We are NOT the official Animals Asia but we are the official Lancashire branch in the UK to help this charity, please click the banner below to visit the Animals Asia official site to see all the fantastic work they are doing. As you may have read recently, China has ordered dog meat to be taken off the menu at its 112 official Olympic restaurants in Beijing in order to avoid offending foreign visitors. Restaurant workers have been advised to suggest other options to diners who order dog and Xinhua, China's official news agency has reported that any restaurant found violating the ban will be black-listed. The ban forbids all designated Olympic restaurants from offering dog and urges other food outlets to remove the meat from menus, for the duration of the games. Animals Asia welcomes the ban and has asked the Chinese authorities to issue a permanent ban on dog and cat eating in recognition that it is not just foreigners offended by the practice, but Chinese citizens too. If you are traveling to China this year, please help its dogs and cats by refusing to support the industry that so cruelly tortures and slaughters them. You can read our recent Press Release on the issue at the official Animals Asia website www.animalsasia.org and view the two Community Service Video’s ************************************************************* NOT ON THE MENU AT THE BEIJING OLYMPICS: DOGS There will be no chow at chow time. Out of respect for Western dining mores, man's best friend will not be offered at Olympic-connected restaurants, and Chinese officials are trying strongly to convince other eateries to follow suit. If a patron requests "fragrant meat," as the Chinese refer to dog meat (that is, meat from dogs, not meat for dogs), the server is supposed to politely but firmly recommend another dish. ("Anyone for spaghetti Bolognese with a tossed "Bijon" frisee and washed down with cold lhassi?") Of course, it's not the first time dogs, the Olympics and exotic eating traditions have collided. In 1988, for the Seoul Olympics, the South Korean government similarly asked restaurants to put the kibosh on canine cookery. Nevertheless, the subject was the source of much ribbing on Western broadcasts of the games, which many Koreans took as a slight against the entire nation. Twelve years later, when South Korea hosted the World Cup, the controversy erupted all over again. In Vietnam and several other Asian and Pacific Rim countries, dog is something you might find on some tables (though it's worth noting that eating dog has become noticeably less popular in many places, like China and Korea). And even in the West, it's not by any means unknown: A minor furor supposedly was caused when a newspaper reported about the popularity of dog jerky in certain remote Swiss cantons (I'm suspicious of the single-source nature of these Internet accounts, though). And dog-eating is considered a suitable subject for a laugh right here in the U.S., with joke Web sites dedicated to the subject. Please note that I said "joke," not "funny." The argument could be made that Westerners' disgust at ancient Eastern customs like dog-eating is culturally close-minded, hypocritical and another example of cute-animal syndrome, where only baby seals and the like get wide attention. Or you could say that the practice of raising dogs purely for their meat is inherently cruel, a line of thinking that then begs to be carried over to the meat industry as a whole. *********************************************************** DOG MEAT OFF THE MENU DURING BEIJING OLYMPICS!!! http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/07/11/1656662-dog-meat-off-the-menu-during-beijing-olympics BEIJING — Canine cuisine is being sent to the doghouse during next month's Beijing Olympic Games. Dog meat has been struck from the menus of officially designated Olympic restaurants, and Beijing tourism officials are telling other outlets to discourage consumers from ordering dishes made from dogs, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday. Waiters and waitresses should "patiently" suggest other options to diners who order dog, it said, quoting city tourism bureau Vice Director Xiong Yumei. Dog, known in Chinese as "xiangrou," or "fragrant meat," is eaten by some Chinese for its purported health-giving qualities. Beijing isn't the first Olympic host to slap a ban on the dish. South Korea banned dog meat during the 1988 Seoul Olympics by invoking a law prohibiting the sale of "foods deemed unsightly." After the Olympics, the ban was not strictly enforced. Dog meat is also eaten in some other Asian countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos. *********************************************************** Media Release 15 May 2008 Animals Asia sends medical team to help with earthquake relief Staff from Animals Asia’s Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu are heading to Anxian in northern Sichuan Province to help with the earthquake relief effort. Red Cross China accepted an offer of help made by Animals Asia after the foundation had heard the situation was desperate. A team of 17, including half the moon bear sanctuary’s veterinary team and some bear workers (to do heavy lifting) left the rescue centre at around 4.30pm yesterday to start the four-hour drive to Anxian in the rescue centre’s coach. Animals Asia Founder and CEO Jill Robinson said: “We actually had to draw straws believe it or not. Everyone wanted to go to help despite the obvious dangers. Once there, we will take directions from the Red Cross and help in any way we can – both people and animals.” Ms Robinson, who is also joining the group, said the coach was packed with basic medical supplies, such as needles, syringes, bandages, swabs, oral and topical antibiotics, iodine and a flush for washing wounds. “We hope we can help with some basic first aid – bandaging and stitching cuts, cleaning wounds, making splints and maybe we can use the coach to ferry survivors to hospital. Basically, we’ll do whatever we can to help. “Red Cross China has recruited eight Chinese doctors who are also heading to Anxian, so we may be working with them. We’re not sure – the situation is still unclear at the moment.” Ms Robinson said the team would work around the clock for two days, returning to the rescue centre in Chengdu on Saturday night (Red Cross China is allowing volunteers to work only for two days straight). Depending on the situation at that time, Animals Asia may return with a fresh team and fresh supplies. Animals Asia Foundation is a Hong Kong-headquartered charity that rescues Asiatic black bears (called moon bears because of the yellow crescents on their chests) from cruel bile farms in China and Vietnam. To date, it has rescued 247 bears in China and brought them to its rescue centre just outside of Chengdu. Both bears and staff were unharmed in the earthquake, but the centre may have to rebuild some buildings on site that sustained structural damage. Dave Neale UK Director Animals Asia Foundation Tel: 00 44 (0)1579 347148 Fax: 00 44 (0)1579 347343 AAF UK, 3 Ashleigh Meadow, Tregondale Farm, Menheniot, Cornwall, PL14 3RG Reg Charity: 1086903 12/05/2008 Quake Kills Thousands In China The extent of the devastation in China, after an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck, is still being realised. Sichuan Province, located in southwest China, is one of the largest and most inaccessible provinces in the nation. This province covers an area of 485,000 kilometers (187,000 miles) and boasts the largest population in China, with 87 million people. Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan and is the cultural and industrial center for the agricultural Chengdu Plain. Chengdu was one of the first centers of printing in China and has been famous for its luxurious satins, brocades, and lacquer ware since the 13th century. Chengdu is also home to the Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base, one of the most important centers in the world for the captive conservation of the Giant Panda. The Research Centre has evolved into China Panda City. Panda City encompasses a museum, as well as the Chengdu Zoo. Link to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7396400.stm#map As well as the hugh concern we share for the staff, their families , and the people of Chengdu, we cannot help but also think of those bears that remain trapped on bile farms - their suffering intensified by the abject terror they must now be feeling. While the rescued bears are safe and comforted , these bears are more helpless than ever and dependant on the very people who slowly and callously drain their lives from them. 04/05/2008 Link to Sunday Express, By John Ingham, Environment Editor in China: http://express.co.uk/features/view/43095/The-truth-behind-China-s-cruelty-to-animals Bejing cats: March AAF Position Paper on cat “cleansing” in Beijing March 2008: We are appalled with recent news that cat colonies are being rounded up from the streets of Beijing as part of the “cleansing” of the city for the Olympic Games. Since this news was reported, we have been working with a local group, Capital Welfare Association, and talking directly with the Agriculture Department of the Beijing Government, which is in charge of stray cat confiscation. Although we have yet to receive direct confirmation that local residents are abandoning their cats as a result of fear of disease, we are however deeply concerned that a great many cats currently fed by local residents and welfare groups are now being collected and taken to Government-run pounds. According to people on the ground, the welfare and management of these facilities is grim and the cats are apparently being left to die of starvation and disease. Together with members of the Capital Welfare Association, we are asking the local authorities to allow us to visit their confiscation centres in Beijing. We are offering to discuss proper short-term management and care, together with more long-term help in a programme that would release vaccinated, micro-chipped and de-sexed cats back to the areas from which they came. Such TNR (trap, neuter, release) programmes are already showing how street cats can integrate safely and harmoniously with local communities in countries across the world – including China. We have recently funded a similar programme in Guangzhou and are setting the standard of vet care in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and soon Chengdu with our vet team outreach programmes, which are providing training at vets clinics in basic spay/neuter programmes and animal care. Although the government Agriculture Department has expressed a vague interest in talking with us and local groups, they have still not offered us a date on which to meet. Thank you for supporting our work – we hope that the Government will offer more positive news soon and we will update our website as soon as more information becomes available 28/04/2008 Link to Daily Express, By John Ingham, Environment Editor in China: http://express.co.uk/posts/view/42760/Tormented-bears-beaten-for-bile 28/04/2008 Link to Daily Express, By John Ingham, Environment Editor in China: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/42762/A-survivor-of-China-s-cruel-regime 04/04/2008 Link to sky news feature: 'Skeletal And Blind' Moon Bears Rescued http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1311819,00.html 04/04/2008 Link to telegraph feature: Bears rescued from 'hellish' Chinese bile farmhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/03/eabears103.xml 04/04/2008 Link to New Tang Dynasty Television: Bears Rescued from Torturous Bile Farm http://english.ntdtv.com/?c=145&a=2605 06/02/2008 Link to Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=512657&in_page_id=1770 Starring horse-riding lions, the Sickest Show on Earth 04/05/2007 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=452255&in_page_id=1770 A bicycle-riding bear: Animal cruelty as the Chinese celebrate May Bank Holiday 04/10/2006 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=407693&in_page_id=1770 Un-bear-able: China's cruel animal Olympics reach new heights 11/10/2005 Link to guardian.co.uk: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/oct/11/animalwelfare.world 23/06/2005 Link to BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/03/2006_25_fri.shtml 05/04/2000 Link to BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/702576.stm www.animalsasia.org