Wall of Shame
Index
Canada:
Dogs rescued from illegal Taiwan meat
factory
Rescued in Taiwan, brought to Island
Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist: Tuesday,
December 29, 2009 10:04 AM
Vixen on a
Christmas walk in Cowichan Bay, a world
away from the illegal Taiwanese meat
factory, where the chubby Siberian husky
was being fattened up as a dinner
entrée.
Photo Credit: Island Dogz Rescue,
Courtesy
In her
four years of life, Vixen has seen a
lifetime of horror. The chubby Siberian
husky, now in foster care in Duncan, was
being fattened up as a Taiwanese dinner
delicacy when she was rescued from an
illegal meat factory by an extreme group
of Taiwan-based animal rescuers known as
the Compassionate Mamas.
"It's hard to look at her and think they
were going to eat her," said Gem Zolciak
founder of
Island Dogz Rescue, who is fostering
Vixen. The dog already has lost almost
three kilograms and is now a relatively
svelte 25 kg (55 pounds). Her hips and
back are slowly recovering strength
after being kept in a small cage.
Vixen is among three dogs brought to
Vancouver Island from Taiwan by Island
Dogz this month. They represent the
first shipment from Taichung Universal
Animal Protection Association, a no-kill
shelter that takes in stray and
abandoned dogs, including those rescued
from meat factories. At the shelter, six
volunteers care for more than 1,000
dogs.
Eating dogs and cats has been
discouraged in Taiwan for two decades. A
2001 law banned the killing of dogs
for skin or meat. Legal loopholes were
then closed by a
2004 law banning the sale of dogs as
food, but underground markets still
exist. The laws are rarely enforced,
said a spokeswoman for the Taichung
group.
Some dogs are "farmed." Others are
snatched off the street and stuffed into
tiny cages until they are killed. "Some
people feel the adrenaline coursing
through the body makes the meat taste
better and the dogs are tortured before
they are killed," Zolciak said.
Taichung group volunteer Johanna Quinn,
who arranges dog shipments to rescue
organizations in Canada, the U.S and
Germany, said the Compassionate Mamas go
on random, night-time raids when they
hear of a factory and then turn the dogs
over to rescue organizations. Others go
in undercover and buy the dogs, Quinn
said.
In addition to Vixen, Mooch, a
nine-year-old malamute cross, and Heidi,
a nine-month-old mixed- breed puppy, are
in foster care in the Cowichan Valley.
"I could bring 100 dogs here if I had
the foster homes. We foster them before
we adopt them out so we can assess their
personalities," Zolciak said.
Dogs brought to Vancouver Island are
checked by veterinarians and fully
immunized. They are shipped from Taiwan
in crates with canine amenities, usually
accompanied by a human caregiver.
jlavoie@tc.canwest.com
Source
More
points to read through:
-
Asian Animal Protection Network: Food
Dog
-
The Dog Meat Mafia: The Dog Meat
Mafia is a four-part special report on
Southeast Asia's booming dog meat trade
— a crime-ridden, multi-million dollar
industry that stretches from upcountry
Thailand, through Laos and into Vietnam.
The series examines the economic,
cultural and illicit aspects of the
controversial business, and features an
On Location video that illustrates how
it works.
-
Google :
Taiwan, eating dogs - results