All posts in Our Work

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On Easter Sunday 20th April 2014, TACN Beijing Rescue Centre held another open day when many dedicated volunteers and fans enjoyed a busy day filled with fun and love.

It was a success! We had over 20 people showing up, including our partner team V-Cats, professional dog trainer and owner of China Dog Training-Dennis, TACN co-founder and UK Manager – Grace, TACN Co-founder and China Manager – Xiaoli, as well as TACN multinational Volunteers.

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For more photos please visit TACN on Flickr



We want to say a big THANK YOU to all our international supporters and volunteers.

Together, we are making a difference for the animals in China.

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TACN is helping cat meat trade survivors Ball, Cotton and Tender get to their new homes in Germany this May!

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Ball, Cotton and Tender were among the 600 cats rescued off a truck in Shanghai in late November 2013.


The Story of Ball, Cotton and Tender


On the morning of 21st November 2013, animal rights activists in Shanghai stopped a truck loaded with 600 cats on Zhenguang Road. Ball, Cotton and Tender were among these poor animals, scared, starved and cramped in tiny bamboo cages.

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From reliable sources, we knew that the cats on this truck were being transported to Guangdong meat markets. This rescue event attracted hundreds of local rescuers, activists and frontline volunteers, as well as the local media. Many people who have recently lost their cats also came to the scene – amazingly, some people actually found their cats and burst into tears seeing that they were in such a horrific condition. After a 14hour standoff, all 600 cats were successfully rescued.

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Footage of this rescue event can be seen on a documentary we published on our YouTube channel (from 2:00 to 3:00 minutes).

To help with settling the rescued cats, several local rescue groups and organisations took the responsibility to house the cats and help with the post-rescue care. ThinkAdoption took in 70 cats, and our partner group Paws Pals Animal Rescue (PPAR) took in 17 cats and under the care of Guoguo Animal Clinic. The rest were taken in by foster volunteers, animal hospitals and rescue groups.

PPAR has done a great job in looking after the 17 cats they took in, despite the sad fact that a couple of them didn’t make it due to severe injury, the majority of the cats have recovered really well and many have been adopted to loving homes. To help more of these cats get a second chance in life, TACN has teamed up  with PPAR in order to help them with the adoption.

Luckily, with the help of our German Associate Eva, we were contacted by some potential adopters in Germany who would like to adopt a cat meat trade survivor. After few rounds of communication with the potential adopters and our coordinator Karen from PPAR in Shanghai, we have found 3 perfect matches! 3 well recovered cats for whom no Chinese owners have come forward – Ball, Cotton and Tender – are getting ready to start their new life in their new homes in Germany this May.

This international adoption is VITAL because it allows the cats to have a second chance in life, while also raising awareness abroad of the plight of meat-trade cats in China.

With Eva’s help, our team in Shanghai have already started preparing the cats for their journey. Ball, Cotton and Tender have already had their vaccinations, microchips and blood tests, and have also received their health certificates.

ball-microchipped Ball was such a brave boy having his microchip implanted

Now the cats are all ready and awaiting Eva to bring them back to Germany when she visits China in person this May, then on their arrival into Germany, each of them will be picked up by their new parent(s) at the airport and finally start their new lives in peace. We then will share with you their progress and new lives!

Tweet #catmeattradesurvivors

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Dorje (“Many Luck” in Chinese) is a neglected and abandoned Tibetan Mastiff, spotted by a passerby who kindly observed him for 2 days to find out if his owner would come and collect him. During this time Dorje was fed with food and water which he lacked for days by the look of him. Observing from distance, he seemed blind, with really bad skin condition and has blood on his exposed furless skin.

If you want to help Dorje, you can do so by donating to TACN Emergency Fund, which helps to aid our rescue work and treatment for the animals we rescue.

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Tweet #Dorjethemastiff

The Full Story

Today, 2nd of April, the person who found Dorje sent out cry for help on Chinese twitter – Weibo, after many rounds of reposts and contacts, we started the mission to rescue Dorje. With the help of our incredible volunteers, we formed an action team, thanks to:

@瑞家-夜妖 who managed to sedate Dorje with a blow dart; Zhang and friend who provided transport; Ms Zhu from @北京熊麦动物医院 provided medical assistance; also, @冰葫儿 and @领养小铺 who contacted many people to seek help. Dorje was rescued and safely transported to the hospital.

Dorje has now been settled in Wanmei (Perfect & Excellent) Vet Clinic in Beijing for examination and treatment. From the initial check-up, the vet found out that Dorje is around 5 years old, has severe Demodex and Entropion, he’ll need an on-going skin treatment (just like Snow) and surgery on his eyes. The vet will also take out blood sample and test the condition of Dorje’s internal organs to find out more about his health in the next few days.

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Xiaoli, TACN Beijing Director & Shelter Manager, was the organiser of this incredible rescue event, she said:

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“I predict Dorje will need a lengthy treatment and recovery period, many people have contacted me trying to persuade me to put him down. But I don’t think we should give up on him until we’ve done our best.

The treatment,surgery and aftercare will cost a lot of money for sure, but we can’t put him down just because he’ll cost money. So many people want to help him as much as I do, I believe with everyone’s input altogether, Dorje could be saved and facing a bright future, and to finally know what being loved feels like!”

If you want to help Dorje, you can do so by donating to TACN Emergency Fund which helps to aid our rescue work and treatment for the animals we rescue.

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Tweet #Dorjethemastiff

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Please help us truly save animals from life of misery by building a quality life for them!

TACN Fundraiser 2014

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Sponsor TACN Shelter

The donation is on-going, and the figures will be updated weekly:

$2,925 / $5,000

Tweet #TACNshelterappeal

MORE DETAILS

vicious cycle of animal shelters

As above infographic shows, animal shelters in China are in a dilemma where once the rescued animals arrive at the shelter they continue to have a life of suffering.

In China, most of these rescued animals never find their way to a loving family once they arrive at the shelter. With an endlessly increasing number of animals in a given shelter, these animals are left with a very poor quality of life. While they may not be killed in the outside world, they are nevertheless not living a happy and pain-free life either.

One of TACN Rescue Center’s goals is to change this sad situation and bring about better lives for shelter animals in China.

We believe that only when the quality of lives of shelter animals is enhanced can they be truly saved from misery and offered a second chance at a happy life.
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The TACN Rescue Center in Beijing is among the minority of animal rescue centers in China that have set an animal resident quantity restriction and shelter standard protocols to ensure quality lives for all of its animal residents.

Our goal is not only to become a shelter that provides the best possible care for all of its residents, but also to help other shelters across China to also achieve the same goals.

Our development plan for the TACN Rescue Center is being developed with the education and training of other Chinese animal shelters in mind. We hope our future success will completely alter the perception and realities of Chinese animal shelters and ultimately bring happiness and hope to all the shelter animals.

We need your help to make this happen.

As a grassroots non-for-profit shelter, TACN Rescue Center (Beijing) is run only by the very devoted and dedicated shelter manager Xiaoli, two full time staff members, and a few part-time volunteers. With no grants or support from the government, we depend solely on donations from loving and caring supporters to provide for daily operations and future development of the shelter.

Since the beginning of 2014, TACN Beijing Rescue Center has welcomed many more newly rescued animals and has reached its current kennel capacity. Although there is more space of which we could make use, we urgently need to improve this “extra” space and build more kennels to facilitate the growing number of animals we rescue.

Since the shelter’s establishment in 2009, we haven’t been able to make any major facility improvements in order to better the living environment for our animals due to lack of funding. The current state of the shelter facility does not meet a standard where the in-house animals’ quality of life can be ensured.

This is what we are planning to do to improve the living environment for our animals:

KENNELS


Many kennel components are severely broken or are in desperate need of repair or replacement. The current fence is made from recycled wire kennels, which is highly unstable and insecure. The fenced-in area needs to be opened up for more direct sunlight so that the animals will not have to always stay in the dark and cold.

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We will

  • Replace fences between the courtyard and the dogs’ kennels
  • Extend the fenced-in area for more direct sunlight
  • Replace the rain roof and add solar panels to provide the shelter with cleaner and more affordable energy
  • Add an extra layer of flooring and steps to increase space
  • Elevate the floor surface and re-tile it with draining tiles for easy cleaning and disinfection
  • Replace kennel components and repaint the walls
  • Build more kennels to facilitate more rescued animals
  • Add a grooming corner inside of the kennel area

OUTSIDE SPACE


The shelter is currently lacking an exercise area or grassy area where the dogs can get their daily exercise or just simply hang out. The ground/floor surface is badly worn and has many holes that could potentially hurt the animals. The cold and humid concrete ground/floor surface is not only uncomfortable but also unhealthy for animals to lay on for extended periods of time. There is an open outdoor space at the back of the shelter. The space, however, is in very poor condition and not suitable or safe for the animals.

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We will

  • Replace fences in the back yard area to provide security
  • Build drainage for cleaning and disinfection
  • Clear off the ground and build a grassy area over the top as a pleasant play area for the animals
  • Build separate exercise areas and walking paths
  • Plant trees and a variety of easy to maintain vegetation to provide both shade and a more enjoyable space for the animals
  • Repair the outside walls of the kennels

STAFF AND PUBLIC SPACE



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We will

  • Create a separate veterinary examination room
  • Purchase basic equipment to facilitate on-site veterinary services
  • Renovate kitchen and extend counter space
  • Renovate the staff/visitor restroom
  • Improve the floor and drainage in the courtyard
  • Create extra exercising spaces in the courtyard to facilitate walking programs for volunteers, training, visitors and other services
  • Extend admin area/room to facilitate future educational programs and projects

As part of our shelter development plan, we will host educational programs at our shelter. Through our programs, visitors and volunteers, especially young people, can have the experience of interacting with animals and learn more about animal protection and welfare. Many of our in-house animals are seniors and disabled, many are also long-term residents at the shelter due to the very low adoption rate.

The low adoption rate is largely due to the low public opinion of shelter animals. The common misunderstanding of shelter animals is that they are cheap, dirty and damaged. The current underdeveloped state of animal shelters in China has further reinforced such opinions. Through our shelter development and educational programs, we will be able to educate the public and change how people value shelter animals.

We will help more people to see that shelter animals are not only beautiful and loveable but also potentially the most loyal and precious family members. We will guide people to realize that they can save lives by adopting shelter animals. We, as animal rights advocates and rescuers, must first be able to show the world how these animals should be valued by providing the care that they deserved. Only in this way, will we then be able to change how shelter animals are seen by the public at large.

We cannot make this happen without loving and caring supporters such as yourself. You can help us achieve our goals of creating a life of true happiness and hope for shelter animals in China.

Donate Now  secured-by-paypal

Sponsor TACN Shelter

Please spread the word about our organization, what we do, and our projects.

tacn-happy-shelter



TACN Co-Founder and UK Office Manager, Grace, will be visiting China in mid April.  Aside from visiting the TACN Rescue Center in Beijing and meeting with TACN partners and associates, Grace will also carry out a special mission as part of her April China trip. Grace will deliver the donations that we raise via this fundraiser in-person. This way, we will not only avoid paying a hefty transaction fee to send the donations, but we will also be able to deliver all of the love and support from our international friends to the hands of the animal activists on the front lines of this wonderful new beginning.
Please help in our goal of raising funds before Grace’s departure, so that we begin building the very first example of a truly happy, healthy and sustainable Chinese animal shelter. We are living in the most critical moment in the history of animals rights in China, an inspiring shelter at this time could truly make all the difference for countless Chinese animals now and in the future.

OUR PROMISES:

1. Every dollar raised through your donations will be fully and publicly accounted for on the TACN Website and TACN Facebook page

2. We will post a detailed report of our progress on the shelter development project on a bi-weekly basis, so that you can see how your gifts are helping to make China a kinder, more humane place for all animals.

Tweet #TACNshelterappeal

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In China, there are a group of people who have voluntarily taken up the responsibility of caring for and protecting the stray cats in their community and neighbourhood. Every day, they go out and patrol the streets of their neighbourhood to protect the stray cats from cat poachers.

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They make sure that the stray cats have enough food and fresh water and take the cats to the local vets when it’s necessary. They work with other local animal rescuers to neuter/spay the cats. These people are in every city and every residential community through out China.

People call them QunHu (群护). In English, this phrase means “Group Protection”. We say they are the stray cats’ Guardian Angels. These people are ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things. They have sacrificed their time with families and friends while doing everything they can to protect the stray cats.

To help some of them out and start the New Year with love and abundant food for the stray cats, TACN held a special “New Year’s Eve Dinner for Stray Cats”.

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This project was an online fundraiser with the goal of raising enough money to provide a special dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve for all of the cats in 50 different “cat patrolling neighbourhoods” in Beijing.

The outcome of this fundraiser campaign has been truly heart warming. We started raising funds on Jan. 16th with the goal of reaching 6,500RMB. We were so fortunate to reach our goal in just two short days after we received donations from 318 loving people throughout China! We used the funds to purchase 50 bags of cat food and delivered them to the specified areas in Beijing.

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This amount of the food was enough to give two very generous meals to each of the approximately 800 cats. Each of these 800 balls of furry strays celebrated the beginning of the year of the Horse with their guardian angels while enjoying a very special dinner. Chinese New Year’s Eve was a wonderful start to the new year, and TACN along with the Guardian Angels hope to continue this lovely tradition from here on out!

Much love, respect, and a very happy Chinese New Year to you all!

Related videos about QunHu patrolling neighbourhoods in china:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=234878650023343