Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    China
    Home / China / Society

    Animal rescuers call for help to save strays

    By Christine Low | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2020-12-02 09:18
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    A couple poses for a photo with rescue dogs from Lost Puppies of Beijing at a fundraiser during the summer. CHRISTINE LOW/CHINA DAILY

    With more cats and dogs being abandoned, shelters are coming under growing pressure. Christine Low reports.

    On a sunny Monday afternoon in the suburbs of Beijing, barking dogs could be clearly heard at a nondescript house on an otherwise quiet road.

    Inside, in a large room filled with donated furniture, Liu Yanli and her employee brought in a large puppy with shaggy white-and-grey fur. After letting the lively puppy run around the room, the employee placed it on a table and Liu whipped out her camera to take profile photos.

    Once that was done, the employee held the puppy on the ground while Liu quickly administered a needle jab into its back. The process was repeated when the next dog was brought into the room.

    "I've got a busy day ahead of me," said Liu as she repositioned the camera. "I need to finish taking all these photos for the agencies and administer the vaccinations so that they can be ready for adoption."

    Liu is the founder of Together for Animals in China, a dog shelter that she set up in 2009 after almost a decade of volunteer animal rescue work.

    Over the years, she has rescued and helped re-home hundreds of abandoned dogs. However, the situation at her dog shelter, along with countless other animal shelters across China, illustrates another side of the country's booming pet economy that is rarely talked about.

    At odds

    In recent years, China's pet economy has grown exponentially, with the market expected to exceed 296 billion yuan ($43 billion) this year, up from 221 billion yuan last year, according to market consultancy iMedia Research. In March, pet sales were almost 1.5 times higher than during the same month last year.

    What's striking for rescuers is that more pedigree breeds are being abandoned, reflecting a growing demand for "prestigious" pets. Of the 200 dogs roaming TAC's courtyard, about 13 are golden retrievers, which is a much-prized breed.

    Currently, there are no regulations controlling what dog breeds can be brought into China, so breeders import those that are in strong demand. However, this is sometimes at odds with municipal regulations as to what types of dogs people can keep at home. For instance, in certain districts of Beijing and Shanghai large dogs are prohibited.

    "A lot of people ask me, 'Why do you have so many pedigree dogs in your shelter?'" Liu said. "That is because there is no formal control over dog breeders and what types of dogs they are able to sell."

    Ekaterini Alexiadou, one of the founders of Shanghai Animal Rescue, said large dogs such as Alaskan Malamutes and German Shepherds are seen as a sign of prestige in China, but these dogs do not belong in Shanghai. "These animals are then quickly put on the streets," Alexiadou said. "This is reflected in the fact that over half of our rescues are purebred dogs."

    Mary Peng, founder and CEO of the International Center for Veterinary Services in Beijing, said many new owners don't realize what is involved in looking after a pet, especially when it starts to grow.

    "It starts chewing on everything and it's not trained because people don't have any knowledge or experience and don't know how to train them, and the family can't cope.

    "Sometimes, people fall in love with a certain breed and they don't realize that this breed might not be appropriate for their house or their lifestyle," she said.

    Adrien Macera, owner of the dog training and boarding center Diddy's Hood in Beijing, said owners often don't consider the physical needs of the pet.

    "Often, they will have a beautiful dog that needs to run 20 kilometers a day, which they cannot make happen, and then the dog develops some serious problems," Macera said.

    Animals purchased from pet stores might also have a variety of undisclosed and unknown medical problems that require costly treatment.

    Alexandra Cukor, founder of the dog rescue network Lost Puppies of Beijing, said buyers can incur high medical costs, such as vaccinations, when they get their pet home. This is often because the dogs are from puppy mills where the mother has not received proper nutrition, or genetic defects are passed on in the animals.

    "As a result, people are actually buying dogs that require very costly medical work for the rest of their lives because there are genetic defects," Cukor said.

    1 2 3 4 Next   >>|
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
     
    久久无码中文字幕东京热 | 国产亚洲精久久久久久无码77777| 亚洲AV无码一区东京热久久| 中文字幕Av一区乱码| 免费无遮挡无码永久视频| 中文字幕无码久久人妻| 熟妇人妻中文a∨无码| 国产av永久无码天堂影院| 在线精品无码字幕无码AV| 一区二区中文字幕| 亚洲高清无码综合性爱视频| 日韩精品无码一区二区中文字幕 | 久久精品一区二区三区中文字幕| 黑人无码精品又粗又大又长 | 亚洲AV中文无码乱人伦| 99久久无色码中文字幕人妻| 狠狠躁天天躁无码中文字幕| 亚洲国产精品无码久久98| 中文字幕手机在线观看| 欧美中文字幕在线视频| 中文字幕丰满乱子伦无码专区| 国产福利电影一区二区三区久久老子无码午夜伦不 | 精品久久久中文字幕人妻| 无码毛片一区二区三区视频免费播放| 亚洲精品色午夜无码专区日韩| 无码国产精品一区二区免费虚拟VR| 中文一国产一无码一日韩| 亚洲AV无码乱码在线观看性色扶 | 久久亚洲AV成人无码国产 | HEYZO无码综合国产精品| 免费无遮挡无码永久视频| 久久久久久久人妻无码中文字幕爆| 小13箩利洗澡无码视频网站| 一本加勒比HEZYO无码资源网| 国产成人无码av| 亚洲精品无码成人片久久| 亚洲AV无码久久| 精品人妻大屁股白浆无码| 精品深夜AV无码一区二区| 成人无码一区二区三区| 人妻无码久久精品|