MHS Centennial Speaker Series: Animals in Asia - The Journey to Freedom
Animals Asia's Jill Robinson speaks at the Marin Humane Society about improving conditions for the animals of China
(NOVATO, CALIF., April 23, 2007) — Westerners were appalled to learn of the Chinese government’s culling of tens of thousands of dogs last summer following a rabies outbreak. Similarly, it horrifies us to hear about dogs and cats crammed into wire cages at Asian live food markets and bears who endure unimaginable agony so that their liver bile can be harvested for the Chinese medicine market. Jill Robinson, founder and director of the Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) and a leader in the global animal welfare movement, has spent more than two decades working to end the brutal treatment of animals throughout Asia. Kicking off the Marin Humane Sociey’s Centennial Speaker Series, Robinson will present “Animals in Asia: The Journey to Freedom” at the Marin Humane Society (171 Bel Marin Keys Blvd., Novato) on Monday, May 14 at 7 pm. This event is open to the public and free of charge.
“Jill Robinson is an extraordinary woman who is changing the way animals are treated throughout Asia,” says Morgan Lance, MHS humane education coordinator. “She has had some amazing successes that are an inspiration to all of us who work on behalf of animals.”
In 2006, Animals Asia urged the Chinese government to end the mass slaughter of dogs for controlling rabies, emphasizing that high-volume killing campaigns “succeeded only in creating an incredibly poor image for your government, both within China and internationally.” AAF successfully halted the culling of thousands of dogs in the Nanjing Province and continues to advise the Chinese government on responsible rabies-reduction programs.
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, the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the Sichuan Forestry Department agreed to work in partnership with AAF to begin the world’s largest rescue of 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 219 bears in China and is now building a second sanctuary in Vietnam.
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. 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.
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.
This event is free to the public. Because space is limited, reservations are requested. For more information and to RSVP, please call (415) 506-6288.
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