Rescuing bears and stopping dog and cat-eating in China
Animals Asia founder speaks at Marin Humane Society about evolving social values towards animals in Asia
(Novato, Calif., June 22, 2005) — Western visitors to Asian live food markets are often horrified to find dogs and cats crammed into wire cages, destined to become someone’s dinner. Similarly, we cringe when we hear of bears enduring unimaginable agony so that their bile can be harvested for the Chinese Medicine market. While most of us turn our heads away from these shocking realities, for the last two decades, Jill Robinson has been doing something about them. Founder and director of Animals Asia Foundation (www.animalsasia.org), a Hong Kong-based non-profit working to protect the lives of animals throughout Asia, Robinson is speaking at the Marin Humane Society (171 Bel Marin Keys Blvd., Novato), Wednesday, July 13, 2005, from 6–8 pm. This event is open to the public and free of charge.
Robinson has received worldwide acclaim for being the first foreign animal welfare representative to ever sign an agreement of partnership with the Chinese government. In July, 2000, after seven years of negotiations, the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the Sichuan Forestry Department agreed to work in partnership with Animals Asia Foundation to begin the world’s largest rescue of the highly endangered Asiatic Black Bears from Chinese bile farms. At these farms, bears lie sick and imprisoned in cages no larger than their own bodies for years at a time so that their bile can be harvested for Traditional Chinese Medicine. To date, Animals Asia has rescued, rehabilitated and provided lifelong sanctuary for 185 bears.
Since 1985, Robinson has been investigating Asia’s live animal markets. The tens of millions of dogs and cats sold each year at these markets to become food for humans suffer slowly and cruelly in the belief that “torture equals taste.” The dog meat trade is also becoming increasingly industrialized as huge dog farms are developed. Gentle, giant breeds, like the St. Bernard, are being crossbred with the local Chinese mongrel to produce a fast-growing, docile “meat dog” who can be slaughtered as a four-month-old puppy. To stop the torture, slaughter and human consumption of dogs and cats, Animals Asia launched “Friends … or Food?” — a grassroots educational campaign designed to inspire a reconsideration of societal attitudes, and “Dr. Dog” — — the first animal-assisted therapy program of its kind in Asia, helping people to understand that dogs are more valuable as helpers and heroes than as food on one’s plate.
Robinson coined the phrase, “Animal welfare through people welfare,” and strives to ensure that local communities and families are involved in and benefit from Animals Asia’s initiatives.
“The focus on grassroots participation and community benefit helps to ensure that the social changes they are helping to bring about will be long-lasting,” says Cindy Machado, director of animal services at the Marin Humane Society. “Animals Asia is an exciting organization with a tremendous track record.”
Marin student raises $1,000 for Animals Asia
Along with successfully enlisting the support of Chinese movie stars, musicians, politicians, doctors and students, Robinson has an active young supporter from Marin County, California. Inspired by Earth Day this past April, 11-year-old Samantha Novick, a student at Marin Horizon School in Mill Valley, learned about Animals Asia and decided she wanted to do something to help. Walking door-to-door around her neighborhood, Novick educated her neighbors and raised $1,000 for the organization. She’ll be presenting Robinson with a check at the July 13 presentation at the Marin Humane Society.
A native of England, Robinson has been featured on BBC News, CNN, NPR and National Geographic Television. She was selected as a Readers’ Digest “Hero for Today” and, in 2002, won the Genesis Award for her work protecting animals. She is widely recognized as a dynamic and inspirational speaker.
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