September 9, 2010

Street Animal Welfare in China

Humane Society International

Stray dogs are new to rapidly urbanizing China. Dog abandonment was unheard of in China’s pre-reform era (1949-1978), when dogs were stigmatized as pests and parasites. People who kept pets then were demonized as worshippers of Western bourgeois lifestyles that had no place in socialist China.

Now, those days are gone forever. With growing affluence, pet ownership has come back to the country. According to a recent estimate, China has more than 150 million dogs. Unfortunately, as urbanization sweeps across mainland China and families move from their traditional one-story houses to high-rise apartments, pet dogs and cats are often left behind and end up living on the streets.

Street animals lead difficult lives in the shadows of an increasingly prosperous society. Garbage cans are their source of food. Vicious kicks, random violence and police brutality only add to the hell they endure at the hands of humans. China’s shining cities with their modern skyscrapers and citizens wrapped in fancy garments of leather and fur contrast with these creatures, who scavenge in trash and huddle together for warmth and comfort.

On top of all this, China’s medieval urban animal control methods are a major cause of street animal suffering. HSI’s China street animal help program is designed to tackle the roots of the problem so that street animal suffering can be mitigated and eventually ended.

What we’re doing

HSI has responded to appeals for help from China, both on an individual basis and at the community level. We funded veterinary care for a rescued street dog named “Wanderer” who was suffering from an open wound around his neck, as well as another dog who struggled to stay alive with two hind legs cruelly chopped off by unknown persons. In May 2008, we responded to China’s devastating Sichuan earthquake after thousands of household dogs were displaced and left homeless. In 2009, we responded to an urgent appeal for help taking in sick street dogs in Harbin in Northeast China near Siberia so that these animals would not perish during the city’s brutal five-month winter. In April 2010, HSI joined other foreign and Chinese NGOs to send three truckloads of emergency dog food to the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau after another earthquake. HSI responded to these distress calls with one purpose in mind: to encourage local activism for policy change in favor of household animals, the original source of street dogs.

The impact we’re having

Through our help for “Wanderer” and others, we are encouraging local Chinese advocates to speak out more loudly for street animals; to educate the public about the moral, public health and animal cruelty consequences of pet abandonment; and to lobby the government to end the existing outdated urban animal management policies that place too many restrictions on pet dogs, a major reason for dog abandonment.

Through our aid to animals displaced after disasters in China, we are encouraging Chinese authorities to re-evaluate their disaster prevention and relief programs; to include household pets in disaster planning; and to include nonhuman victims in government rescue and relief efforts.

Through our partnership with Chinese law enforcement agencies and sponsorship of conferences in China addressing the rabies issue, dog management, and companion animal welfare, HSI is introducing modern urban animal management practices into China; reinforcing the importance of humane treatment of street animals; and advocating an end to China’s medieval approach to rabies prevention and control, which often scapegoats street animals.

Street animal suffering is a global issue. It is a greater challenge in China. With the support of our constituents, we are determined to work harder in China to speak for Chinese street animals, the most disadvantaged group on the Chinese mainland.