(CN) Rescuers rock in Sichuan

[Guest guest]

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2008:

 

 

Rescuers rock in Sichuan

 

CHENGDU-- " People and bears okay although buildings damaged, "

e-mailed Animals Asia Foundation founder Jill Robinson in the first

hours after an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck

northern Sichuan, China.

Based near Chengdu, the Sichuan capital, the Animals Asia

Found-ation's China Bear Rescue Centre was far south of the

earthquake epicenter, yet still within the radius of catastrophic

damage. More than 80,000 humans and 12 million livestock died,

according to official estimates. Hitting at 2:28 p.m. on May 12,

2008, the quake was followed by aftershocks for more than three

weeks, many of them of Richter magnitude 6.0 or larger.

" The quake was felt at the sanctuary and everyone ran to the

car park, " Robinson added. " Phone lines are down and communication

by e-mail is sporadic. "

Robinson, at the Animals Asia Foundation headquarters in

Hong Kong, cancelled scheduled fundraising appearances in the U.S.,

and headed to Chengdu to lead the Animals Asia Foundation relief

mission.

China Bear Rescue Centre senior veterinarian Heather Bacon

reported that night that the buildings at the site were still

shaking. One older building used for office space and a staff

dormitory " shook a lot and is dodgy. There are cracks in the

ceiling, ground moving and building swaying, tiles missing off

roofs, and concrete has fallen down a big hole in the roof of the

bear kitchen, " Bacon sai.

The first bears rescued from bile farms by the Animals Asia

Foundation seemed to be the least troubled by the ongoing temb-lors.

" Jasper and team lay out sunbathing as if nothing had happened, "

Bacon told Robinson. " All the other bears bolted back into their

dens, panicking and jostling to get back through their den doors. "

Bacon relocated the staff housing to the rescue center hospitals.

" Four of our main buildings, including our big office and

accommodation blocks, are so badly damaged that they will need to be

completely rebuilt, " Robinson knew by June 4. " A fifth building

needs repairs. "

The Animals Asia Foundation had been busy in the interim,

initially assisting the human rescue effort. The Chengdu staff

collected donations among themselves to help the victims, then

mobilized to help carry medical supplies to hard-hit villages. The

veterinary team deployed to help treat injured humans.

" We have considered offering humane help for the dogs, but I

honestly sense this isn't the time. We would lose much goodwill by

suggesting this when so many people are losing their lives, "

Robinson told ANIMAL PEOPLE on May 20. " We'll keep our ears to the

ground for any opportunity. "

Yet Animals Asia Foundation rescuers had already been asked

to help animals by other first responders, as Robinson recounted in

a blog about the relief effort. On May 17, for example, two

Animals Asia Foundation workers leashed a lost and frightened dog.

" Failing to find anyone who knew the dog, they led the dog down a

steep rubble-strewn mountain for transport to the China Bear Rescue

Centre. As they were departing, " Robinson wrote, " a Red Cross

employee came running over dangling a six-week-old puppy from his

fingers and thrust him into our arms. "

Even as Robinson blogged, municipal workers in the stricken

city of Dujiangyan put up posters advising citizens that dogs seen

wandering amid the rubble would be killed. The posters cited

scarcities of food and water, the lack of sanitation, recent rabies

outbreaks in parts of Sichuan, and the chance that starving dogs

might scavenge human remains-- although livestock remains were far

more abundant and accessible.

" A large-scale dog cull is in the making in the

quake-stricken area of Qingchuan county, " warned South China Morning

Post correspondent Al Guo on May 21, from the scene. " Police have

been instructed to kill dogs they encounter, " Guo wrote,

" irrespective of whether they are with their owners. "

" The order said we should kill dogs while keeping an eye on

local security, " police officer He Yusheng told Guo.

The order did not appear to be enthusiastically received.

" Officer He said he had not killed any dogs so far because he had not

seen any, " Guo continued. " The bodies of dogs and other pets like

cats and rabbits litter the remains of buildings. Some dogs are

heard desperately barking inside locked buildings, abandoned by

owners who ran for their lives.

" A People's Liberation Army officer at the Qingchuan disaster

relief headquarters said he had heard about a dog-killing case in a

nearby town, " Guo continued, " but it was purely because the dog was

biting villagers. "

Said the army officer, " We have not heard we should assist

local governments to kill dogs. Our job is saving people and helping

them rebuild homes, not something as bizarre as killing dogs. "

The Animals Asia Foundation, the Hong Kong SPCA, the

Beijing-based China Small Animal Protection Association, and the

Beijing office of the International Fund for Animal Welfare took the

order to kill dogs as their cue to intervene. Each lobbied as many

authorities as it could contact, and sent personnel with material

aid to the scene.

E-mailed Robinson on May 23, after Animals Asia Foundation

director of China relations Christie Yang met with Qingchuan

officials, " We have permission to set up a rabies station in

Dujiangyiang, where people and animals can have pre-and-post

exposure vaccinations. This will allow us to help and feed the

animals. We are putting together a rabies fact sheet in Chinese to

distribute to the public. We are adding information about how dogs

are useful in sniffing out survivors of an earthquake, and of course

in offering comfort. "

Back in Chengdu, Robinson noted, " Qiao Wei and Qiao Na,

who run the Qi Ming Pet Rescue Centre in Chengdu, have been

overwhelmed with the number of dogs brought in and desperately need

more food. "

Purina, the Humane Society International division of the

Humane Society of the U.S., and Compassion for Animals Foundation

founder Gil Michaels responded to the urgent need for dog food, just

in time, as the influx of dogs was really only beginning.

Starting on May 24, the Animals Asia Foundation was

authorized to place notices on government bulletin boards offering to

take in homeless animals, and to foster the animals of displaced

people.

" Survivors are sharing tents, often one tent for two

families, " Robinson blogged, " and sadly there are many criticisms

that both stray and pet dogs are responsible for noise and disease.

Many officials are sympathetic to the dogs' plight, understanding

that they can benefit a community at a time like this, but sadly

many prejudices remain and we must continue to tread carefully.

Hong Kong SPCA mainland outreach coordinator Doris Yiu had

made similar arrangements. The Hong Kong Veterinary Association " has

committed rabies vaccine and vet assistance, " Yiu told ANIMAL PEOPLE.

Yiu noted that personnel from the Chongqing Small Animal

Protection Associ-ation and a shelter called the Home of Love were

also in Sichuan helping.

Eighty percent of the people living in tents who accepted

help in housing their animals " indicated their wish to reclaim their

pet after they settle down, " Yiu said. " Some refuse to part with

their pets. "

" We are heartened by the eager response from the local

community in saving animals, " Hong Kong SPCA relief team leader Wong Tse-tong told May Chan of the South China Morning Post.

On May 26 the Hong Kong SPCA and Animals Asia Foundation both

became aware of " a row of pet shops that had been badly affected in

the quake, " Robinson recounted, where " the resident dogs were

still inside. We arrived to find the shutters down, " Robinson

wrote, " and heard distressed barking and crying. " Police said that

the store owners had been given until 5.30 p.m. that day to remove

the dogs, as neighbours were complaining about the smell.

" It was now 2:00 p.m., " Robinson noted. " We talked with

the officer about why we were there and begged for his help. He told

us that he would get back to us very soon after he located the pet

shop owners. Until then, he suggested we go to a refugee camp close

by to see if anyone needed help there. "

After an hour of making fostering arrangements in the refugee

camp, the Animals Asia Foundation team were able to rescue the pet

shop animals, and returned to Chengdu with 49 dogs, two cats and

one kitten, Robinson wrote.

" Rescuing already traumatized family dogs and cats from being

shot or beaten to death in the city of Dujiangyiang is [still] our

highest priority, " Robinson added 10 days later. " We have set up a

hotline and a receiving station at a local vet clinic for earthquake

victims to surrender their dogs to us for safe-keeping until they are

back on their feet and can take them back. Many people, terrified

that their much-loved dogs will be killed in front of them, have

been hiding them in the ruins of their homes and risking their lives

to go and feed them.

" We have promised those who have handed us their pets

that we will make sure they are well cared for, " Robinson said. " If

after six months they are still unable to take their pets back, we

will continue to look after them until they can be reunited. If they

decide they can't take their pets back, we will try to rehome the

animals.

" So far, we have rescued around 100 dogs and brought

them to the Qi Ming Pet Rescue Centre, which can take about 100

more, " Robinson recounted. " We have also rescued some cats and a

few starving dogs who have been found wandering around looking for

food. We are giving each one a health check and vaccination, and

will build a quarantine facility for the dogs at the shelter and

provide them with food. "

By then, said Yiu, the Qi Ming Pet Rescue Centre

animal population had expanded to about 1,000 dogs and cats.

IFAW, focusing efforts on the town of Zun Dao, " rushed close

to $200,000 in aid and sourced over six tons of animal food " in the

early part of the rescue effort, said IFAW rescue team leader

Jackson Zee in a June 2 prepared statement.

" Officials agreed to halt any dog culling in the area, " Zee

added, " and are welcoming IFAW's efforts to address public health

concerns by conducting an anti-rabies vaccination and veterinary care

program. There are an estimated 4,000 owned dogs and 1,000 strays in

Zun Dao and surrounding villages, " Zee estimated. " Relief efforts

are expected to increase in the coming days. "

An animal rescue attracting national attention came in

Pengzhou on May 28, when Yiu's Hong Kong SPCA team recovered two

temple dogs who had helped a woman to survive for 196 hours while

buried in rubble, after the temple collapsed. " Both were in

reasonable condition, " Yiu assessed. " The mongrel, Qian-jin, will

be housed by the local shelter, and the collie, Guai-guai

[identified by other accounts as a German shepherd], by a temple

worker. Once the temple is rebuilt, the two dogs will be returned to

the temple. "

" Wang Youqiong, 61, was stuck under giant rocks. She

survived on raindrops and the help of the two dogs for eight days, "

elaborated Raymond Zhou of China Daily. " They licked her face clean

to provide her with much needed moisture on her parched lips. They

barked vigorously whenever they sensed human movement nearby.

Eventually they were able to attract rescuers. "

Zhou noted other instances of dogs saving people after the quake.

" In a Beichuan police station, " Zhou wrote, " a pug dragged

43-year-old Li Guolin out of a fourth-floor room when the quake hit.

" Another dog was a professional rescuer, not a pet. We know

only the name of his breeder, a soldier surnamed Li. Li's best

friend worked for several days and helped locate 35 survivors. But

he was crushed to death when a building collapsed. Li was heard

crying into the night. "

Continued Zhou, " Should humans save pets and livestock after

such a mammoth disaster? No doubt saving human lives has been the

top priority--and rightly so. There was a time, " Zhou remembered,

" when we held the value of some property--a building, even a

log--above human life. There has been a fundamental shift in

evaluating human life in the past three decades. We now have more

respect for human lives.

" To some animal lovers, pets are just as valuable as human lives. "

While Zhou argued that soldiers and volunteers should not

risk their lives to save animals, he wrote, " If a little extra

effort can bring out a pet alive, then why not? Both Aesop and Liu

Bei of ancient China said, 'No act of kindness, no matter how

small, is ever wasted.' " --Merritt

Clifton

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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