So you and your family are ready to expand your household by getting a pet? That’s wonderful news! But before you start scouring the pet shops or pet markets and researching breeders, consider adoption instead. Here’s why: In other countries, there are animal control boards, laws protecting animals from cruelty and neglect, government standardizations and regulations for breeders, not to mention industry organizations policing their own.
So you and your family are ready to expand your household by getting a pet? That’s wonderful news! But before you start scouring the pet shops or pet markets and researching breeders, consider adoption instead. Here’s why: In other countries, there are animal control boards, laws protecting animals from cruelty and neglect, government standardizations and regulations for breeders, not to mention industry organizations policing their own.
China, on the other hand, does not have this infrastructure – which means that anyone can become a “breeder” by simply mating male and female animals together, producing a litter and then printing business cards. The problem with a lack of infrastructure is the impact it has on the health of the animals. In a for-profit industry, animals are often bred too quickly, which compromises the mother’s nutritional and reproductive health, and they are often inbred, creating a litany of health issues.
“Every time you purchase from these vendors, whether they’re ‘breeders’ with a fancy shop or a box outside the train station on the street, you’re making a donation to perpetuate animal trade in China,” says Mary Peng of International Center for Veterinary Services (ICVS). She notes that the majority of these animals do not survive into adulthood.
With a strong community presence, ICVS acts as a contact hub for many local animal shelters, from established organizations to compassionate individuals, including Ding Nainai (or Grandma Ding). Otherwise known as the “cat lady,” Ding Nainai lives in a downtown hutong, where she individually houses between 100 and 200 cats – all seeking permanent homes.
Another place with adoptable pets is the Beijing Human and Animal Environmental Education Center (BHAEEC). It has been in operation since 1997 as a shelter for stray animals (mostly dogs), about 10 percent of which are rescues from the meat industry. The shelter operates at capacity with 700 animals and they have successfully placed thousands of animals in “forever homes” over the years. They also regularly host visits from schools to provide education about animal welfare.
Run by volunteers and donations, BHAEEC was founded by Zhang Liuping, who used her own personal fortune to fund the operation at the start. Currently, they have secured sponsorship for 60 percent of the food costs for their animals. And last year, thanks to donations, they were able to immunize all 700 animals – by no means a small feat.
BHAEEC continues to advertise adoptions on their bilingual Chinese and English website. Those wishing to adopt a pet must fill out a downloadable adoption form and then make an appointment.
Since 2002, local animal welfare advocate Jerri Lan (Lan Zihui) picks up stray dogs and has them vaccinated out of her own pocket. She then does her best to get them into better physical health while putting up ads for adoptive families. ICVS also helps refer potential adoptive families to her.
Over the years, Lan has singlehandedly found homes for 75 stray pets. She notes: “I can’t say it’s easy, but when you can give a sense of justice back to the animals, when you see kind people able to share their love, it’s all worth it. I never worry about meaning in my life because I’ve found it.”
Animal crusader Chris Barden is the owner and founder of the dog shelter, Little Adoption Shop. Originally from California and a Beijing resident for 15 years, Barden admits that he got into this field partly by accident and partly through circumstance. His efforts have saved dozens of dogs from the meat trade as well as the cold reality of Beijing streets. All of the animals are spayed or neutered, and immunized, thanks to donations.
“In China, there is a huge stray animal population, which is driven in part by the speed at which neighborhoods are torn down to make way for new developments,” Barden explains. “[This leaves] behind a growing and very vulnerable population of stray animals.”
If you are interested in adopting a dog from Little Adoption Shop, email or call in advance to arrange an appointment. Shelters like these refrain from posting their addresses to avoid animal dumping, which unfortunately, is a common method of abandoning pets. Aside from adoption, Barden is always in search of more volunteers to join their team.
Also in this short (but surely incomplete) list of caring and generous people who are giving hope to the lives of strays and rescue animals in Beijing is Shay, the founder of the organization Don’t Eat Friends. Founded in December 2007, there are four employees and seven volunteers who keep their shelter and overall establishment rolling – and like other animal organizations, they’re always seeking more assistance.
Don’t Eat Friends is also heavily involved in educational services regarding vegetarianism, veganism and animal welfare, often appearing on television programs and speaking to university students each month.
Their shelter currently houses 50 dogs and 10 cats. They are all strays, but Shay explains that they face the danger of being snatched up by the meat industry if they’re not taken in either by shelters or permanent families. Don’t Eat Friends has already found homes for approximately 200 animals since their inception. The organization relies on donations, the sale of promotional products as well as personal funding and generous friends to cover their overhead costs.
Another devoted animal lover with a huge heart is Charlotte Landwehr. This young German woman, who was raised in Beijing, began her crusade three years ago at the age of 17 to save stray cats. She now has her own established organization, Charly’s Cats, which helps find homes for stray cats through advertising on her own website and ICVS. Each cat has been immunized and neutered or spayed at her own expense. Landwehr is also heavily involved in Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) projects across the city.
“Shelters are not the solution,” says Mary Peng. “Shelters are a response, or a band-aid. The solution is to spay and neuter all of our pets. We have to control the population at the source.”
The TNR program is an effort to reduce the population of stray animals, but it still doesn’t give homes to all of the existing stray animals that need them.
Barden reminds us: “Every time you adopt an animal in need, it helps in two ways: It gives that individual cat or dog a home, and it also sends a message to society that every life matters, even the lives of stray mutts.’”
If you’re looking to expand your family via a canine or feline, consider the compassionate path of adopting a pet over purchasing one at a pet shop or market. It is hard to deny the indisputable kindness, not to mention social activism, inherent in pet adoption.
Author Ember Swift and her family have two adopted cats that romp around happily in their Beijing apartment.
Resources
International Center for Veterinary Services (ICVS)
北京新天地国际动物医院
Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sundays 10am-7pm. Kent Center, 29 Liangma Qiao Lu, Anjialou Lu, Chaoyang District (8456 1939/1940/1941, icvs_china@yahoo.com) www.icvsasia.com
Beijing Human and Animal Environmental Education Center (BHAEEC)
北京人与动物环保科普中心
(132 6038 1387 Cami, 138 1005 5778 Shirley, info@animalschina.org)
www.animalschina.org
Little Adoption Shop 领养小铺
(136 8360 2305 Chris, chris@lingyang.org) www.lingyang.org
Ding Nainai
To adopt a cat from Ding Nainai, contact ICVS.
Charly’s Cats
(151 0156 3610, charlybj@gmail.com) www.charlyscats.org
Jerri Lan
(fw_bj@hotmail.com) www.blog.sina.com.cn/aiquanshouce
Don’t Eat Friends 别吃朋友
(136 0137 6683, biechipengyou@126.com)
http://biechipengyou.taobao.com, www.biechipengyou.com
This article is excerpted from beijingkids March 2012 issue. View it in PDF form here or contact distribution@beijing-kids.com to find out where you can pick up your free copy.