the Festival in a different light: Dog-eating is part of the custom so it’s nothing cruel or illegal; human eat other animals as well, then why not dogs? People in other parts of China eat dogs too, so why is Yulin alone taking all the blame?
While the first two arguments have been discussed and refuted in IAR’s previous blog post Look at Dogs and See Friends? Well, Some See FOOD, the last question does bring up an interesting point. To international protesters and dog lovers, a small city like Yulin is already too much; unfortunately, the dog-eating phenomenon revealed there is just the tip of the iceberg. Yulin became a common target for public censure because it highlights dog meat as a festival specialty commercially. But in fact, dog-eating is not observed in Yulin only; nor is it limited to one specific day of the year. Instead, dog meat can be found in the everyday recipes of numerous different regions in China, including Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Guangdong and Guangxi Province.

dog farm, dog meat production

Another fact that adds to the brutality of dog-eating in China is where the dogs come from. Because of the absence of licensed dog farms, stray dogs and beloved pet dogs have become the main targets of dog meat dealers. One way to capture or steal those dogs is of course, by luring them with food, but a more “efficient” way is to dope the dogs with poisoned darts or blowpipe needles designed for capturing animals, both of which easily attainable on the largest Chinese e-commerce website Alibaba by anyone without a license.
Much to protesters and dog lovers’ disappointment, till today China does not have an animal welfare act to protect dogs from being killed for food. Nonetheless, most dog meat dealers are still illegal according to the country’s Food Safety Law, which explicitly prohibits the trading of meat products that have not been inspected or quarantined, or fail to pass inspection or quarantine performed by animal health inspection offices. Besides, an official notice published by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2013 also requires that every dog and cat to be transported must possess an individual certificate that proves its health condition. Under such laws and regulations, the majority of dog meat being sold in the market right now does not reach hygienic standards, and the costs of producing, trading and serving dog meat legally would make the business profitless. The only problem is that the provisions are not strictly enforced.
As a result, compared with focusing solely on a right-based approach to draft and enact a brand-new animal welfare act, which can take decades, or organizing violent protests at local restaurants and markets, which sometimes leads to blood and hatred, facilitating rigorous enforcement of the current laws and regulations seems to suggest a much more efficient means to reduce the amount of dog-eating. One critical thing for international protesters to remember is that the compassion for dogs is not rooted in all cultures and religions. Therefore, in a country where eating dogs is not always judged morally, it might take a different path to eradicate dog-eating than attempting to implant “dogs are friends” in everyone.
Photos: (left) piles of dog bodies to be made into dishes; (right) the typical horrible environment of “dog farms”

Jan 12
0

Small is the New Cute…or Crippled

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IAR on Teacup Animal Tragedies

Imagine that you were born significantly undersized. If it does not sound like a big deal yet, then how about being informed by a doctor that you should never expect to outgrow that size and that you are doomed to suffer from endless diseases throughout your lifetime? Couldn’t be worse right? Now what if you find out that this miserable situation was not caused by any uncontrollable sheer misfortune—rather, someone has deliberately planned all the sufferings for you, leaving your life a million times more pitiful than it should be?
If you are irritated by the imaginary scenarios above, you might want to object to the concept of teacup animals as well. The package of ceaseless challenges is not a nightmare to those cute little furry creatures; it is LIFE.

teacup dogs, teacup chihuahua

In recent years people have developed a special taste for teacup animals, namely, pets small enough to fit into places such as cups, purses, pockets, or even palms. It is no surprise that those mini dogs, cats and pigs possess irresistible cuteness to pet lovers. And a series of advantages seem to follow: Because of their sizes, they are portable and eye-catching, and can save owners considerable costs on food. But the point is: they are not naturally sized that way.
Take dogs as an example. Chihuahua is known as one of the smallest existing breeds. A healthy, fully grown adult Chihuahua weighs as little as 4-6 lbs, but a teacup dog can be way lighter than that. In order to get an undersized dog, a breeder may use means such as mating two exceptionally small dogs (often inbreeding), facilitating immature birth, or starving the puppy to retard its growth.
The results of such manipulation are obvious. Immature birth can lead to various health problems, which leaves teacup animals more vulnerable than their normal-sized peers. Some common health issues shared by teacup animals include liver shunts, low blood sugar, and heart diseases. But the worst condition lies in their bones. The fragile bones of teacup animals put them under constant threat of fractures, thus preventing them from performing everyday activities from rolling to chasing freely.

teacup dogs, dog bone fracture

And the pets themselves are not the only victims of small sizes. Along with the pets’ poor health condition come high cost of treatment and medicines for owners. Besides, teacup animals need to be looked after all the time—just like human babies, the difference being that they can hardly grow any larger or stronger in return. It is no wonder that some teacup animals bought at high prices end up abandoned in shelters.
Now that we think about the whole teacup animals fever, it is indeed an abnormal trend to ever have emerged. People raise pets not only for the cuteness, but also because they truly love animals. However, the bitter truth is that forever confined in their tiny bodies, teacup animals can by no means live as happily as normal-sized ones. If this is understood by more people, the number of purchases may reduce. Therefore, we hope that you would share this article should you find it informative—so that owners will be able to have healthier, happier companions, and pets can avoid all the miseries from being undersized and live to their full potential.
Pics: (left) teacup puppy that literally fits into a tea cup; (right) teacup puppy suffering from bone fracture
Source of pics: (left) https://www.pinterest.com/pin/450993350159709713/; (right) https://www.flickr.com/photos/kayveeinc
Jan 12
0

Protecting Tiny Wildlife

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If earth’s age was shrunk to one day, single cell organisms came to being at 2:08 a.m., while the first dinosaur appeared at 10:56 a.m.! The most destructive species to ever roam on this planet appeared while the day was about to end, and was successful in killing the largest number of species ever. No extra points for guessing which species this is – the Homo sapiens, aka humans. According to WWF, at least 0.01% of species go extinct every year. While this rate sounds low, one must take into account the number of species on this planet–2-100 million. That is to say, the number of species that is disappearing from this planet is a whopping 150-200 every 24 hours. This number is 1000 times more than the natural rate of extinction since the last dinosaur died about 65 million years ago.
One of the first victims of human’s aggression were the mammoths back in the stone ages when our ancestors lived in caves and learned to use flints to bring fire. This assault has ever since continued. Numerous breeds of big cats such as Amur Leopards, Asiatic Cheetahs, South China Tigers are threatened, and apart from the big cats, other animals like rhinoceros, elephants are the most targeted animals.
Most of these species are big animals, but what about the small ones? The big species have always been “poster boys” for conservation. However, the biggest losers have been the easy-to-overlook smallSand Cat; wildlife protection; endangered species species. Tiny animals, plants and reptiles require equal, if not more, human intervention and protection as the big ones. Small animals like Pileated Gibbons, Pygmy Hippos, Sand Cats, and Egyptian Tortoise are all in urgent need of attention of animal rescue organizations and individuals. These little awe-inspiring animals are in high demand as pets, thus getting snatched away from their natural habitats. At the current rate, animals that will go extinct the soonest are going to be the smallest and weakest ones.
The danger to these species has been recognised. Apart from laws aimed at protecting the species, many organizations like us – International Animal Relief (IAR), WWF, etc. are professionally involved in saving animals that are part of the natural heritage. But besides the organizations, every single one of us can actually contribute to the protection and rescue of these small animals at both individual and community levels.
Most animals get attracted to your backyard because of food. Therefore, there are certain precautions you can take to protect yourself, your property as well as the wild animals.

At community level

  1. Gain and spread knowledge: to protect the wild animals you and your community need to know which species are endangered. Learn more about those species and their natural habitats around your community and avoid disturbing them.community volunteer; wild animals; wild life protection
  2. Volunteer at a local wildlife refuge: Animals are safest from hunting when living in reserves and preserved parks. Find out more about your local parks, and devote some time or money. This would also help your community by creating jobs and businesses.
  3. Protect native plant species: Native plant species are home to many bees, birds, small animals, and reptiles, etc. Minimize the cutting of plants and big trees as they provide miniature wildlife habitats for the wild animals.
  4. Avoid the use of harmful pesticides: Harmful chemicals in pesticides can hurt not only the wild animals but also humans. Try harmless herbicides instead.

At household level

  1. Install a fence: If the animals can’t get in they won’t harm your children and your property.
  2. Remove bird feeders and bird baths or install them deep inside your yard so that the wild animals from outside don’t see the birds and get enticed into attacking.
  3. Keep household trash out of view of the wild animals to eliminate the attraction of food.
Most plants and animals appeared on earth long before us, so this planet belongs more to them than to us. Let’s live and let live.
Picture sources: IAR does not own the pictures. All rights belong to the original uploaders.
Left (Sand Cats): Youtube
Right: https://www.awrc.org/Found%20Sick%20or%20Injured%20Animal
Jan 12
0

Roles in Reducing Cruelty to Animals

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One of the most heart-wrenching things that takes place on a daily basis is cruelty to animals that are defenseless. There are many such cases–some not so pretty, others plain ugly. Race dog owners, for race dogs, cruelty to animalsinstance, hardly treat the dogs humanely as they race them to death; they see animals merely as money-generating objects to utilize for their profit. For individuals who love animals, the sight of such animal abuse can drive them mad. Fortunately, many animal rescue centers are striving their best to deal with this inhumane behavior.

Cruelty All around

Cruelty takes place all around us. There is a large number of animal factories or puppy mills, and countless individuals are involved in this business for money. The lesser known fact is that many of those people actually care very little about animals. Cruelty to animals comes in different forms; it doesn’t always suggest physical abuse, but can also mean when animal owners don’t feed animals properly or ignore their other basic needs. In other words, deliberate injury and mental torment are both considered cruelty to animals. The best way to fight animal abuse is to report such cases to rescue groups.

Role of Animal Adoption Groups

During the past few years, many animal adoption groups have emerged, and they play an important role in facilitating the adoptions of pet animals. Some of those groups limit their service to particular breeds, while others take animals regardless of species. Pet adoption programs are designed to help find homes for mistreated, strayed, misplaced and unwanted animals. Because of the faithful work of the nonprofit organizations, their staff and volunteers, tens of thousands of animal lives are saved every year.

Role of Individuals

cat, rescued cat, animal rescueThere are places where, due to the lack of relevant laws, cruelty to animals is quite common. Only through proper education can people learn about cruelty and stop it from happening. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of some animal rescue groups, the situations are better than they could be. These groups are setting an example for individuals to play a role and help reduce cases of cruelty to animals. It is high time that every individual stepped forward with eyes and ears open. Reducing animal cruelty can be hard when animal shelters or humane societies have to fight on their own, but with
the help of local residents who take the initiative and report cruelty around, animals in neighborhood can be protected better.
Whether we act as individuals or organizations, there’s always something we can do to keep animals from getting mistreated. And one day, we may finally succeed in putting an end to this misery.
Picture sources: 
Race dogs: https://tribune.com.pk/story/963726/thousands-of-greyhounds-killed-each-year-australia-inquiry-told/
Kitten: International Animal Relief

 

Jan 12
0

How to Help Animals in Daily Life

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As they say – humans are the most intelligent and developed creature ever born on earth. We have progressed unlike anything else during the last two thousand years or so. From wooden carts to flying jets, we have come a long way. However, one thing that has not yet changed is the ruthless behavior of some of us towards creatures that are less privileged, less strong and defenseless when confronted with armed humans – animals. Now imagine that you need to live on a planet of aliens whose civilization is way advanced than ours. Will it look relevant at all? Do you think that they will be able to do you the justice you deserve? Well, if you think the answer should be negative, you know how animals might feel, if they had intelligence, when merciless laws are passed and nobody cares about their welfare.
Each day hundreds of thousands of animals are killed on roads and at butchers. Their only fault is that they live in a world ruled by humans, who never bother to understand their problems. And the situation is getting worse.
If you are worried about the safety of those who can’t speak for and defend themselves, start taking initiatives to help animals.

dog hit by car, help animalsHelp Animals by not ignoring them

All living creatures feel pain. Next time when you are in your car and see a dog that has been hit by someone and left on the road to die, don’t ignore. Remember, the dog is struggling on the edge of death and that the inability to express themselves in human languages does not indicate a lower level of pain it feels. Stop your car. Go out and check how bad he has been hit. If it’s something you can handle, do so. Even if you can’t handle the case, call the local NGOs or animal welfare officers who can help it survive.
The dog you have helped may not say thanks to you, but somewhere in its heart, it will always be grateful for the life given by you. Take the saved life itself as an act of gratitude. Help as many innocent animals as you can by always giving a hand when you spot one in dire need of help.

Help Animals by Rescue Them from Breedersillegal breeders, illegal dog breeders, illegal dog breeding, help animals

Some profit hunters capture little animals like dogs, cats, and many other to breed them illegally and then make a profit by selling them. This practice is completely unethical and should be prohibited right away. The impact you can make by reporting illegal breeders, or even simply by not buying pets from them, goes far beyond what you can imagine. Every illegal breeder brought down means that countless animals—parents and their offspring, have been lifted out of misery.
So please give the innocent animals a hand. They’re residents of the earth just as we are, and very much indispensable to maintain the right balance in the ecosystem. Let us all do what we can, treat our animal friends with more kindness, and hope for a brighter future for all creatures.
Picture Sources: *IAR does not own the pictures. All rights belong to original publishers.
Left (dog hit by car): https://www.flickr.com/photos/liquidkiwi/475664238
Right (illegal dog breeding): http://www.newson6.com/story/12440514/governor-signs-puppy-mill-regulation-bill-into-law