Muppet, a Chinese mixed-breed dog rescued by Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson after being saved from a truck on its way to a hellish meat market was the star attraction at an Animals Asia anti-dog-and-cat eating event in Chengdu, Sichuan Province on Sunday (Jan 9).

 

This scruffy, tail-wagging ambassador, who now lives in the doggie paradise of Animals Asia’s nearby Bear Rescue Centre, was on hand to welcome over 100 people who came out in the freezing cold to support an end to the cruel trade in cats and dogs for their meat. 

Many people brought their children to the event, which was held at the Wenxuan Book Center. Some came because they had read about Animals Asia’s work on Weibo (China’s hugely popular version of Twitter), and others dropped in while passing by. 

Five-year-old Luo Ruixin told the Animals Asia team that she couldn’t write the Chinese characters needed to express her feelings, so instead she drew two hearts to show that cats and dogs are our friends. 

A dog’s life

In China, it’s not just the bitter cold and hunger that stray dogs and cats have to fear in winter – it’s also meat traders who snatch them from the streets to sell on to meat markets and slaughterhouses. Dogs are particularly as risk. Dog meat is mistakenly thought to be a “warming” winter food. But cat meat too is sought for hot pot dinners so the demand for their meat rises as the temperature drops. 

Many of the cats and dogs that end up in the meat markets are stolen or abandoned pets still wearing collars.

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