animal welfare – Animal Dialogue

Let stray cats have a home – Zhejiang Province established its first animal welfare special fund

Posted on October 7, 2019October 7, 2019 by animaldialogue in animal welfare, News

On September 12th, the “Zhejiang Rainbow Sun Foundation – Morelovecat Special Fund” was founded, and various leaders in academia, corporate, and public welfare foundations attended the founding ceremony.

The growing problem of urban stray cats is detrimental to the urban ecosystem and public health. At the same time, the rapid reproduction of stray cats further aggravates the problem. Besides, due to the unsuitable living environment, fear, and lack of food and water, etc., the life span of stray cats is said to be generally shorter than three years.

As one of the most common stray animals in the city, stray cats have been cared for and rescued by many people. However, the words and actions of extreme supporters or opposers of stray rescue have sparked heated discussion in Chinese society.

In mainland China, because of the current lack of animal protection law, few official organizations have joined in the urban stray cats’ rescue and management. Strays are more likely to be taken in and cared for by non-governmental organizations.

The Morelovecat Special Fund aims to promote an urban stray cat 100% protection program to help stray cats find homes. The Fund’s mission is to protect the strays every step of the way, from their initial wandering stage to their final homes.

At the end of the founding ceremony, the sponsors of the Special Fund released the “Morelovecat Novice Pack” to support new cat owners. The pack contains essential pet supplies such as seven days of cat food, cat litter, and food and water bowls.

Next, they will release information about stray cats through online platforms. They will also seek out prospective cat owners and organize free lectures to promote the urban stray cat 100% protection program.

Stray cat on the street of a Chinese city.

It is great to see an increasing number of NGOs in China engaging in stray animal management. Although the effort has become more organized, official support is crucial. There is still a lot of work for China to do, but great news has come.

On September 25th, the official website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China published the “Response to Recommendation No. 5074 of the Second Session of the 13th National People’s Congress”, in response to the National People’s Congress’ “Suggestion of the Enactment of the Law on the Prohibition of Cruelty to Animals”. The Response states that it is necessary to develop legislation to combat animal cruelty and other acts that are widely opposed by the public.

The Response can be found at http://www.moa.gov.cn/gk/jyta/201909/t20190925_6328971.htm

Hopefully, soon, the animal protection laws can be implemented, and more official funds and efforts could join in stray animal management.

References:

http://baijiahao.baidu.com/

http://industry.caijing.com.cn/

Translated by Huiyuan Qi

Edited by Andrea Jia @ Animal Dialogue

Chinese zoo celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival by feeding the animals “mooncakes”

Posted on September 23, 2019September 22, 2019 by animaldialogue in animal welfare, News

A hippo finished its 10kg “forage mooncake”, and the snub-nosed monkey got a “fruit mooncake”… September 13th was the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. Adorable animals in Safari Park, Shenzhen, also celebrated this special day with their unique custom-made “mooncake”. At 9 a.m., the zookeeper made special “mooncakes” according to the feeding habits of the animals. All the “mooncakes” were not only different in sizes and style but also varied in their ingredients.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival in China on August 15th on the lunar calendar. It is the day for family reunions, symbolized by the full moon that night. The mooncake, usually made of rice, grains, or lotus, is the reflection of the full moon on the food.

The snub-nosed monkeys and ring-tailed lemurs are primates. Zookeepers used a doughy pie skin and filled it with the animals’ favorite food like apples, bananas, grapes, jujubes, peanuts, and boiled eggs to make “fruit mooncakes”.

The snub-faced monkeys are curious about the fruit mooncake

The elephants and hippos are large herbivores that eat a lot, so their “forage mooncakes” were much larger than the “fruit mooncakes” for the primates: one “forage mooncake” weighed 10kg (about 22 pounds). The “forage mooncakes” were made of elephant grass, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, and alfalfa pellets.

The animals welcomed these unique “mooncakes”. The 10kg “forage mooncake” quickly disappeared as the smart elephant rolled its agile snorts around it. The hippo opened its mouth wide to gorge the whole “forage mooncake” at once. The ring-tailed lemurs had their mouth watering at the “mooncake feast”: they promptly gathered around and enjoyed the meal. The snub-nosed monkeys were more curious about the “fruit mooncakes”, sniffing around it carefully before digging in.

Shenzhen Safari Park has been organizing animal mooncake activities every Mid-Autumn Festival since 2011. The materials for the mooncake were all designed based on the animals’ typical diets. These “mooncakes” satisfied the animals’ appetite while ensuring safety and nutritional needs.

The original article can be found on http://www.gd.xinhuanet.com/

Translated by Zichen He

Edited by Andrea Jia @ Animal Dialogue

Shenzhen enhances animal management practices including mandatory microchips for all dogs

Posted on July 1, 2019July 1, 2019 by animaldialogue in animal welfare, News

On June 20th, a Shenzhen citizen reported in an open letter to the city about the death of stray dogs due to poor management at a local dog shelter. The message showed dogs in abominable conditions. The majority of the dogs were sick or starving, and emaciated bodies of dead dogs laid around the facility.

A photo from the open letter exposing terrible conditions at the dog shelter.

That afternoon, the Shenzhen Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau made a spot check and demanded the dog shelter to rectify the existing problems immediately. Later, the Bureau held a press conference to report the situation and announced that they are building a new shelter facility up to international standards.

This year, Shenzhen focuses on improving dog management. The new “Trap, Neuter, Adopt” (TNA) Project aims to resolve the stray dog problem in the city. The Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau will standardize the management of stray dogs as well as encourage adoptions. For example, the Bureau requires all dogs to receive injections of microchips, which prevents losing pets and holds owners accountable for the dogs’ behavior.

In recent years, due to an increasing number of dog attacks in urban public spaces, Chinese municipal governments have initiated rigorous control of pets and stray dogs.

Last November, the Chengdu Police Department began to seize and dispose of 22 breeds of banned dogs in the city’s dog-restricted area.

Hangzhou government also carried out a governance action plan of pet dog control, prohibiting dog-walking from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. and imposing fines for unleashed walks and unregistered pet dogs.

A toy poodle receiving an ultrasound exam at the 2019 South China Pet Products Exhibition.

In fact, to regulate pet dog ownership and prevent dog attacks, Chinese cities have implemented dog restrictions for many years.

As early as the 1990s, cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Wuhan were the first to introduce dog management measures. After merely a decade, dog management measures have been widely adopted in China. The regulations often put specific restrictions on the time and location of dog walks, the number of dogs owned, as well as the height and breed of the pet dogs. Many dog lovers have voiced their concerns that these regulations are unreasonable and cause unnecessary suffering for certain kinds of dogs. Under such circumstances, whether it is necessary to formulate a unified law across China to regulate pet ownership has become a popular topic for the public.

During the 2018 National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Qian Yefang, standing director of the Chinese Society of Social Law and a professor at the law school of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, drew up the “Companion Animal Protection Act”, hoping to promote relevant legislation. Liu Chen, a scholar at the School of Public Administration and Media, Guilin University of Technology, also expressed recently the necessity of legislation concerning pet ownership in the public area to guide pet owners under the law.

All information comes from http://www.uschinapress.com/ and http://shenzhen.sina.com.cn/

Translated by Vince Wu

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

Hong Kong consults the public on proposals to enhance animal welfare legislation, offenders potentially face ten years’ imprisonment

Posted on May 20, 2019June 24, 2019 by animaldialogue in animal welfare, News

Animal welfare involves the quality of life of an animal and may include aspects such as the animals’ physical health, psychological states, and the ability to express natural behaviors. The topic of animal welfare has become increasingly popular around the globe in recent years.

On April 26th, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) of Hong Kong announced that they would be consulting the public about several proposals to enhance animal welfare in Hong Kong until July 31th, 2019.

Screenshot of the proposal website heading

The current animal law in Hong Kong is called the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169), introduced in 2006. Although the current legislation bans and penalizes cruel acts towards animals, it does not promote or define good animal welfare. Drawing from animal welfare laws from various foreign places such as Macau, Singapore, California, and New Zealand, the AFCD’s strategy to amending this law is threefold.

Firstly, the amendment would introduce a positive “Duty of Care” on persons responsible for animals to enforce the fulfillment of the animals’ welfare needs so that animals could be protected before they are suffering. Should the bill be passed, public officers would be able to issue an “improvement notice” to people not fulfilling the duty of care and set an appropriate penalty.

Secondly, the maximum penalty for animal cruelty offenses would be increased based on public opinion. In the feedback form at the end of the public consultation document, the public could choose from different lengths of imprisonment ranging from four to ten years. The court would also be able to disqualify someone from keeping animals should they be convicted of an animal cruelty offense. The current version of Cap. 169 has a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine of $200,000 Hong Kong Dollars (approx. $25,000 USD).

Thirdly, public officers would be enabled to enter premises and seize animals with the purpose to prevent animal suffering. As some cases may take months to complete, the seized animals would also be released and rehomed under certain circumstances (e.g., the owner surrendered the animal and the court no longer required it for evidence purposes).

The site of a recent suspected animal cruelty case

The director of AFCD, Dr. Leung Siu-Fai, stated in a public event that the AFCD had been actively working with Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) and the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA HK) to enforce Cap. 169, and that was the reason why the amendment did not include the establishment of animal police officers. After the amendment bill passes, the AFCD would work on mobilizing personnel to enhance the enforcement of the law.

Member of the Legislative Council and an animal advocate, Roy Kwong Chun-yu, stated that he would be initiating large-scale public demonstrations to invite more members of the public to submit their opinions to the AFCD. Kwong also pointed out that though the HKPF set up animal task forces in 22 police districts, there were only a total of 30 enforcers of Cap. 169.

If the general public wishes to give comments on the matter, they can download the consultation document from the proposal website below and submit their feedback through email, fax or mail.

Update: On May 19th, Roy Kwong Chun-yu, local celebrities, and animal advocate groups rallied over 6,000 people in a march through the streets of Hong Kong towards the government headquaters. They were wearing red ribbons that represent the blood of the animals that were abused or killed.

All Information comes from:

https://www.pets.gov.hk/

https://bit.ly/2VlHsiz

https://bit.ly/2LV99Lr

https://bit.ly/2Qms0hf

Translated by Dule and Andrea Jia

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

The first “Local Animal Park” in China opened its doors on Earth Day

Posted on May 6, 2019June 24, 2019 by animaldialogue in animal welfare, Conservation, News

On the 50th Earth Day, the Shanghai Zoo opened a “Local Animal Park”. The animal inhabitants of the park include endangered and protected species such as otters, Chinese water deers, leopard cats, South China tigers, and Oriental storks. At the same time, local representative species such as hog badger, European badger, raccoon dogs, and mallards also live in the park.

An Area of More Than 320,000 Square Feet Produces a “Home” Environment

The Shanghai Zoo Local Animal Park began construction in August 2017. After the completion, the total area of the park is more than 320,000 square feet.

In the past, tourists always paid more attention to star animals such as pandas, lions, golden monkeys and so on. However, they don’t know much about the animals that live around the city. Shanghai is a city built on wetlands with abundant natural resources that support nearly 90% of the wildlife species in the Yangtze River Delta Area. “We define ‘local animals’ as wildlife that live in or near Shanghai, or animals that have historically been distributed but are now disappearing,” said a zoo official.

Inhabitant of the Local Animal Park: Chinese water deer

Inhabitant of the Local Animal Park: Reeves’s muntjac

The Local Animal Park of Shanghai Zoo is the first exhibition in China with the title of “local animals”. It features the natural environment of Shanghai wetland and hilly forests. The park strives to simulate nature so that the animals can express natural behaviors.

The entire bird area is composed of wetland landscapes such as lakes, shoals, streams, and small islands. Such an environment not only helps show the natural behavior of birds but also attracts many local wild birds to enrich the ecosystem. In the area for the Chinese water deer and Reeves’s muntjac, the slopes, lawns, and bushes are large enough to meet the deers’ needs to hide and run. The small animal exhibition areas for raccoon dogs, European badgers, and hog badgers present their preferred living environment with shrubs and ponds, supplemented by various tree holes and caves.

Inhabitant of the Local Animal Park: Red-crowned crane

“Artificial” Food Chain Enhances Animal Welfare

There are many aquatic plants, small fish, snails, and tadpoles in the wetland environment of the bird area. The zoo also built an “insect hotel” on the island with eco-friendly materials. The staff placed straw, dry branches, dead bark, and other materials in discarded wooden boxes to attract different insects. These insects and some aquatic plants also become food for the cranes. Meanwhile, the zookeeper will also occasionally put some mealworms and crickets on the island to let the cranes catch by themselves.

Inhabitant of the Local Animal Park: Masked palm civet

Attentive visitors will find tree branches of various shapes and sizes in the exhibition area. “They restore the living environment of animals in the wild and provide the animals with entertainment.” the staff revealed.

As people’s attention to the environment and the protection of ecosystems increases, a growing number of people recognize the importance of protecting the habitats of humans and animals. The Shanghai Zoo said that the zoo has been striving to change from a traditional zoo to a modern zoo for a long time. The missions of the zoo are to conduct wildlife science research, comprehensive environmental protection, popular science education, and advocation of ecological protection. The establishment of Local Animal Park is a major practice.

Inhabitant of the Local Animal Park: Eurasian otter

All information comes from http://sh.eastday.com/

Translated by Andrea Jia

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

Love brings them off the streets: 51 cities in China held a pet adoption event on the same day

Posted on April 22, 2019June 24, 2019 by animaldialogue in animal welfare, News

On April 13th, 51 cities in China held a nationwide pet adoption event at the same time. The activity aims to promote the ideas of caring for stray animals, “adopt, don’t shop,” and responsible pet ownership. Experts commented that the increasing number of people who pay attention to animal’s welfare suggests the advancement of Chinese society.

From Harbin in the northeast to Kunming in the southwest, from Urumqi in the northwest to Xiamen in the southeast, 51 Chinese cities, with a total population of more than 400 million, held the “China Same Day Pet Adoption” activity to help rescued stray animals find new homes.

According to Yang Yang, the event initiator and the director of an adoption platform named “Beijing Pet Adoption Day”, the annual “China Same Day Pet Adoption ” event has been going on for five years in a row. When it first started in 2015, there were only 18 participating cities, but gradually more cities joined in, and the number of cities reached 51 this year.

“Considering the territory size and population density of China, some international experts think this is the largest stray animal adoption activity in the world. Therefore, we applied for the Guinness World Records,” said Yang.

In Shanghai, Sun Li, an actress and the ambassador of the “China Same Day Pet Adoption ” activity, is an enthusiast for saving stray animals and promoting responsible pet ownership. The image of Sun Li hugging a rescued animal had become the activity’s theme picture.

“I think it’s really meaningful if more people were willing to help stray animals when they saw the image of me cuddling a puppy,” said Sun Li.

Sun Li in a promotional poster for the Fifth China Same Day Adoption event

“International experience indicates that promoting adoption can effectively decrease the number of stray animals and enhance the sense of responsibility of pet owners as well as the society,” said Dr. Sun Quanhui, the scientific counselor of World Animal Protection.

“In recent years, the number of stray animal adoption activities in various regions is growing, and a rising number of people gradually accepts the idea of pet adoption,” said Dr. Sun. “Taking good care of animals is a human responsibility, and it’s also an important sign of a civilized society.”

A few days ago, social organizations ACTAsia and Vets For Compassion (VFC China) celebrated for the 10th anniversary of their international veterinary training program in China. According to the founder of ACTAsia, Su Peifen, in the past ten years, Chinese society has made constant advancement in terms of animal welfare, and examples include compassion education in primary schools to animal welfare training for veterinary professionals.

To commemorate World Stray Animals Day on April 4th, the mobile online game, “Onmyoji”, introduced a new gaming system in which the players can adopt injured stray dogs and sign a “contact of guardianship”. The game company would donate a part of their profit to support stray animal rescue and management. In just about 6 hours, the system had reached its expected goal.

“Contract of Guardianship” event banner in the mobile online game Onmyoji

Besides, thanks to social media and live video platforms, more and more stray animals found lovely homes. At a Beijing volunteer-run cat shelter called “The Tenth Life”, some professional photographers are volunteering to take photos of fixed cats with a tame temperament and publish on social media. Any eligible family who wants to adopt the cats may contact the manager through social media.

Michael Hammer, the Global Development Director of World Animal Protection, commented that the booming development of social media and these fantastic, original ways of caring about animals brought out the best in each other, which was very commendable. The Chinese younger generation’s concern for animal welfare and their actions to improve the well-being of animals are worth being promoted worldwide.

“Before Adoption” vs “After Adoption” of the stray animal in Onmyoji

All information comes from https://xw.qq.com/

Photos from https://xw.qq.com/ https://yys.163.com/ Weibo @turbosun

Translated by Hengyu Du

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

Consumers can adopt cows and check on their cows on this Chinese app

Posted on April 8, 2019June 24, 2019 by animaldialogue in Animal Agriculture, animal welfare, News

On March 5, 2019, Shao Yi, founder and CEO of Beijing Mu Niu Xian Sheng Animal Husbandry Technology Co., Ltd., Chang Ruishan, co-founder and executive vice president, and Cao Yuan, dean of Xian Sheng E-commerce Business School, visited the Animal Welfare International Cooperation Committee (ICCAW) office in China, and were warmly welcomed by the president A Yongxi and team members.

From the left: Cao Yuan, A Yongxi, Shao Yi, Chang Ruishan. @ICCAW

Shao Yi, the founder and CEO, introduced their company: Mu Niu Xian Sheng, meaning Cowherd Fresh, is a platform business that integrates the internet and intelligent information sharing into the beef cattle industry. Through the e-commerce app platform, consumers can pay to “adopt” cattle on the pasture. At the same time, consumers have access to the information collected by the sensors on the cattle, through which they can read their cows’ health status and amount of exercise. In this way, consumers are closely connected to the pasture, and adopters become the owners of the cattle.

The adoption page for cattle on the Mu Niu Xian Sheng App.
Translation: Cattle rearing period in months; predicted profit in %; price of each cow in ￥RMB (roughly $1,900 or $2,300 in USD)

Through the tracking system of the platform, consumers can clearly understand the production process of cattle beef, from breeding, slaughtering, to food processing, which enhances their confidence in food safety. Consumers can buy safe and high-quality beef products through the online store of Mu Niu Xian Sheng, which not only helps to promote the ranches but also breaks the conventional ways of purchasing beef products such as going to supermarkets or brand-specific stores.

The online store of the Mu Niu Xian Sheng app

The president of ICCAW says that the combination of e-commerce and beef cattle industry can solve the traditional disadvantages such as high input cost, long payback period, and difficulty in sales. Due to various uncertainties in beef cattle husbandry, many small and medium-sized ranches lack the ability to take risks, which results in unguaranteed income. Meanwhile, Mu Niu Xian Sheng has also started strategic cooperation with the insurance company, Ping An China, and insured every cow on the platform, greatly improving the cattle ranchers’ resilience to risks.

The Animal Welfare International Cooperation Committee (ICCAW)

In the end, the president of ICCAW approved of the model of combining the internet and beef cattle industry, and he is willing to help more beef cattle enterprises through applying the successful examples set by Mu Niu Xian Sheng.

All information comes from https://kknews.cc/

Translated by Dule

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

Visiting the first state-of-the-art marine animal hospital in Hainan

Posted on March 25, 2019March 26, 2019 by animaldialogue in animal welfare, Conservation, News

In the Blue Ocean Conservation and Rescue Center, Li’an Port, Lingshui Li Autonomous County, Hainan Province, a huge hawksbill turtle is crawling slowly on the floor. A young woman in a white coat and a surgical mask, follows closely behind it, applying a healing salve to its broken shell. Her name is Yong Zheng, and she is the attending doctor of this special “patient.”

Yong Zheng (left) is applying treatment to the turtle’s shell @xinhuanet

Established in February 2018 with an investment of 40 million RMB (roughly 6 million USD) by the Hainan R&F Properties, the Blue Ocean Conservation and Rescue Center was the first fully-functional marine animal hospital in Hainan. The Center has two functional areas: the quarantine area and the veterinary hospital which was called “state-of-the-art” because of its complete equipment and advanced technology. So far, the Center has rescued and released dozens of marine animals such as hawksbill turtles, green turtles, and horseshoe crabs.

“An unfortunate encounter with a whale contributed to the establishment of the center.” Yang Chunlei, the Center’s manager, recalled with emotion. In 2016, a pilot whale was stranded on the beach. Despite more than 20 hours of continuous rescue, the whale died of respiratory failure. “If we had more local professional treatment areas and equipment, the tragedy might be avoided.”

Pilot whales in the wild – pilot whales are actually a member of the dolphin family.
© Fabian Ritter / MEER e.V.

The “attending doctor”, Yong, has a master’s degree in animal ecology and traveled to Taiwan and Hong Kong to learn about marine animal rescue.

Yong applied Vaseline to the hawksbill turtle’s shell to protect the affected area from water. Then, the nurse brought her a thin green turtle. “It was sent to us by local fishermen five months ago. I don’t know how many days and nights it spent trapped in the fishing net. When it first came, it weighed less than 7 kilograms.” Said Yong while gently inserting a homemade feeder into the throat of the green turtle. She started feeding it with fresh minced fish.

“It was lucky to have made it, and now it has grown to 9 kilograms.” Yong stroked the turtle like a doting parent. The turtle was all skins and bones when it arrived, and the staff could not even find its blood vessels. However, it still placed its forelimbs on the pool to receive injections. Its desire for life inspired people to help it return to the sea.

Yong is using medical instruments for lesion analysis. @xinhuanet

“The Center is setting up a conservation fund to do population surveys of local wild animals and public education. The center will become an advocate for more public participation in the conservation and rescue work of marine animals.” Yang Chunlei said.

All information comes from www.sohu.com

Translated by Andrea Jia

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

Hong Kong Government will introduce more measures for animal welfare and animal protection

Posted on March 11, 2019March 11, 2019 by animaldialogue in animal welfare, News

The Hong Kong Government attaches great importance to animal welfare and will introduce more measures for both animal welfare and animal protection, according to Professor Sophia Chan, JP, the Secretary for Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Professor Chan brought her own pet dog to the first Friends, Families & Pooches “Pawty” and “People and Dogs City Directional Charity Tournament” hosted by the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA(HK)). In her speech at the opening ceremony, Professor Chan said that in addition to letting dog lovers gather together and feel the deep friendship between people and dogs, these activities also have animal-related parent-child workshops to promote the message of treating animals kindly and the human-dog bond.

She also said that this is in line with the HK Government’s goal of promoting animal welfare and ensuring that people and animals can coexist harmoniously in the community. In 2019, the Hong Kong Police Force is introducing an “Animal Protection Community Ambassador” project, which focuses on the power of animal lovers and different community groups, raises the public awareness of the prevention of cruelty to animals, helps fight brutal animal abuse, and educates the public to be responsible pet owners.

Professor Chan also indicated that the authorities are planning to expand the scope of the animals covered under the Road Traffic Ordinance in respect of traffic accidents involving injured animals, in which the related driver are required to pull over. The HK Government has conducted initial consultations. Some citizens think that the Ordinance covers too few animals and they think that more types of animals such as monkeys should be covered in the Ordinance.

All information comes from www.chinanews.com

Translated by Jiaxuan Han

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

The Love and Hate Story between China and Canadian Seal Hunts

Posted on February 25, 2019February 26, 2019 by animaldialogue in animal welfare, Conservation

China’s environmental groups have adopted March 1 as the International Seal Day. Like many international animal advocate groups, Chinese animal protection organizations are opposed to the commercial seal hunt in Canada.

Canada’s Commercial Seal Hunt Controversy

Canadian law prohibits people from interfering with the natural ecology of marine mammals such as seals. At the same time, however, the Canadian government has also approved the annual commercial killing of hundreds of thousands of seals, explicitly prohibiting the hunting of small seals with white fur and less than 12 days old.

People who support the commercial seal hunt say that the seals that Canadians mainly hunt are not endangered species, and the overproduction of seals may impact the ecosystem: if seals eat a lot of cod, the Canadian fishermen will lose cod resources. They stress that though seal hunting scenes tend to be bloody, Canadian seal hunting follows the highest standards of slaughter and fully satisfies the protection of animal welfare. They denied the existence of “live stripping seals” and “killing seal pups” accused by animal protectionists.

Seals are marine mammals with a gestation period of nine months. Female seals give births to one pup at a time, and the animals wean by the age of four to six weeks.
Credit: Abertay University

The voice against the commercial seal hunt is louder on a global scale. Animal advocates claim that 95% of the hunted seals were less than three months old because the seals are poor at swimming and foraging and reluctant to leave the ice, so they are more likely to be killed. Oceanographers who oppose the commercial killing of seals say that the reduction of Atlantic cod is associated with increased human fishing and has nothing to do with seals.

With the efforts of animal protectionists, 35 countries have banned commercial seal trade. Since the 1970s, more than 30 countries and regions including the United States, Mexico, Croatia, and the European Union have banned the import of seal products and the consumption and trade of seal fur. Because of consumer resistance, North American seal products are also rare. However, in some Asian markets, seal products are still selling well.

Canadian environmental and animal activists protest the commercial seal hunt.
Credit: AFP

China, Hong Kong and Taiwan Market

In 2011, news that the Federal Fisheries Department of Canada announced a new trade agreement so that China would start to import Canadian seal meat in the hopes that the Chinese market will compensate for the EU’s ban on the importation of seal meat.

In addition to China’s large market, Canada’s commercial seal industry also strives to lobby Asian countries and regions such as Hong Kong and Taiwan to import seal products.

However, under the resolute opposition of animal protection organizations from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and around the world, China does not seem to agree to open the world’s largest food and consumer goods market. The Chinese customs also imposed strict restrictions on seal products, but a trade ban has not been officially implemented. Hong Kong and Taiwan have also restricted the market for seal products from the government to consumers.

All information comes from www.bbc.com

Translated by Andrea Jia

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue