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Date: Wed 15 Jun 2011
From: Merritt Clifton <anmlpepl@whidbey.com> [edited]
On Wed 15 Jun 2011 in Beijing, China, accompanied by a professional translator who is familiar with the issues, I attended a press conference convened by the Shangshen Animal Foundation to discuss the implications for rabies control resulting from investigation of an incident on 14 Apr 2011, when Beijing activists intercepted and eventually rescued a truck carrying approximately 500 dogs from Henan province to dog meat restaurants in Jilin province.
The speakers included attorneys Lu Xun, An Xiang, and Cai Chunhang, and China Veterinary Association Pet Clinic Branch vice president Liu Lang, who was accompanied by a laboratory technician.
Nearly 70 people attended, including about 20 journalists, half a dozen scientists, and many leading Beijing animal advocates. The advocates spoke only after the attorneys and veterinarians, and after most of the media left, following 2 hours of presentations about the veterinary and legal issues.
About 80 per cent of the dogs who were seized (about 400) came from random sources. About 20 per cent (about 100) were purpose-bred on one farm. The rest were of unknown origin, but many had collars and some were purebreds, who are believed to have been stolen. I believe some were subsequently identified and reclaimed by their owners.
All of the dogs, when intercepted, had certification of rabies vaccination and of having completed post-vaccination quarantine, to ensure that they were not already rabid when vaccinated.
However, the certifications of vaccination and quarantine were issued on the same day. The "veterinarian" who signed the papers turned out to be not a veterinarian, and was not even qualified, we were told, to take the examination to attend veterinary school.
The certification (projected on a screen for the attendees to see) stated that the dogs had been vaccinated not only against rabies, but also against parainfluenza, adenovirus, distemper, and parvovirus.
Many dogs, however, were ill, apparently with some of these diseases (though none were rabid.)
40 healthy dogs were checked for titres. None showed any evidence of having actually been vaccinated against anything.
Thus there were no actual safeguards in effect against translocating rabies -- just an unenforced paperwork requirement.
Failure to vaccinate was just the beginning of the legal issues, according to the lawyers.
Chinese law requires vaccination of any dogs moving interstate, but forbids vaccination of animals who are to be eaten. No exemptions are granted to permit interstate movement of animals who are to be eaten. A variety of statements from federal and provincial agencies were presented to confirm that none of them authorize interstate movement of unvaccinated dogs. If I counted correctly, at least 8 government agencies took the same position.
The attorneys concluded that Chinese rabies control law actually prohibits the entire interstate dog meat trade, which they identified as a probable major vector for translocation of rabies.
The convenors concluded the press conference by appealing for enforcement of the laws already on the books.
--
Merritt Clifton
Editor, Animal People
PO Box 960
Clinton, WA 98236
USA
<anmlpepl@whidbey.com>
<http://www.animalpeoplenews.org>
From: Merritt Clifton <anmlpepl@whidbey.com> [edited]
On Wed 15 Jun 2011 in Beijing, China, accompanied by a professional translator who is familiar with the issues, I attended a press conference convened by the Shangshen Animal Foundation to discuss the implications for rabies control resulting from investigation of an incident on 14 Apr 2011, when Beijing activists intercepted and eventually rescued a truck carrying approximately 500 dogs from Henan province to dog meat restaurants in Jilin province.
The speakers included attorneys Lu Xun, An Xiang, and Cai Chunhang, and China Veterinary Association Pet Clinic Branch vice president Liu Lang, who was accompanied by a laboratory technician.
Nearly 70 people attended, including about 20 journalists, half a dozen scientists, and many leading Beijing animal advocates. The advocates spoke only after the attorneys and veterinarians, and after most of the media left, following 2 hours of presentations about the veterinary and legal issues.
About 80 per cent of the dogs who were seized (about 400) came from random sources. About 20 per cent (about 100) were purpose-bred on one farm. The rest were of unknown origin, but many had collars and some were purebreds, who are believed to have been stolen. I believe some were subsequently identified and reclaimed by their owners.
All of the dogs, when intercepted, had certification of rabies vaccination and of having completed post-vaccination quarantine, to ensure that they were not already rabid when vaccinated.
However, the certifications of vaccination and quarantine were issued on the same day. The "veterinarian" who signed the papers turned out to be not a veterinarian, and was not even qualified, we were told, to take the examination to attend veterinary school.
The certification (projected on a screen for the attendees to see) stated that the dogs had been vaccinated not only against rabies, but also against parainfluenza, adenovirus, distemper, and parvovirus.
Many dogs, however, were ill, apparently with some of these diseases (though none were rabid.)
40 healthy dogs were checked for titres. None showed any evidence of having actually been vaccinated against anything.
Thus there were no actual safeguards in effect against translocating rabies -- just an unenforced paperwork requirement.
Failure to vaccinate was just the beginning of the legal issues, according to the lawyers.
Chinese law requires vaccination of any dogs moving interstate, but forbids vaccination of animals who are to be eaten. No exemptions are granted to permit interstate movement of animals who are to be eaten. A variety of statements from federal and provincial agencies were presented to confirm that none of them authorize interstate movement of unvaccinated dogs. If I counted correctly, at least 8 government agencies took the same position.
The attorneys concluded that Chinese rabies control law actually prohibits the entire interstate dog meat trade, which they identified as a probable major vector for translocation of rabies.
The convenors concluded the press conference by appealing for enforcement of the laws already on the books.
--
Merritt Clifton
Editor, Animal People
PO Box 960
Clinton, WA 98236
USA
<anmlpepl@whidbey.com>
<http://www.animalpeoplenews.org>
