Ashtanga
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
:wub:
:wub:
By spreading the word about what amounts to a celebration of cruelness, we can help activists in China end a tradition that has gone on for too long.
Yulin Dog Meat Festival Goes Ahead, But in Subdued Fashion
More than 30,000 HSI supporters signed our online petition calling for the cancellation of a dog meat festival planned for June 21 in Yulin, China. We spoke with Dr. Peter Li, HSI’s China specialist, about what happened.
HSI: Did the festival go on as planned?
Peter: The event was not cancelled, but it was much subdued compared to last year. I am told that public slaughter did not happen, display in the streets of dogs waiting to be killed was not seen, and billboards advertising the festival were removed. Instead, dogs were butchered out of view and their carcasses hung in restaurant windows and market stalls.
Last year, the organizers claimed that more than 10,000 dogs were slaughtered per day; this year, they made no such revelation.
Pressure from Chinese and international organizations and citizens apparently convinced Yulin authorities that it was a bad idea to publicize a controversial eating habit. In mid-June, they actually conducted a six-department joint law enforcement action to crack down on unlicensed slaughter operations.
HSI: A press conference about this issue was held in China during the week of the festival. Did it have any effect?
Peter: Chinese activists, Buddhist monks, scholars, and reporters attended a press event on June 17 calling for an end to the dog meat festival in the interest of public health, animal welfare, social morality, and social stability. Our letter to the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. and the many signatures of HSI supporters were shown. Media reports reached hundreds of millions of Chinese; phone calls following the press event almost incapacitated the phone service of the Yulin mayor’s office. Reports overwhelmingly questioned the dog meat festival and the dog-eating habit.
The changes to this year’s event were certainly a result of active intervention by the authorities. Some Chinese celebrities also joined in the opposition to Yulin. Stopping public killing is no small accomplishment.
HSI: Were there a lot of protesters and how did they impact the festival?
Peter: Some 20 activists converged on Yulin between June 3 and June 22, attracting journalists from mainland China and Hong Kong. Among them were famous Chinese artists who protested in front of the gigantic Yulin government office building, holding signs calling for an end to the dog meat festival. And across the country, hundreds of thousands of people voiced their views condemning the festival through social media.
The authorities and the dog meat industry know very well that the voices of opposition can never be underestimated. Bear farming used to be promoted by the Chinese government as a “poverty reduction activity,” but the Chinese public has never stopped challenging it and in 20 years, its reputation has gone from “highly praised” to “morally discredited” business operation. I believe that the dog meat trade will follow a similar path.
HSI: What’s next?
Peter: Dog eating is increasingly losing ground in China. I am cautiously optimistic that this habit will be history in the future.
HSI must continue our engagement with China's dog meat trade and street dog overpopulation issues through our local partner groups. We should encourage advocates to keep pointing out the potential dangers of dog eating to human health, public morality and China’s international reputation. Our efforts in China can help make headway on this matter in Korea and Vietnam as well.
http://www.hsi.org/news/news/2013/0...ws&utm_medium=em070613&utm_campaign=dogmeat13
Sandi in Pahoa; Her colony of feral cats, dogs and chickens all surviving together.
I love cats. I have seven cats living with me and would probably have more if I didn't have a husband who has a bit more sense than I do! I also volunteer at Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary where I work with about 205 cats. I took over the role of feeding cats at the Pahoa Transfer Station about a year ago when the current feeder was faced with many difficulties in her life. I asked my friends, Sabina, and Gregg and Sharon if they could help out as well. I feed the cats four days a week, Sabina two, and Gregg and Sharon one day.
The Pahoa Transfer Station has an area of lava rock covered with trees where we were able to create a bit of a shelter for the cats. Sabina erected a tarp a few feet back from the road in the jungle where they can get out of the rain. Curiously enough, they seem to enjoy sitting and lying on the tarp instead of under it! But, we can put food underneath so that it stays dry.
It can be a depressing job, or a joyful job, depending on your state of mind. I attempt to stay positive and feel that we are at least providing these animals with some food and love, even though the majority are feral. You do get to know them and when they don't show up you worry about them. I have rescued ten cats and found homes for two, not counting my two! Five are at Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary, one was very ill and passed on, and two now live with me. Of these ten only two tested positive for the Leukemia virus.
About four months ago two small dogs showed up at our feeding area. They were very shy and afraid of people, so we are now attempting to win their trust so that they can be relocated and adopted.
There are also many chickens that compete for the cat food. It helps to bring chicken food to lure them away from the cats! All of these animals seem to live together in harmony, or at least in mutual respect.
I am working on creating a new non-profit organization, Puna Partners for Paws, that will raise money to help with the spay/neuter and medical treatment of these cats. Between my four days at the Sanctuary, four feeding days at the Transfer Station, studying to become a Homeopath and playing in a rock band, my time is a bit stretched! However, I am determined to get this done and start the sterilization process at this site. We have spayed our first cat, but this was paid for by Rainbow Friends. It's a start.
I believe education and legislation are the keys to ending the abandonment of these wonderful beings. With everyone working together we will end the needless suffering and create a truly humane island and planet.
To my cat Tilda who was hit by a car and died this morning and to other cats and kittens gone to soon.
See you at the rainbow bridge Tilda, until then you can play with your friends there.
MIST;3868409 said:She was found at the side of the road,with blood in the nose and mouth, I think she got a quick death.
It looked like she was sleeping except for the blood.
I buried her, put some flowers over her and played gone to soon and some other songs.
I'm going to plant a rose bush there later
I trapped her with her siblings and mother 6 years ago,I didn´t find her a new home so she stayed with me.
It´s not safe to have a cat outdoors even if there isn´t that much traffic here.
I´m sad but ok,I have other cats to take care of.
I´ll donate some money to a no kill cat charity here to Tilda`s memory.
It´s a comfort that Tilda at least got 6 good years here, if I hadn´t trapped her she could have starved or frozen to death as a kitten.
MIST;3868409 said:She was found at the side of the road,with blood in the nose and mouth, I think she got a quick death.
It looked like she was sleeping except for the blood.
I buried her, put some flowers over her and played gone to soon and some other songs.
I'm going to plant a rose bush there later
I trapped her with her siblings and mother 6 years ago,I didn´t find her a new home so she stayed with me.
It´s not safe to have a cat outdoors even if there isn´t that much traffic here.
I´m sad but ok,I have other cats to take care of.
I´ll donate some money to a no kill cat charity here to Tilda`s memory.
It´s a comfort that Tilda at least got 6 good years here, if I hadn´t trapped her she could have starved or frozen to death as a kitten.
what a wonderful dogRescued Dog Saves 6 Abandoned Kittens (Photos)
Banzé (or “Scamp”) was once a homeless dog—so when he heard the plaintive mews of an abandoned litter of kittens, he did not hesitate to save them, as he had once been saved.
The kittens were trapped inside a box atop a trash heap, in a neighborhood near São Paulo’s Jardim Aeroporto. He gently tore the box apart, and then carried the kittens—one by one—back to his human’s home.
Photos in the link
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/rescued-dog-saves-6-abandoned-kittens-photos.html#ixzz2ZVspwOjG