AfA February Newsletter

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Dear Sylvia, We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy New Year of the Rooster from all of us at the Asia For Animals Coalition! Here’s to making sure the year of the Rooster is a great year for all animals! Updates and Calls for Action! Great News from Vietnam: Another cruel festival halted in Vietnam following public outcry A Vietnamese Lunar New Year festival in which a live buffalo is hung has been ended after angry citizens protested after footage of last year’s Dong Cuong New Year festival went viral in Vietnam. Thankfully, the central and local authorities are in agreement and have ordered organisers not to allow such animal cruelty to taint the village’s Lunar New Year celebrations. Read more here It’s Time to End Cruel Animal Attractions in Indonesia! Zoos and ‘safari parks’ throughout the country are exploiting animals to attract visitors. Based on the ongoing monitoring of wildlife attractions in Indonesian zoos by “Scorpion”, these activities conducted for visitors’ entertainment are based on abuse and exploitation, resulting in immense animal suffering. We believe that the keeping of wildlife in captivity for the purposes of entertainment is not ethically justifiable, and are committed to raising awareness of the plight of these animals, whilst lobbying for the strengthening of laws to safeguard the welfare of wildlife in captivity. Please join us in calls to end cruel animal attractions in Indonesia We have written to the Ministry urging immediate action be taken to halt this brutal and cruel exploitation of animals, but we need you to make YOUR voice heard too! Please sign and sharing Scorpion’s petition, calling on the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to ban all cruel animal attractions in Indonesia Sign petition Find out more about animal exploitation in the name of entertainment and how YOU can help Lasah The Elephant Still Needs Your Help! For the last 20 years, an elephant named Lasah has been nothing more than a prop to humankind. From hauling logs to being gawked at in zoos to performing in shows and commercials, Lasah hasn’t had it easy. Now, he is at Langkawi Elephant Adventures (LEA) in Malaysia where he’s been giving rides to tourists for the last decade. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Friends of the Orangutan (FOTO) has secured a place for Lasah at a wonderful elephant sanctuary called Kualah Gandah To those of you who made your voices heard for Lasah by signing the petition, you may have received an email from the wildlife department in Malaysia regarding this situation. Sadly, the government has made no indication when they will transfer Lasah to the sanctuary here. View the Malaysian government’s response to us and Friends of the Orangutan’s reply We won’t give up on Lasah… Will you? Please continue to sign and share the two petitions: FOTO petition: Help Free Lasah The Elephant In Malaysia Change.org petition: Free Lasah the elephant from daily abuse Thank you ! Find out what you can do to continue to support Friends of the Orangutan’s efforts for Lasah Indonesia: Calling on Sriwijaya Air to Stop Transporting Dolphins for Travelling Circus Operators The Asia for Animals Coalition is supporting our friends at Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) in their campaign to end the exploitation of dolphins in travelling circuses in Indonesia. We are committed to ending the captivity of cetaceans globally, many of which are wild-caught. The welfare of dolphins used in travelling circuses is further compromised by their training, frequent transport, and the lack of suitable resting and holding facilities at circus venues. The dolphins are held in close confinement for almost all of their lives, forced to travel for hours on end, and exposed to regular human handling and excessive noise… All in the name of ‘entertainment’… Circus dolphin packed into a dry crate in between shows (Photo credit: JAAN) There is growing international recognition of the role airlines play in permitting the captive cetacean industry to continue its exploitation, and of the severe stress cetaceans suffer during hours of restricted confinement during air transportation. Globally we are seeing an ever-growing number of airlines pledging to no longer transport these animals. Please join us in supporting JAAN in calling on Sriwijaya Air to stop transporting dolphins for travelling circus operators in Indonesia! Please sign and share the petition below urgently Sign Petition Elephants in Tourism: Please Don’t Pay For Their Suffering Elephant tourist parks, camps and shows exist in many parts of Asia, and the tourist demand to get close to these iconic animals is fuelling the cruel and abusive treatment of elephants… Tourists may think activities like riding an elephant do no harm, but the brutal truth is that breaking these animals‘ spirits to the point that they allow humans to interact with them involves cruelty at every turn. Read more here Elephant training methods which keep the animals in constant compliance are based on fear and pain: Calves are “broken” by removal from their mothers, physical restraint and fear. Adults are forced to perform in a certain way through the abusive use of the bullhook (ankus). Whilst it is often claimed that tourist elephants are “rescued” or being kept for conservation. The reality is that encouraging human-elephant interactions is contrary to conservation and rehabilitation efforts. Teaching animals to perform inappropriate tricks portrays them to the public in a humiliating manner, instead of showing their natural grace and beauty. And this compromises efforts to promote empathy and respect. What can you do? You can make a difference. Most elephants in captivity are part of tourist-driven businesses. Please don’t pay for the elephants‘ suffering. NEVER go on elephant rides NEVER visit attractions with elephant shows or performances NEVER stay in resorts or hotels that have captive elephants NEVER use tour operators that book elephant rides or tours to elephant camps Find out more The AfA coalition site is going from strength to strength but we need your help to spread the word even further. Please send this email to your friends, family and colleagues and follow us on Facebook to receive updates on what you can do to help. 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AfA May Newsletter

Welcome to AfA’s May Newsletter View this email in your browser

Dear Sylvia, Thank you again from all of us at the Asia For Animals Coalition for continuing to make your voice heard for animals throughout Asia. Together, our voice is louder in tackling some of the region’s most pressing animal welfare issues, calling on those with the power to effect change directly to put animal welfare firmly on the agenda…. And it really does make a difference! UPDATES South Korea: Released Dolphin Confirmed to Have Given Birth in the Wild, Setting a New Precedent A team of South Korean researchers has announced that an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin released back into the wild is confirmed to have successfully given birth! Sampal was among five captive dolphins that had been rehabilitated in sea-pens off Jeju island (South Korea) and released over the last three years, after being illegally captured and sold to the country’s entertainment parks. The release of the dolphins came after the Supreme Court gave a ruling in March 2013 that ordered Jeju’s Pacific Land theme park to give up four illegally caught dolphins. The four dolphins and ‘Jedol’ from the Seoul Grand Zoo were given the chance to return to the wild after being rehabilitated in sea-pens and regaining their health before the release. Read more here More good news followed as Lotteworld Aquarium announced that they “will not be purchasing any more cetaceans” and “will stop researching ways to breed them in captivity”. This decision by Lotteworld Aquarium is thought to follow the announcement on March 17th by the largest dolphin displaying company in the world – SeaWorld in the US – that it will stop holding performances by killer whales and stop breeding them in captivity. Find out more about the plight of cetaceans in captivity and what you can do to help China: Dogs Destined for Slaughterhouses Saved by Local Activists! Earlier this month, Chinese activists stopped and surrounded a truck carrying hundreds of dogs destined for dog meat markets and slaughterhouses. All the dogs on board the truck and on another, were saved from going to slaughter and moved into a shelter in Changchun. Altogether 350 dogs were rescued. The dogs are in a shelter for post-rescue care and veterinary care. AfA Coalition member Humane Society International will follow the situation and provide assistance where needed. This interception comes just a month before the ‘Yulin festival’ in China is set to take place, where thousands of dogs, many of them stolen pets, are captured and transported over long distances under horrific conditions to supply the demand for dog meat at the ‘festival’. Most Chinese citizens reject this practice, and we’re committed to supporting them in ending the festival in actuality. Last year, thanks to overwhelming international pressure, Yulin authorities announced that they would not support the festival. The result was a subdued event and fewer dogs slaughtered than the previous two years. More recently, the authorities have claimed that the festival won’t happen this year, but the dog meat traders will continue to stage the event with or without official endorsement. Please join the hundreds of thousands of other advocates in signing AfA Coalition member Animals Asia’s petition urging the Yulin authorities to intervene and end mass dog slaughter. Sign the AfA Coalition member Animals Asia’s petition Cambodia: An Elephant Dies of Exhaustion While Carrying Tourists On the 26th April, international media  reported the death of an elephant from exhaustion whilst carrying tourists at the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, further highlighting the plight of elephants exploited to supply tourist attractions throughout the region. Please don’t support the suffering of elephants exploited to entertain tourists! Find out more about elephants exploitation and how you can help  CALLS FOR ACTION Please Make YOUR Voice Heard to Stop the Export of Irish Greyhounds to Macau’s Canidrome The Macau Canidrome is China’s only legal dog track and thousands of innocent Australian greyhounds have been sent there to be used and killed since 1963. Find out more here Thankfully, since December when Australian airlines refused to fly any more greyhounds to the region, no dogs have been sent to the Canidrome. Until now. Sadly, six greyhounds have already arrived in Hong Kong from Ireland for transfer to Macau. Please sign the petition URGENTLY calling on the Irish Prime Minister to stop the export of more greyhounds to the Macau Canidrome Please Join Us in Our Calls to End the Suffering of Animals at Dehiwala Zoo, Sri Lanka Please make your voice heard in calling for the National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka (Dehiwala Zoo) to take urgent action to safeguard the welfare of the animals, in light of the investigations revealing the wholly unacceptable conditions and abusive treatments of the animals at this facility. Find out more and to sign the petition The AfA coalition site is going from strength to strength but we need your help to spread the word even further. Please send this email to your friends, family and colleagues and follow us on Facebook to receive updates on what you can do to help. Click here to follow us on Facebook page

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AfA February Newsletter

Welcome to AfA’s February Newsletter View this email in your browser

Dear Sylvia, This month marks the beginning of the Year of the Monkey in Asia. But with international reports already outlining that to mark the occasion, more monkeys than ever are being bred and trained for animal performances, a far cry from the hope of 2012 when performances by exotic animals were banned by the Chinese government. Click here to learn more about the six ways you can help reclaim the Year of the Monkey for the monkeys Thank you again from all of us at the Asia For Animals Coalition for continuing to make your voice heard for animals throughout Asia. Together, our voice is louder in tackling some of the region’s most pressing animal welfare issues, calling on those with the power to effect change directly to put animal welfare firmly on the agenda. UPDATES Thomas Cook Have Stopped Promoting Elephant Rides and Shows! An amazing 174,091 people from all over the world signed AfA Coalition member World Animal Protection’s petition calling on Thomas Cook to stop selling and promoting elephant rides and shows. And as a result, Thomas Cook have stopped offering elephant excursions from this season’s promotions, and are planning to audit their entire range of wildlife experiences! Thomas Cook have over 22 million customers each year – their influence on the tourist industry (and the animal attractions within it) is huge! Find out more here More Good News for Elephants: “Tiger Tops” in Nepal is to Become Asia’s First Private Responsible Elephant Tourism Company Tiger Tops, known as Nepal’s first and oldest eco tourism company, is set to unchain its sixteen elephants, discard jungle safaris and offer non invasive tourism activities promoting natural elephant behaviour. Encouraged by our friends at ‘Animal Nepal’, Tiger Tops has joined forces with elephant welfare expert Carol Buckley from Elephant Aid International to introduce a new way for tourists of experiencing the Asian elephant. Find out more here What you can do to help end the cruel exploitation of elephants Introducing “Zoo Watch” Our friends at Elephant Asia Rescue and Survival Foundation (EARS) have recently announced a new division of the foundation called “Zoo Watch”, formed by a group of dedicated tourists and passionate animal lovers, supported by international wildlife organisations. The aim of Zoo Watch is to bring attention to the suffering of animals, initially at Teuk Chhou Zoo and Prey Veng Zoo in Cambodia, with a view to expanding across the Southeast Asia region. Find out more and what YOU can do to help Thailand: Government Begins Removing Tigers from Infamous Temple Following mounting pressure for intervention following allegations of involvement in the illegal wildlife trade, five tigers were seized on the 28th January from the infamous “Tiger Temple” in Kanchanaburi, three hours’ drive northwest of Bangkok. The temple has long been an attraction for visitors who want hands-on contact with some of its 147 captive tigers, but has also long been at the centre of controversy with former workers and animal welfare advocates highlighting the plight of the tigers who are housed in small concrete cages, beaten and in desperate need of veterinary care. Read the report that has encouraged the intervention Pig slaughter “festival” goes ahead in Vietnam amid increased outcry The Asia For Animals Coalition is deeply saddened to report that earlier this month, two pigs were slaughtered at the Nem Thuong Festival after being cruelly tied down and paraded through the town, despite national and international outcry. The event was reported in Vietnam’s Tuoi Tre newspaper: “Instead of scrapping a brutal public pig-hacking rite as urged by many people and an animal rights organization, locals in a northern Vietnamese province went ahead with a swine slaughter ritual as part of their traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) festival on Saturday, but away from the spotlight.” The Asia For Animals Coalition will continue to lobby for change and will not give up on the fight to end this brutal act. Read more here  CALLS FOR ACTION New Global Study Exposes the Shameful Suffering Caused by Irresponsible Wildlife Tourism Asia For Animals Coalition member World Animal Protection’s new global study exposes the shameful suffering caused by irresponsible wildlife tourism. Three out of four wildlife tourist attractions involve some form of animal abuse or conservation concerns, and up to 550,000 wild animals are suffering in these venues. Read more here Please add your voice and call for more tour operators around the world to join us and protect wildlife Make your voice heard calling for the closure of China’s “Shopping Mall Aquarium” Housed inside a shopping mall, the „Grandview Aquarium“ includes two bears, five walrus calves, six young beluga whales and two Arctic wolves in woefully inadequate conditions. The Ocean theme park industry in China  is booming, with 39 parks all involved in capturing some of the world’s most magnificent and intelligent animals from the wild and keeping many of them in cramped, inadequate conditions.  Attendance has been dropping at some of the roughly 30 such ocean theme parks in the United States in the wake of reports about the welfare of sea mammals in captivity. But in China, the industry is expanding rapidly, with sixteen additional parks under construction. Please click here to add your name to our demand to close this facility and ask everyone you know to do the same Find out more about the captive marine mammal industry and what you can do to help The AfA coalition site is going from strength to strength but we need your help to spread the word even further. Please send this email to your friends, family and colleagues and follow us on Facebook to receive updates on what you can do to help.

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