TACN Shelter Open Day

May 11, 2014 / in News, Our Work, Volunteer / by TACN

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.

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.

New Life for Cat Meat Trade Survivors

April 3, 2014 / in News, Our Work / by TACN

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

Tweet #catmeattradesurvivors

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.

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.

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 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

A Bit of Luck in the Midst of Sadness

April 2, 2014 / in News, Our Work, Rescue / by TACN

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.

DONATE NOW

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.

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

“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.

DONATE NOW

Tweet #Dorjethemastiff

TACN Fundraiser 2014 – Shelter Improvement Project

March 27, 2014 / in News, Our Work, Rescue Centre / by TACN

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

TACN Fundraiser 2014

Donate Now

Sponsor TACN Shelter

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

$2,925 / $5,000

Tweet #TACNshelterappeal

MORE DETAILS

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Sponsor TACN Shelter

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

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

New Additions to TACN Beijing Rescue Centre

March 2, 2014 / in Animal Story, News / by TACN

After weeks of intensive treatment and care, Snow has now recovered and has returned to live at TACN Beijing Rescue Centre along with his new friends and families.

With a playful and friendly personality, it didn’t take Snow long to get along with all the other dogs at the shelter. While all of them seem to be enjoying each others’ company, a few dogs have particularly grown fond of Snow, including one of the meat trade survivor, Heiniu.

Heiniu seems to be especially happy around handsome Snow

Since the very beginning of Snow’s rescue, our Swedish volunteer Camilla has taken a big part of Snow’s recovery progress. She visited Snow in a regular basis at the hospital and made sure that he received appropriate amount of exercises during his treatment and recovery period. Thanks to volunteers like Camilla, previously injured and traumatized Snow has not only made an amazing physical recovery but has also regained his confidence and spirit! When Camilla and her husband came to visit the shelter a couple of days ago, Snow was so excited to see them and happily showing off his favorite toys. Snow doesn’t show any sign of aggression or mistrust of humans or other dogs.

It will take some time for Snow to grow out his fur, he is no doubt a healthy and happy dog now. With or without the signature fluffy fur of a Samoyed, Snow is a beautiful dog inside and out. The following pictures are evidences of Snow’s truly extraordinary transformation.

Aside from Camilla and her husband, the shelter also welcomed two special guests from Ecuador, Maria and her husband. All of the animals at the shelter are always very happy when there are visitors in the shelter. Visitors mean extra petting, playing time, and treats for them. Above all, the attention and petting they receive from the visitors are easily their favorite. Maomao (Fury), a three-pawed beautiful Gold Retriever, was particularly loving the attention from Maria. He just couldn’t get enough of her hugs.

Along with Snow, we also have a few other new additions to our shelter family – a brave doggie mom and her five precious babies.

This family of six was found in a residential complex shivering in the cold. The puppies appeared to be only few weeks old and healthy.Their mother is very sweet and gentle. She is surprisingly trusting of humans in spite of being a stray with 5 newborn pups. Luckily, we found them before anything bad happens to them.

They are now under our gentle care and joined with the other animal residents at the shelter. The whole family have been checked by our trusted vet, and the mom will be spayed soon. Coincidentally, the doggie mom, newly named Miya, looks a lot like Camilla’s family dog Black back in Sweden. Camilla was still in Sweden when she found out about the rescue of the family. During this Camilla’s last visit at the shelter, she and her husband officially became proud parents of one of the lucky puppies, now named Wilson.

Little Wilson has already moved into his new home and seemed to be adjusting well. He enjoys his comfy bed, new toys, and most of all, the undivided love from his new parents. We are all so happy for Wilson and his new found family.

All the remaining four puppies (all female) have been vaccinated and will be spayed when they reach 6 months of age. We are actively seeking a loving home for each one of them. If you are interested in adopting, please regarding our adoption policy and procedures both within China and internationally.

Wangwang was teaching the puppies how to pose for camera

Alternatively, you can also help these innocent animals by becoming a sponsor for as little as $4 a month, or, by a one-off donation. Your donations will help with basic needs such as food, treats and medication for the rescued animals, as well as giving the opportunity to find them forever homes.With support from supporters like you, we could keep helping more animals in need. Your donations are life saving gifts for the suffering animals in China and beyond. And your gift will make a difference!

DONATE NOW

The US Consulate General Visiting WSAPA Shelter

February 26, 2014 / in News, TACN Partner / by TACN

On Feb 25th 2014, the US Consulate General at Wuhan, Mr. Vlad Lipschutz, visited Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association (WSAPA) and all of the 100+ animal residents at the shelter. After visiting the main shelter, the consulate general also visited the temporary shelter outside of the city where more rescued animals are housed, including the cats that were recently rescued from the meat market.

During this visit, Mr. Lipschutz and the board director, Du Fan, discussed the animal rights movement in China. Du Fan shared his experiences and opinions about the current animal rights situation in China with Mr. Lipschutz. Mr. Lipschutz stated that he supports and is willing to help the shelter and its future work within his means. The US Consulate General’s visit was widely praised by the many Chinese animal lovers on Weibo (Chinese version of twitter).

The US consulate general Mr. Lipschutz, and WSAPA board director Du Fan are discussing and exchanging ideas about the animal protection and welfare situation in China.

Last month, WSAPA along with many volunteers successfully rescued 2,800 cats that were en route to be slaughtered. The rescue story was featured on both TACN Website and Facebook page.

New Year’s Eve Dinner for 800 Stray Cats

January 31, 2014 / in News, Our Work / by TACN

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.

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”.

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.

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

Update: Post-Rescue of 2,800 Wuhan Cats

January 27, 2014 / in News, Rescue / by TACN

The 69 cats that have been taken in by the TACN Beijing team and V-Cats arrived in Beijing on the evening of Jan 22nd.

69 survivors from the Wuhan Cat Rescue have arrived in Beijing, 3 have been adopted, 36 need homes and 30 are hospitalised as of 27th of Jan.

Upon arrival, we temporarily placed all of the cats in a location that was rented for this occasion. Volunteers from both TACN and V-Cats assessed the health condition of the cats and found out that almost half of them are in fairly poor condition. Many of the cats were badly injured, and some of them even have open wounds. Some of them have been traumatized, and a few of them are showing signs of aggression and mistrust of humans caused by their horrific experiences previously.

While it is no doubt heartbreaking to know the kind of horror these innocent, defenceless lives have gone through, our team has been working hard to ensure that only good things happen from here onwards. As of now, 3 of the 69 cats have been adopted. 36 of the 69 cats are currently available for adoption. Meanwhile, they are being housed in different rescue groups (including TACN), and with a variety of individuals in Beijing. The rest are currently hospitalised, we hope to see speedy recoveries from all of them.

One of the cats taken in by us, named Zhenzhu (Pearl) is currently being treated as she has got distemper, we have been monitoring her progress closely and providing her with the best care we could offer.

TACN will provide free microchipping and national database registry (our recently launched XINPET programme) for all of these cats.

For the future safety of these cat-meat-trade survivors, as well as promoting responsible pet ownership, we have made microchipping one of our mandatory requirements for future cat-adopters. More details about our XINPET programme will be available shortly.

Where are the rest of the cats?

Aside from the above mentioned 69 cats, about 1,100 of the 2,800 cats were either allowed to run away or secretly taken away by some of the Wuhan Small Animal Society’s people. Heartbreakingly, there were far, far more cats than rescuers, and given the ongoing confrontation with the smugglers, some of the cats were not able to be taken back to the shelters. Please understand that most mass rescues, such as this one, often end up failing due to many potential problems. While the rescue was ongoing, no one knew what the outcome would be, given the awful circumstances the activists and volunteers had to act with whatever power they had to save as many cats as they could.

We all mourn the 160 beautiful cats that passed away either before the arrival of our volunteers or before the cats were successfully rescued. In spite of all the trails and hardships, there have been some pretty incredible victories. 482 cats have now been adopted. 260 cats are cared for by Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association. The rest, about 880 cats, have been taken in by different rescue groups and individuals from different parts of China:

Anyuan Shelter : 40
XuDong: 22
Wubei Veterinary Association Board: 150
Chongqing Small Animal Protection Association: 201
Zhenzhou: 207

Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association and all of the rescue groups that took in the cats have been working day and night to take care of their charges, many of which are sick and require much needed medical attention.

To fund this rescue and all of the post-rescue work, we solely rely on donations from loving supporters such as yourself. We would have never made it this far without all of your generosity and continuous love and support.

Please know that you are in every way part of this cause just as much as we are, and you are making a huge difference! Please support our work and help us provide for these innocent animals so that they can have a chance for a brighter future!

DONATE NOW

Money is not the only way to help animals in desperate need. Please spread the word and tell people about what we do. Please share this story and our Facebook page with as many people you can.

Thank you!

Wuhan Cats Rescue Update

January 20, 2014 / in News, Rescue / by TACN

If you want to help these cats, you can make a difference!

We have set up this fundraising campaign to give the world outside of China a way to directly influence the outcomes of the rescue and contribute to the success of the Chinese animal rights revolution.

ATTENTION: TACN is the ONLY organisation that is officially authorised by the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association (WSAPA) to collect donations outside of China for the 2,800 cat Rescue on their behalf. Distribution and expenses of donations will be made transparent published once ready.

Donate Now

Updates on the Wuhan 2,800 cats rescue

The victory of the rescue on 16th of January might have saved all of the cats from being slaughtered for their meat and fur, but the real work of keeping the cats safe and giving them a brighter future has just started for us.

We can only imagine the kind of challenges and the amount of work the activists must undertaking in a rescue as large as this one. The challenges, however, have served to bring out the dedication of the activists and volunteers, generosity and kindness of all of the animal-loving people in China.

The cats were placed in a temporarily rented warehouse near the rescue site. While the volunteers were moving all of the 2,800 cats out of the tiny cages and into bigger kennels, they did basic health inspections and separated the cats into different categories based on their health conditions, genders and sizes. All of the cats that appeared to be ill have been quarantined and treated by the volunteer veterinarians.

While the volunteers were going through all the cats, they found out that many of the cats were wearing collars, many of which even had name tags attached. Not all of the cats were strays; many of them were obviously well-loved family pets that were stolen from their families.

While the onsite volunteers have been numbering and recording each of the 2,800 cats, we have created a Lost Cat/adoption page on our Chinese website (tacn.org.cn) with pictures of photographed cats (The page is still being updated with new cats as volunteers are continuing their work on profiling cats). Through this page, we hope the lost cats will be reunited with their families, and that the other rescued ones will find a human who will protect and love them forever. In just three days after the rescue, over a hundred loving people from different parts of the country showed up at the rescue location looking for their lost family members or adopting a new family member.

All of these have been made possible thanks to the dedicated on-site volunteers who have been working restlessly for very long hours, as well as the love and support from people from far away.

The volunteers who took the shift overnight, set up tents onsite, so they could monitor the site, and also wake up during the night to patrol the site and check on the sick and injured cats.

Donations both in the form of money and supplies (kennels, food, water, medicines, etc) have poured in from all over the country over the course of a few days during the rescue. These donations have provided the frontline volunteers the fuel and hope to continue their work on not only saving these cats’ lives, but also creating a future full of love and hope for each of them with a potential of a forever home.

Onsite volunteers have spent many sleepless nights taking care of the cats. They have provided their own vehicles to transport the cats and supplies. They have kept the rescue site clean and organised.

Their hands, arms and even faces are covered with scratches and bites from the terrified cats. Yet, no one has complained, and more volunteers are arriving every day.

Our partner team, V-Cats, who has dedicated themselves to protect both stray and pet cats and fighting against the cat meat trade, traveled from Beijing immediately after the cats were rescued and joined the rescue effort with Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association (WSAPA).

V-Cats in Action

Due to the huge number of the cats involved in this rescue, it is a mission impossible for WSAPA to take in all of the cats on their own while they are waiting for adoptions. A call-out has been sent out to all animal rescue teams, shelters and individuals in China to help out with housing/fostering some of the cats. Both TACN and V-Cats will be taking over a number of cats. A total of 69 of the 2,800 cats are due to arrive in Beijing later in the evening of 22nd January.

Despite the tremendous amount of work and many sleepless nights, the leading organisation of the rescue, the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association (WSAPA) has been keeping a neatly organised record of donations received, as well as a clear and detailed list of spending during the rescue. A summary of donations and spending of the rescue will be made public on our website after all of the cats are properly relocated and housed.

Most of the donations will be used to treat injured cats, as many of them are enduring serious injuries caused while being snatched. Most of the injuries were caused by the traps that were set up by the snatchers. The trap severely damaged and even broke the limbs of the cats. They then had to suffer many hours before being shut in tiny cages and continuing the journey of horror with the other terrified cat victims.

If you want to help these cats, you can make a difference!

DONATE NOW

Your donation via our online fundraiser will help provide food, shelter and medical care for these cats.

No help is too little to help animals in need. Every dollar raised through your donations will be fully and publicly accounted for on the TACN website tacn.org so that you can see how your gifts are helping to make China a kinder, more humane place for all animals.

One of our main goals is to unite people from across the world with these brave activists as they fight to ensure a better future for animals in China. The incredible outpouring of support that has come from around the world has warmed the hearts and fortified the resolve of the brave individuals who are fighting right now to save animals.

Money is not the only way to help these cats who are in desperate needs. You can help them by getting as many people involved as you can. Please spread the word and share this post. Thank you!

Wuhan 2,800 Cats Rescued

January 16, 2014 / in News, Rescue / by TACN

While this report is being written up, there are still many volunteers staying up over night looking after the cats, and in the morning many more will arrive at the warehouse to take their turn, and hopefully many more cats will be able to return to their homes all over the country. Many cats will be taken in by Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association (WSAPA www.590pet.com), and official donation pages have been setup especially for the rescued cats on Taobao by WSAPA. Because Taobao is a Chinese internal online shop, international donations are quite difficult to process, therefore, we have set up a donation page especially for this event.

DONATE NOW

Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association (WSAPA www.590pet.com) will be the beneficiary of the donations collected via this fundraiser page. Distribution and expenses of donations will be made transparent by WSAPA and published once ready.

Full Event Report - Aftercare Ongoing

14th January 2014

6:00PM Chairman Du Fan from Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association had received an eye witness report from people who has spotted a truck on the roadside near Wuhan Technology University on Baishazhou Road, Wuchang, with many cages of cats being loaded onto the truck. Du Fan immediately gathered 7 volunteers and headed towards the location of the truck. When they got there, the truck had already left and was on the way towards the Southern China cities where the cats would be sold for their meat and fur. Du Fan and the volunteers took two cars and started to chase the truck.

11:00 PM The truck was about to leave Hubei province, but volunteers finally caught up with the truck at a toll gate. With help from the traffic warden the truck was finally stopped at the toll. Volunteers called uopn local quarantine officers straight away. Upon arrival, officials from the local quarantine department checked the quarantine certificate for these cats carefully and announced that it had been forged, therefore the transportation of these cats was illegal. However, due to the truck’s origin being out of their range of control, they could only order the truck to be returned back to Wuhan, under the supervision of volunteers, and to be examined once again by the quarantine officers there.

On the way back to Wuhan, the truck was driving in front with Du Fan and the volunteers following behind. The truck driver had tried many times to speed up and get rid of them but failed to succeed.

15th January 2014

04:00 AM Everyone arrived at downtown Anshan in Jiangxia district but the truck driver refused to carry on and said he was feeling sick. Volunteers agreed to stop for a rest there, and waited for local officials during the break.

Local media and journalists arrived shortly and saw a truck with registration plates belonging to Anhui province parked on the roadside, loaded with countless tiny cages cramped with cats. According to the journalists’ initial count, there were roughly a hundred of cages on the truck. In the truck there were two males and one female, but they refused to answer questions or speak to the journalists.

During the initial unloading attempt by the activists at the current holding ground, a nearby market had caught fire, it was suspected that the cat dealers had set the market on fire to cause trouble and divert peoples attentions. Luckily the Jiangxia Animal Quarantine Department later ordered the truck to be relocated to new premises away from the fire.

All the cats were different breeds, cramped in tiny cages less than 20 cm in height and all of the cats seemed very weak. Volunteers told journalists that the quarantine certificate provided by the driver stated there were 2,800 cats and they were destined to Nanning, Guangxi province. The driver had told the volunteers that these cats were to be “domesticated then would be sold as pets”, but volunteers didn’t believe this story, knowing that these cats would not escape a certain death of horror if they were ever to reach their destination and would definitely be sold as meat.

11:00 The driver had called up their people and upon arrival they demanded the release of the truck and all the cats from volunteers, arguments started when their request was refused. The driver got in the truck and tried to flee, but he was stopped by volunteers.

Whilst the journalists’ were conducting an interview, a middle-aged man appeared at the scene, shouting with anger at the volunteers, accusing them of causing trouble. Although he didn’t reveal his identity, volunteers told the reporter that this angry man was the “owner” of the cats.

This man then went on to say that he, himself, had bought the cats from all over many towns and cities, but refused to say how much he had paid for them or where the cats were being driven to. He accused the volunteers of causing him money loss and said he would get it all back afterwards. He refused to comment on the forged quarantine certificate at all.

The Local Health Authority where the truck originated confirmed that the quarantine certificate was forged, and decided to detain the truck and all the cats while further investigation could be made. There were chances that the truck could still be released with all the cats if the “owner” provided supporting documents. Until now, all the cats have been cramped in the tiny cages for over 30 hours and volunteers had found many injured cats, even dead bodies inside the cages, so they started negotiating with the officials hoping they could let them unload the cats and provide them with food, water and essential care.

Their first few attempts got refused, but they didn’t give up and they kept on trying to negotiate. At the same time, thousands of Weibo posts had been published online, reposted and were circling on the the most popular microblog in China, many posted comments and accused Hongshan local officials of condoning crime if they let the truck go.

16th January 2014 Under the pressure of the volunteers, journalists and many more citizens all over China, the local officials agreed to hand over the cats to volunteers and local animal rescue groups to be taken care of.

Victory to the activists and volunteers

Volunteers were then facing the next stage of the rescue, finding a location as a temporary holding ground for all the cats while they separated the dead, injured and healthy ones putting the cats wearing collars to one side waiting to be found by their owners.

Eventually, volunteers found a local warehouse that agreed to provide space for housing the cats temporarily, and charging 1,000RMB (£100/$165) per day. Out of desperation, volunteers took the offer and moved all the cats to the location.

Instruction to the current housing location - 武汉救下的猫咪临时安置点指路详情

Upon arrival they immediately started unloading the cages and started checking on the cats as well as feeding them food and water. Until now, 40 hours have gone by, volunteers didn’t sleep or eat, and neither did the cats, they were fighting through the horror together.

More volunteers had been called upon and arrived at the warehouse, bringing with them supplies including food, water, crates, cages, feeding tubes, gloves, etc. Immediately they joined in with the operation, so they could take over and let some of the volunteers return home for some much needed rest and re-energising.

Many cats have now been moved into larger cages provided with food and water, but there are quite a lot of cats that didn’t make it. Among the dead cats, many were pregnant and gave birth to their kittens while cramped in the cages on the truck, some of their kittens were squeezed out prematurely caused by the pressure of the tiny space and weight of other cats in cages.

The operation of finding owners of some of the cats have begun. As the news spread, many people who had previously lost their cats made their way to the warehouse, some of them have actually found their lost cats after just a short searching around. Many cats had collars, and were identified to be from Beijing and Tianjin, as they belonged to the local cat carer community where groups of rescuers and volunteers took the responsibilities of looking after them from strays to domesticated cats. After hearing the updates about this, the local rescuers from Beijing and Tianjin were on their way to Wuhan via a 2 hour flight, with the hope to find the recent lost cats that disappeared from their community.

While this report is being written up, there are still many volunteers staying up over night looking after the cats and in the morning many more will arrive at the warehouse to take their turn, and hopefully many more cats will be able to return to their homes all over the country. Many cats will be taken in by Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association (WSAPA www.590pet.com), and official donation pages have been setup especially for the rescued cats on Taobao by WSAPA and Wuhan Cat (www.whcat.net). Because Taobao is a Chinese internal online shop, international donation would be quite difficult, therefore, we have set up a donation page especially for this event.

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Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association (WSAPA www.590pet.com) who will be the beneficiary of the donations collected via this fundraiser page. Distribution and expenses of donations will be made transparent by WSAPA and published once ready.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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The Full Story

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

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.

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

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Sponsor TACN Shelter

MORE DETAILS

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.

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

We need your help to make this happen.

KENNELS

OUTSIDE SPACE

STAFF AND PUBLIC SPACE

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Sponsor TACN Shelter

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

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.

After weeks of intensive treatment and care, Snow has now recovered and has returned to live at TACN Beijing Rescue Centre along with his new friends and families.

Along with Snow, we also have a few other new additions to our shelter family – a brave doggie mom and her five precious babies.

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

The 69 cats that have been taken in by the TACN Beijing team and V-Cats arrived in Beijing on the evening of Jan 22nd.

69 survivors from the Wuhan Cat Rescue have arrived in Beijing, 3 have been adopted, 36 need homes and 30 are hospitalised as of 27th of Jan.

TACN will provide free microchipping and national database registry (our recently launched XINPET programme) for all of these cats.

Where are the rest of the cats?

To fund this rescue and all of the post-rescue work, we solely rely on donations from loving supporters such as yourself. We would have never made it this far without all of your generosity and continuous love and support.

Please know that you are in every way part of this cause just as much as we are, and you are making a huge difference! Please support our work and help us provide for these innocent animals so that they can have a chance for a brighter future!

Thank you!

If you want to help these cats, you can make a difference!

Updates on the Wuhan 2,800 cats rescue

If you want to help these cats, you can make a difference!

No help is too little to help animals in need. Every dollar raised through your donations will be fully and publicly accounted for on the TACN website tacn.org so that you can see how your gifts are helping to make China a kinder, more humane place for all animals.

Money is not the only way to help these cats who are in desperate needs. You can help them by getting as many people involved as you can. Please spread the word and share this post. Thank you!

Full Event Report - Aftercare Ongoing

14th January 2014

15th January 2014

Victory to the activists and volunteers

Instruction to the current housing location - 武汉救下的猫咪临时安置点指路详情

More Event Related Materials