Help Animals Asia end China's dog culls!

It’s difficult to say a word. It’s difficult to say something. Look at the pictures is enough. But the real situation is a nightmare for thousands of dogs.
This is the story. A rabies outbreak involving 10 human cases, has prompted authorities in China's northwest Shaanxi Province to order a cull that has already seen as many as 30,000 dogs brutally slaughtered on the streets of Hanzhong and surrounding areas. This is one in 10 of the city's dogs.
Despite the best efforts of AAF, Animal Asia Foundation, and those of other NGOs and many desperate local people, because of two more human cases of rabies, the dogs are still being brutally hunted down by gangs of men and women wielding bloody sticks, metal hooks and ropes, then heartlessly clubbed to death.
Some are family pets, while others are strays that have already suffered enough in their short lives on the streets.
The slaughtered dogs were on the streets only because these people still refuse to act on the evidence before their eyes – that the only way to manage stray-dog populations (and therefore rabies and other diseases) is to implement broad vaccination and trap, neuter, release (TNR) programmes.
Over the past two weeks, families have sobbed and fallen to their knees as their beloved dogs were snatched from their arms, roughly collared with rope and beaten to death before their eyes. Often the dogs wag their tails once or twice and look up pathetically between careless heavy blows to the face, head and spine.
Some of the killers are local men, ordered by the authorities to help in the slaughter. Others are taking part willingly.
Fortunately, Ms Jiang Hong, founder of the Small Animal Rescue Centre of Xian, who along with representatives of several local animal-welfare groups, made an urgent trip to Hanzhong to plead the case with the authorities.
Sponsored by Animals Asia, Ms Jiang’s group spent three days witnessing and recording the cull and offering officials help with dog control. In Yangxian town, they saw no dogs alive.
The authorities stubbornly went ahead with the cull despite receiving advice from international and Chinese experts that culls do nothing to eradicate rabies.
And AAF letter – passed on to Hanzhong officials by Ms Jiang – was virtually ignored.
Even in Hanzhong, the scene of such bloodshed earlier this month, there is positive news. More than 200 residents attended the lakeside vigil, forming a poignant “SOS” with lighted candles to mourn the victims, many of them their pets; and because of the cull, some animal lovers have formed an organisation to lobby their local authorities to adopt stray-dog management measures.
Just last month, Animals Asia – along with other animal-welfare groups – was able to convince officials in Hehei, Heilongjiang Province to abandon a similar cull.
Now, to support the AAF mission, is urgent to find  funds to equip local groups with the materials and information they need to convince their local governments to work with them. With grants from Animals Asia, these groups will be able to produce their own flyers, leaflets and banners to send to the authorities, the media and public along with Dr Eddie Education Packs, and to continue TNR programmes.
More and more cities are listening and implementing regulations to control stray dog and cat populations. It is the local people themselves who are bringing about these changes. They no longer want to live in fear of walking their dogs on the streets.

To learn more: www.animalsasia.org