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Well-attended!© HSI |
China has been hard hit by the global economic downturn; yet, the Chinese animal protection community has shown no signs of slowdown in its efforts to improve animal welfare. As part of such efforts, the third Companion Animal Symposium was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, May 9-10, 2009. Humane Society International (HSI) and Animals Asia partnered once again in co-sponsoring this important event.
China’s Companion Animal Crisis
In the last decade, China has seen a sudden rise in the number of urban animal populations. Over-breeding, irresponsible pet ownership, and draconian government regulations have contributed to the onset of a welfare crisis impacting China’s companion animals. To improve the lot of these nonhuman individuals, Chinese activists have been working to educate the public, care for the abused and the homeless, and lobby the authorities for policy change.
Along the way, they also have to deal with traders and transporters who profit from cat/dog eating. Thus, their activities include protesting against roadside dog slaughtering operations and intercepting cat shipments to South China. The Chinese animal protection community faces more difficulties than its counterparts in the West. Financial shortages and a hostile environment are seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
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Peter Li presents.© HSI |
Expansion Despite Adversity
Still, no one is in a better position to facilitate change in China than the local animal protection community. Since the second symposium in 2007, also co-sponsored by HSI, there has been an increase in the number of animal protection groups in China. The third symposium showcased the growing strength of these groups. More than 100 delegates representing 45 groups attended this year’s event. About half of the delegates were first-time attendees. The majority of the delegates were younger than 40 years of age. Most encouragingly, activists from Guangdong, the province infamous for dog and cat eating, attended the symposium and shared stories of their work on the front lines.
The growing maturity of the Chinese protection groups was a defining feature of the symposium. There was consensus on the need for policy change, use of courts for animal protection, shelter capacity building, sterilization of household pets and stray animals, disaster planning, and cross-region collaboration of animal advocacy groups. Though still controversial in China, euthanasia is becoming more accepted as a way to end suffering. Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) programs have been implemented by groups such as Beijing’s Lucky Cats and Beautiful New World. Most groups have outreach programs for spreading a message of compassion among college students and the general public.
Messages from HSI
Kelly O’Meara, director of HSI’s International Programs, delivered a written speech at the opening session. Dr. Peter J. Li, HSI’s China policy specialist, was also present at the two-day symposium, where he made two presentations. The first presentation focused on the need to include household pets in disaster planning. The U.S. experience with Hurricane Katrina was used to illustrate the consequences of disaster relief programs that excluded companion animals. Through this presentation, HSI sent a strong message that individual pet owners, shelter operators and local communities must have disaster plans in place. Citing the 2006 US Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, HSI encouraged Chinese advocates to seek similar legislative and policy breakthroughs in the foreseeable future.
In China, animal shelters are overwhelmed with abandoned animals. Urban animal management has never been such a challenge to the Chinese government. Our second presentation was designed to address this problem. By sharing the US experience with pet population control and shelter trends in the last 50 years, we encouraged Chinese adoption of sterilization as a way to curb or reduce breeding, thus avoiding explosive welfare problems impacting companion animals.
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An HSI-supported shelter in Chengdu.© HSI |
HSI Actions
HSI does not just preach about what should be done in China; we have been part of concrete actions in the field to implement change. Since mid-2008, HSI has supported ARB Group’s dog sterilization program and Beautiful New World’s TNR operation. Both are Beijing groups. Jinan’s Taishan Animal Protection Group is another recipient of special funding for its sterilization programs. We see sterilization as a long-term solution to overpopulation of urban companion animals.
One week before the conference, HSI co-sponsored with ActAsia a vet training workshop in Shenzhen and Beijing. Western veterinarians offered a seven-day training in surgical sterilization to Chinese veterinarians. The workshop was designed to facilitate and enhance sterilization skills and efforts within the private veterinary field in China.
China is a major battleground for animal welfare. The future growth of animal protection groups there calls for more international attention. HSI will continue to play a part in China’s transformation.
