As you may know, thanks mostly to AnimalsTaiwan volunteers Kent and Anita, we recently rescued 23 Persian cats and have rehomed almost all of them. Now we have seven more cats in need of help, only these are a little bit bigger.
These beautiful tigers are currently languishing in a Taichung amusement park. We are now working with the Born Free Foundation and AnimalsAsia to remove them from these cramped and unsanitary conditions.
AnimalsAsia have been supporting us since our inception. We originally wanted to be their Taiwan branch, hence the name. Our second pub quiz raised exactly US$1,000, which we donated to their Moon Bear Fund, to help with some of the bears they rescue from appalingly inhumane conditions in bear bile farms.
At the moment, we’re looking at presenting the government with a simple solution to the problem; that is, we find the tigers new homes and fundraise for all their costs, which usually includes lifelong care.
It seems we’re looking at having to raise around US$1 million. I’m not averse to a challenge, so keep watching this space!
I’m still waiting to hear back from the Council of Agriculture. I sent them a nice e-mail two days ago commending them on the improvements they have made to animal welfare in the last few years, and letting them know that we are relieved they are looking into this matter. I pointed out that I would like to updated on their progress so that I could inform the international community. I’ll let you know what I find out.
That would be incredible, but I’m guessing that, being circus tigers, they may not have all their teeth and claws, and, even if they did, teaching them to fend for themselves in the wild after being bred in captivity would be a very difficult job, if not impossible. I will ask Born Free about that and let you know what they say.
Born Free told me something that shocked and sddened me: there are more captive tigers in the state of Texas than there are in the wild. That is a terrible statistic - and exactly what Born Free aim to change. The reason why we would have to fund the animals’ lifelong care is that there is now an abundance of captive tigers; basically, zoos are giving them away. No one needs to beg for tigers. Responsible zoos and wildlife parks now give their tigers contraceptives or employ a tightly controlled breeding program, as there are simply too many in captivity already. As I said, I’ll find out more about releasing tigers into the wild, but if this was an option, I’m sure Born Free would have offered it as a suggestion already.
We are currently setting that up. It’s important to get the wording right, as we want to be supportive of govt efforts, rather than critical.
Watch this space for details of the petition.
Thank you for your support, surly. :bravo:
Sean[/quote]
Waiting with baited breath, I wish I had the facilities to CARE for one of these (and the knowledge, but I suspect they are quite different from my odd collection of felines)…
I have received a reply from the Council of Agriculture.
They explained that The Association of Promotion for Students Outdoor Education （APSOE) imported the tigers for use in a circus show. Apparently, by law (not sure for what reason) APSOE should already have exported the tigers again, but have so far failed to do so.
The COA conducted several official enquiries and informed APSOE that they would be penalised in the form of a fine if they fail to follow through with their obligation to export the animals.
Taichung City Government is also monitoring the situation and has ordered APSOE to take better care of the tigers as per the Taiwan Animal Protection Law.
Because APSOE have not made any improvements to the welfare of the tigers, the COA has already initiated the legal process to confiscate the big cats.
AnimalsTaiwan, with support from the Born Free Foundation, has offered assistance in finding these beautiful animals a lifelong, safe, and caring home, and also help in raising the necessary funds.
I will be going down to Taichung this coming week to see the tigers for myself and perhaps get some video footage that we can use to show how appaling their conditions are, and use it to show just how much the COA’s intervention is needed (and appreciated).
I’ll keep you updated - keep watching this space! We’ll keep pushing to get these cats out and into better surroundings as soon as possible.
Might that curb the stray dog problem? [/quote] :bravo: :bravo:
Okay, I think it’s time to contact National Geographic or whatever channel to tell them about Stray Dog’s passion. To save 7 tigers, is nothing but passion.
Get them back to the wild. I think they’ve had enough of living under the thumb of DA MAN
Nama X :beatnik:
