Katie Loeffler : Providing comfort for creatures in China

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Comfort

for creatures

 

- Source: Global Times

- [23:41 January 10 2010]

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*Kati Loeffler and a brown hawk owl whose feet had been damaged with ball

bandages on her feet at the Raptor Rescue Center. Photo: Courtesy of IFAW*

 

*By Gao Fumao *

 

The kittens shiver in a cardboard box outside a mall in concrete, crowded

Xidan. A cage of rabbits on the footpath nearby look equally uncomfortable

in the sub-zero winter temperatures. There's lots of cooing, oohing and

aahing from passersby. But the animals are cold, and clearly terrified.

 

The scene above is all too familiar to Kati Loeffler. Veterinary and

scientific advisor for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in

Beijing, her mission is to improve the welfare of the city's growing

population of pets and captive wildlife.

 

The frequent abandonment of newly acquired pets angers the Austrian-born vet

who sees " a great deal of immature attraction to animals – 'Oh look at the

cute bunny, let's buy one' – which quickly fades when they learn that the

bunny poops and chews up the carpet, and then the animal is abused by

neglect or abandonment or worse. "

 

She's quick to point out that such abominable behavior is not at all unique

to China, but as the interest in pet owning increases, the incidence of this

behavior does as well, " and the population of China through which such

emerging behavior sweeps is vast. "

 

*Pandas, raptors and bears *

 

It was pandas that brought her to China in 2002. " I began studying

infectious diseases of giant pandas, " explains Loeffler, who had landed a

position with the Smithsonian Institution as a research veterinarian. Her

brief at the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center was to investigate

diseases of giant pandas and lesser, or red pandas.

 

Loeffler's knowledge of animals is vast. After qualifying in the US in 1989,

the bespectacled vet went on to complete a PhD in Pharmacology & Toxicology.

" I did post-doctoral research for many years studying the effects of

environmental pollutants on the development of animals. "

 

Later she served as vet for the charity Animals Asia at their sanctuary for

rescued bears. That was before she moved to Beijing to her current role at

IFAW, the US-based organization born in 1969 out of a campaign against seal

hunting in Canada.

 

The organization, whose savvy use of lawyers and other experts helped yield

a ban on hunting with dogs in the UK, has found its work cut out for it in

China. Here Loeffler and the other staff have been working flat out. Birds,

dogs and horses have all been a source of worry lately.

From the IFAW office Loeffler is often on the road to places like the

Beijing Raptor Rescue Center, home to birds confiscated from the wildlife

trade. Some were destined to be sold to Arab sheikhs. Other birds escaped

illegal captivity. " The condition of these birds is devastating, and may

have to be euthanized because they are so ill and injured, or because their

injuries have caused permanent damage that makes the birds unfit for

survival in the wild. "

 

 

*Grim situation *

 

The situation is grim too at many zoos visited by Loeffler. Commerce comes

before animal welfare in the country's zoos and parks, even if sometimes the

cruelty is unintentional. " Animals in zoos and wildlife parks and so-called

rescue centers suffer not only because they are there solely to be exploited

for money, but because those people who do care about the animals and who

want to provide better care for them, don't know how to do so and haven't

the authority to implement necessary changes. "

 

China is still on the upslope of the damage it will do before things will

improve. Loeffler, who has seen this elsewhere, sighs " China is just

beginning in this sense and appears unable to learn from the mistakes of

other cultures, at least not to the extent that it affects individual and

collective behaviors. "

 

The hunger to eat rare species and the use of rare animal parts in

traditional Chinese medicine worry Loeffler. She's even more scared of China

copying Western habits in eating meat and wearing fur. " China will follow

the example of animal misuse, only multiplied by its relatively vast

population and currently insatiable appetites. "

 

*Solutions *

 

IFAW has also worked well with local law enforcers. Headed by the energetic

Jeff Huang, a local journalist passionate about animal rights, the IFAW

office in Beijing lately helped end dog-cull events in Beijing. Hence a cat

confiscation in Tianjin in December last year ended amicably.

 

Loeffler and the IFAW team travel out to local dog shelters to consult on

sick animals and to sterilize rescued animals. " We train shelter staff in a

lot of things, including primary veterinary care for rescued animals,

euthanasia and behavioral issues. "

 

Loeffler sees local vets as key to improving animal welfare standards.

Chinese vets lack " fundamental knowledge and skills, particularly on animal

welfare considerations that are considered even basic, let alone standard

for the veterinary profession in the West. " IFAW consults on how to prevent

rabies: " Vaccination of dogs rather than culling can be the answer. "

 

She's training local veterinarians to improve the quality of animal care in

areas like surgery and anesthesia. Loeffler sees a place for animal rights

groups like IFAW in training young Chinese vets " who really do want to

improve their skills and who do want to treat animals kindly and

professionally. "

 

Becoming a vet was a lifelong dream for the Austrian. " Animals always

fascinated me, and I wanted to learn to understand them and to protect them.

It's one of the many ways one can go for that now, but at the time it was

veterinary medicine. "

 

Animal rights campaigners fight an often-lonely battle to protect Asia's

animals. " It's a small group of us who do this kind of work in Asia, so we

all know one another pretty well. "

 

*Some hope *

 

There are other signs of hope: China's proposed animal welfare law would be

a very important step in the direction of helping China to improve what it

can do in the protection of animals.

 

There are other sparks of positive change all around. " I see it in a few

well-run dog or cat shelters… in individuals who do what they can to make

the lives of individual cats or dogs better. "

 

But " even collectively, they haven't a chance against the tide of

consumption and commerce. " There are areas of animal welfare that need to be

addressed: Quality of care in zoos and rescue centers " which serve

principally as breeding centers for animals to be sold to restaurants and

zoos. "

 

There's hope surely in the face of one of Loeffler's old friends. " Xie

Sheung " (meaning " lucky " ) – the iconic bear featured on Animals Asia's logo

was in the Austrian vet's care when she worked on the Animals Asia team to

save bears caged and milked for bile. Xie Sheung was among nine Asiatic

black bears rescued from a bile farm in Huizhou, Guangdong Province in 1995

after Animals Asia convinced the authorities to shut the farm.

 

Today aging, rescued bears live comfortably at Animals Asia's Moon Bear

Rescue Center in Chengdu, Sichuan. China could become a caring place for

animals: " It has the potential to do so, and we see it on an individual

scale with people who have dogs and cats as pets. But overall there's a lot

of work to be done. "

 

*gaofumao*