international development – Animal Dialogue

On March 6, the first anniversary of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online (referred to as “the Coalition”), the director of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, Wu Zhimin, stated that the issue of online trafficking of endangered species has become a common challenge faced by countries around the world, and internet enterprises will play a more prominent role in the protection of endangered species.

“The Coalition has used technology to establish a network to strike online illegal wildlife trade. They have used responsibility, technology and innovation to eliminate hiding places for wildlife smugglers.” IFAW Asia Representative, Ge Rui, said.

On the day of the anniversary, eight internet companies including Sina Weibo, Yachang Art Network, Sogou Search, Hantang Collection Network, China Antiques Network, Turtle Friends, Kupatana from Tanzania and Sapo from Vietnam announced to join the Coalition.

Members of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online
@The Paper

On March 7th, 2018, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC), along with 21 internet companies, established the Coalition in San Francisco, USA. The Coalition aims to create a new internet environment where illegal wildlife smugglers have no place to escape.

Since the establishment of the Coalition, member companies have been actively promoting enforcement of legislation, exploring the application of new technologies to filter and remove illegal information, and raising users’ awareness of protecting wildlife against illegal trade.

In the past year, Chinese internet companies deleted and blocked at least one million pieces of illegal wildlife advertisements and trading information. A considerable number of unlawful accounts were removed, and the time-efficiency of investigating reported information increased significantly. For example, Tecent’s security department handed over reported evidence to the local law enforcement which later destroyed a gang of over 200.

The founder and the CEO of Beijing Wenwan Tianxia Co., Ltd., Chi Rui, said that as one of the earliest companies to join the Coalition, the staff have been threatened and personally attacked while blocking illegal wildlife trade information. The company believes that they should not only delete accounts and block information but also help people find better replacements of wildlife products.

“Carving is part of the traditional culture of China. And some fruit cores can replace ivory and rhino horns. Seeking better alternatives is part of our next step forward.” Chi Rui said.

All information comes from www.thepaper.cn

Translated by Dule

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

How to maintain the balance between animal welfare and productivity and maximize animal welfare in the commercial farming process is an important topic for international animal welfare organizations. To this end, experts from the World Farm Animal Welfare Association, the Donkey Sanctuary, and the China Agricultural International Cooperation Promotion Association went to Dong’e Ejiao in August 2018 to conduct site visits to investigate the farmed donkeys’ welfare and discuss how to improve welfare and create more comfortable “homes” for donkeys. Dong’e Ejiao is a company that produces a type of condensed gelatin called “Ejiao” from donkey skin. In traditional Chinese medicine, Ejiao is used to improve the immune system and treat anemia.

Dr. Karen Rickards, an expert of welfare standard assessments at the British Welfare Association, spoke highly of Dong’e Ejiao’s efforts in improving donkey welfare. “The welfare of Dong’e Ejiao is very good in general and it is even better than those in the UK in some aspects such as providing sand pits for the donkeys.”

Dong’e Ejiao Welfare is also highly recognized by Stephen DeRoz, a professor of Small Animal and Horse Breeding in the Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Belgium.

As early as August 2017, at the First International Donkey Industry Development Academic Exchange Meeting, more than 400 experts from 16 countries gathered in Dong’e Ejiao to discuss the frontier topics in the development of the donkey industry and animal welfare.

Dong’e Ejiao advocates the rational use of animal products while protecting animals based on the principle of “common but differentiated.” It believes that the trade of animal products has its rationality and legitimacy, but at the same time, people should severely crack down on the illegal slaughter of smuggled animals and their biological products.

Not only the welfare of the donkeys has drawn a lot of attention, but the welfare of other animals has also received extensive attention and emphasis in China with remarkable results. At present, the world’s largest and most widely participated animal welfare conference, the 2nd World Farm Animal Welfare Conference, was successfully held in Beijing on October 24, 2018.

Modern food production conflicts with animal welfare. If there is no human interference, animals are in a natural state of welfare. If humans managed the animals properly, such as providing sufficient food and water, keeping them out of the attack of hunters, rendering medical care, and paying attention to their health conditions, then their productivity will increase and the animal welfare would be maximized. We need to reach a balance between animal welfare and productivity in the natural state to maximize animal welfare in commercial farming.

All information comes from news.html5.qq.com

Translated by Jiaxuan Han

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

Tag: international development

Eight Asian internet companies joined the “Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online”

The welfare of donkeys in China is highly recognized by international animal welfare experts