FW: (CN) Would your dog survive Beijing?

[Guest guest]

Jennie Rudd [jennierudd]

Friday, August 22, 2008 10:53 PM

john

Would your dog survive Beijing?

 

<http://www.naturewatch.eu>

 

Dear John

 

On Friday 15th August Naturewatch's Director, John Ruane and I made our way

to Downing Street to hand over our petition: Animal Cruelty in China, which

received support from a massive 38,217 people.

 

Incredibly, these 38,217 signatures were gathered in just 2 months, a

majority of which were collected using the traditional paper method by

thousands of compassionate and loyal supporters of Naturewatch. Alongside

this, the budding online community also did a fantastic job of circulating

the petition to all corners of the globe via the internet.

 

Thank you to everyone! Your enthusiasm and compassion has clearly

highlighted the huge public concern for the millions of animals in China.

 

<http://www.naturewatch.eu/imgs/DowningSt1_small.jpg>

 

The UK government has developed a strong relationship with the Chinese

President and boasts the most scrupulous of animal protection laws. On

these grounds, Naturewatch, together with 38,217 members of the public and a

high number of MPs stand united, urging the UK Prime Minister to raise the

issue of animal welfare with the Chinese President during his visit to

Beijing for the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

 

Having lobbied the UK Government on this issue, we now plan to broaden the

campaign and have turned our attention to the European Parliament and the

European Commission. At present we are working to rally support from MEPs

throughout the EU with the aim of building yet a greater alliance to put

pressure on the Chinese authorities to improve their currently unacceptable

animal welfare standards.

 

The cruel and inhumane treatment of animals in China is notorious and widely

deplored. Whilst we are aware of the challenging road that lies ahead, our

determination to see an end to animal cruelty in China will continue to

drive us towards our goal of working with the Chinese government to

introduce animal protection laws.

 

Would your dog survive Beijing?

 

<http://www.naturewatch.eu/would-your-dog-survive-beijing>

 

Imagine this. You've a nice home, a good job, and your dog is healthy and

enjoying family life. All is well, until you hear this news:

 

" Local authorities have been given the power to enter city homes and seize

any dogs that are over 35cm (13.8 " ) tall as they are deemed to be dangerous.

Owners have two choices; either hand over their over-sized dogs or move to a

different city. "

 

This is what happened in Beijing, and as a result, countless families live

in fear of their 'large' dogs being discovered by the Beijing authorities

and subsequently killed; some are even beaten to death in front of their

owners. Read more >> <http://www.naturewatch.eu/companion-animals>

 

Popular breeds such as Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Fox Terriers, even

Cocker Spaniels are forcibly taken from families and killed.

 

To raise awareness, and to demonstrate how potentially damaging this law

could be, we want to illustrate how many pet dogs around the world wouldn't

survive the Beijing regulations. This is an opportunity to share our

favourite stories, whilst enlightening China to how much joy medium and

large dogs bring into our lives. Read more >>

<http://www.naturewatch.eu/would-your-dog-survive-beijing>

 

To take part please e-mail Jennie on jennierudd with the

following:

 

* Your dog's name.

* Your dog's breed.

* Your dog's height.

* A story to illustrate your dog's loving character and/or

intelligence.

* A photograph - no more than 50KB

 

Photos, details and stories will published on the Spotlight on China

<http://www.naturewatch.eu> website.

 

To , please email Jennie on jennierudd