One of the rescues we’ve featured this week is of puppies who got stuck in tar. People often want to know how is it that road tar wasn’t properly disposed, or why there is there so much garbage? The answers are not easy because so much intersects: India experienced a relatively sudden introduction of non-disposable plastics and other materials in a culture that values tolerance, even of things that are offensive. The toxins and dangers in this environment are present around the world, often more lethal, but more hidden. But wherever we live, there are beings who suffer because of human negligence. This video about removing the tar from puppies’ little bodies, however, focuses on the opposite phenomenon: human kindness. Watch the faces of the band of helpers who worked so carefully for hours and hours to make sure these little angels would be happy again.

Hours of effort saved Amber and her sisters locked in rock-solid tar.

Three gorgeous puppies were encased in hardened road tar when our rescue team arrived, and their sibling had died from the toxic hardened tar. Two of the three had made their way back to their mother with tar over half their little bodies.

But one was stuck to the earth, and to avoid pulling her skin off, rescuers had to cut and pry big slabs of stone and tar to carry with her to the hospital where all 3 puppies would undergo hours of labor as Animal Aid staff and volunteers softened the tar by soaking it in cooking oil and pulling it off little bit by bit.

The puppies’ little faces could not have looked more forlorn. By the time the tar was removed, they were soooo exhausted. But all the more WONDERFUL to see them playing in joy after a good night’s sleep in the furry warmth of their Mommy.

Removing tar is difficult, but LOVE is easy—Please donate

After we repaired her neck wound, Sunny-day glowed!

Her skin hung heavily on her throat, detached by a 4-inch cut that exposed all of this sweet dog’s neck muscles. She would need stitches to survive, and when our rescue team arrived, she let us scoop her up without the slightest resistance. We were relieved to see that the edges of the cut were clean enough that suturing was possible. When she healed, she simply glowed. We named her Sunny-day, and wow, just look at her now!

For surgery to save precious souls, please donate.

Stitching this wound saved precious Nugget’s life.

Blood from a deep wound on this sweetheart’s thigh had soaked his hind legs and tail, but that tail wagged in the most earnest announcement of trust, enabling our rescue team to gently and quietly carry him to our ambulance and stitch him up in the hospital. Meet adorable Nugget, whose cheerful and subtle little smile will charm your socks off.

For badly injured tail-waggers. Please donate.

Celebrate the Caregivers!

Himmat Gameti has for 2 years grown in his ability at a tremendous rate. He manages the care of dogs in our Spay-Neuter Center where he ensures that both routine feeding and special post-operative medical care are provided “his” 80 ever-changing surgery patients. Himmat is observant, communicative, fast and thorough. He’s also a big sweetheart and we feel so lucky to have his brilliant help as a team leader.

Today (8/3) I issued a post about a dog in Colombia (?) which had all its puppies killed and was then teased.

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/03/08/colombia-petition-youngsters-kill-all-the-puppies-of-a-mother-dog-and-then-tease-it-demand-they-are-prosecuted/

Over the day a few mails have been sent in to us; some saying that the incident probably happened in Pakistan or Egypt; and not Colombia. Also, this incident may be 4 years old and the people responsible for the crime have never been caught.

So what do we do ? – I will probably now delete the post; it was done with all good intentions, but maybe inaccurate; so is effectively worthless. If accusations are made that the info is wrong, then we would really like to see it backed with factual evidence rather than just ‘hearsay’.

This, and similar petitions,  do not really give you a lot of faith in putting petitions onto the site – maybe we now need to rethink what we do in future. Do we publish anything or not ?

If anyone can give us the real facts of this case we would love to hear and see it.

For the meantime I guess we now remove the post;

Regards Mark.

Petition now removed due to un reliable information.

Please see newer post of today – 8/3.

Regards Mark.

Each year in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia, an estimated 10 million cats and dogs are killed for their meat — a practice that has serious implications for both animal welfare and human health, according to a shocking new report.

Animal welfare group Four Paws’ report highlights the significant threat of the dog and cat meat trade on the health of consumers, including an increased risk of spreading rabies and other zoonotic viruses, such as coronavirus, because the slaughtered animals are frequently bought and sold at unhygienic live animal markets.

This is in addition to the horrendous suffering these poor creatures are forced to endure. People who trade dogs and cats to meat markets often capture strays or steal pets from their guardians. Butchers then slaughter them by hanging, stabbing, drowning or burning them alive.

“The traders steal pets as well as stray animals and transport them all over the country – even across national borders,” explains Dr. Katherine Polak, veterinarian and head of Four Paws Stray Animal Care in Southeast Asia. “No one knows if the animals are infected with rabies or other diseases. The keeping and slaughtering of the dogs and cats, mostly in live animal markets or backyards, is not only extremely brutal, but also fails to meet minimum hygienic standards. This creates the perfect breeding ground for novel and deadly zoonotic viruses, such as the coronavirus.”

“Although most local people in Southeast Asia oppose dog and cat meat, the trade … has continued to serve as a niche business,” she adds. “The governments in Southeast Asia must act quickly to protect both animals and humans.”

The brutal slaughter of millions of cats and dogs for human consumption is horrific enough, and the added threat to human health provides even more reason to ban this inhumane industry.

Lady Freethinker’s petition to stop Vietnam’s horrific dog and cat meat trade has gathered over 27,240 signatures. If you haven’t signed yet, please add your name to help these innocent animals escape a terrible death.

Petition link – https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-ban-the-horrific-dog-and-cat-meat-trade-in-vietnam/

WAV Comment – wherever you stick your pin on the global map; there are always animal people who are more than willing to step up to the plate and do whatever they can to help animals in need. It is so encouraging to see action by people, local groups, celebrities and the media; as well as national stores; who have gone way to the top in doing their bit to help animals with supplies of food, information and contact lines. We salute them and thank them all for their endless work to help animals get through this current crisis.

As always, hats off to Jill and the crew at AA for showing the world that even in the event of such a terrible time for both humans and animals; tenacity and the love and compassion for animals always wins through.

Please help support AA with a donation to help animals in need if you can.

https://help.animalsasia.org/page/40527/donate/1?locale=en-GB&supporter.country=GB&transaction.paycurrency=GBP&transaction.donationAmt=

Suki Deng Animals Asia’s Cat and Dog Welfare Senior Manager said:

“In spite of the danger of this outbreak, individuals, organisations, companies and government officials have been working overtime together to make sure that companion animals are protected from harm as well as humans. The love that people have shown towards cats and dogs during this difficult time has been a beacon of hope and love. I’d like to pay special tribute to all of the amazing local organisations and volunteers who are doing heroic work every single day.”

Regards Mark

Source – https://www.animalsasia.org/uk/media/news/news-archive/cartoon-encouraging-responsible-companion-animal-guardianship-watched-over-35,000-times-in-a-day.html

Cartoon encouraging responsible companion animal guardianship watched over 35,000 times in a day.

21 February 2020

Animals Asia has released a new film called “Waiting for The Game to End” to encourage empathy and responsible companion animal guardianship. Within a day of its release online it was watched over 35,000 times on Chinese social media networks Weibo and Wechat. The cartoon tells a sad story of an adorable dog abandoned by his guardian. He is convinced that he’s just playing a game of “hide-and-seek” and that his guardian and best friend will come to pick him up soon….

The film is especially timely as there have been many stories of cats and dogs left stranded in empty apartments due to the CoVid19 coronavirus crisis. In many cases the animals’ guardians are simply unable to return to their homes due to travel and quarantine restrictions. In some cases misinformation has spread about domestic animals’ ability to transmit the virus.

In addition to creating and sharing the animated film, Animals Asia has been helping to combat misinformation by widely sharing the World Health Organisation’s advice which says: “there is no evidence that companion animals/pets such as dogs or cats can be infected with the new coronavirus.”

On the ground Animals Asia has been providing practical support to local organisations who are organising volunteers to ensure the safety of companion animals who have no one to look after them, including stray dogs and cats.

Many local groups are working together with the help of mainstream media and celebrities providing a voice for animals and many companies are coming on board to offer their support.

Heroic local groups that are exhibiting incredible  #BraveryInAction include Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association (SAPA), Zhejiang SAPA, Hefei SAPA, Ping’an Afu, Xi’an SAPA, Chongqing SAPA, Nanchang SAPA and more!

China’s largest online shopping platform Taobao has collected 10 tons of dog food to support stray animal groups in the country and Liushi Town in east China’s Zhejiang Province has opened a hotline for citizens who need help for their stay-at-home animals. Volunteer teams have been set up, not only to help the stay-at-home animals whose guardian’s can’t reach them, but also to provide food and water for stray animals, to help them survive.

Popular media outlets like People’s Daily and CCTV as well as celebrities such Han Hong, Yao Chen and Li Yifeng posted on Chinese social media network Weibo to speak up for the people and animals impacted by the crisis. They helped to spread information and dispel myth as well as encouraging people not to hurt and abandon companion animals.

According to Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association they have helped in excess of 5,000 companion animals and received nearly nine tons of cat and dog food from cat and dog food companies free of charge, as well as other items such as disinfection products and cat litter.

Suki Deng Animals Asia’s Cat and Dog Welfare Senior Manager said:
“In spite of the danger of this outbreak, individuals, organisations, companies and government officials have been working overtime together to make sure that companion animals are protected from harm as well as humans. The love that people have shown towards cats and dogs during this difficult time has been a beacon of hope and love. I’d like to pay special tribute to all of the amazing local organisations and volunteers who are doing heroic work every single day.”

As reported earlier Animals Asia has also purchased 5,000 kilos (5 tons) of dog food for the stranded pets of Wuhan and continues to provide support to cat and dog shelters around the country. The film “Waiting for The Game to End” will also be screened on advertising screens in Chengdu Metro stations throughout the coming month.

As ever Animals Asia is working hard forging partnership with other organisations, companies and authorities to improve the lives of vulnerable animals. The courage and tenacity of everyone engaged in this work in the face of this health emergency is truly inspiring. We are doing everything we can to support them and we hope you will stand with them too, until the crisis ends.