By Meghan Goss
In response to the recent beating and killing of more than 55,000 dogs in the Chinese county of Mouding, Yunnan province, and on the eve of an impending second slaughter in the city of Jining, protesters turned out en masse before the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Aug. 10.
More than 100 people and many of their canine companions gathered in the rain at the event, organized by The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International, to encourage the Chinese government to adopt a more humane and effective approach to combating rabies in the Republic of China's southern provinces.
Dolores Murray, a staff member at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, in Virginia, came to the protest after reading about the situation, which she called "blood curdling."
"I was abhorred by the cruelty," Murray said. "This unnecessary, senseless slaughtering shows total disrespect for animals and disregard for the people who care for them."
For Ellin Kao, a Chinese student attending George Washington University, this lack of respect for animals and life drew her to the rally.
"It's important that the Chinese government knows that the outside world is watching," Kao said. "What they're doing is absolutely horrific."
Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO, spoke to the crowd before a backdrop of signs reading "Vaccinate: Don't Eradicate," "Compassion, Not Cruelty," and "Respect Life," written in Chinese characters.
"We're here to send a signal," Pacelle said. "It's not just our voice that's being heard. Chinese citizens, and Chinese people throughout the world, are objecting to this mass killing."
A few days earlier, Pacelle sent a formal letter to China's U.S. Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, extending an offer of $100,000 from HSUS and HSI to establish a humane and effective rabies control program in the affected villages in Jining, contingent on an immediate end to the mass dog killing programs.
While the killings have so far been limited to a few locales and provinces, Pacelle said he hopes that the Chinese government will work with The HSUS to substitute mass vaccination programs for such killing programs. "If they were to expand any further on the mass extermination approach, we'd be seeing hundreds of thousands or millions of dogs killed," he said. "We're offering them a way out ... a solution," he added. "It's better for people, for human health and animal welfare."
The slaughter has sparked worldwide condemnation. As a result of an HSI alert that went out a few days before the protest, more than 3,500 letters from concerned individuals all over the world were delivered to the Chinese embassy in Washington.
