The Crate Escape – Dog Trafficking in the News

Scottish readers may have spotted JMICAWE’s Heather Bacon in the Sunday Mail at the end of last month, as she was asked to give an interview on the dog meat trade in Asia which has hit the international headlines recently following the Yulin Festival earlier in the year. Heather has witnessed first-hand some of the practices that go on in Asia to obtain, transport and kill these dogs, and was asked to talk about it after a report was released by our partner Animals Asia on the illegal dog meat trade.

You may recognise Heather and Hayley’s own dogs, Stewart, Mothi and Matilda (pictured below) who were rescued from the dog meat trade when Heather and Hayley worked over in Asia a few years ago.

You can read the full article by clicking on this link;

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-vet-fight-free-dogs-6140300

 

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Veterinary Care for Working Equids: A Talk by Polly Compston

The Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education is excited to announce that the Senior Veterinary Adviser at The Brooke, Polly Compston, has agreed to speak at the New Dick Vet School as a part of the special lecture series it runs each year. 

 

 

Polly will be coming to Easter Bush Campus from The Brooke to give a talk on working horses, donkeys and mules in low-income countries on Friday, June 5th.
                                   
Polly graduated from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in 2007 and started her career in mixed general practice. After a period of time working as a veterinary volunteer overseas she completed a residency in Clinical Research at Rossdales Equine Hospital in Newmarket alongside an MSc from the RVC in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health.  She moved to The Brooke, an international animal welfare NGO in November 2013, where she is currently the Senior Veterinary Adviser.

The Brooke is an international organisation that works globally dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules, and their owners, in some of the world's poorest communities. You can find out more about it here: http://www.thebrooke.org/         

 

There are three main ways in which they work: by strengthening service provision systems; through engagement with communities to identify and solve their animal health and welfare problems; and advocacy at national and international levels. This talk will give an overview of the problems that working equids face and how organisations like The Brooke can have an impact on their health and welfare.

We are really excited that Polly has agreed to come and present this talk to us – we have no doubt that it will be very informative and not to be missed! We look forward to welcoming her on June 5th and keep an eye on our blog for a post about the talk!

Dogs and Society Workshop in Santiago, Chile - May 2015

Last week saw the JMICAWE’s Director Prof Nat Waran and Veterinary Outreach Manager Heather Bacon in Chile, for the start of a joint initiative between Edinburgh University's Jeanne Marchig International Animal Welfare Centre and the Sustainability Research Centre at Universidad Andres Bello.

 

 

 

The purpose of the one day workshop was to bring together key Researchers, Academics, Policy Makers and NGOs to discuss the issues relating to interactions between people and dogs in Chile. The objective was to develop a joint understanding of the human- dog relationship and to explore how, through research and policy, it may be possible to use evidence-based humane approaches to managing health and welfare concerns relating to increasing dog ownership. These concerns can include pet behaviour problems, pet neglect and abandonment and associated high numbers of dogs in shelters, as well as public health and animal welfare issues associated with increasing number of stray and street dogs within Chile.

Dogs present an international dilemma. In most countries they are considered to be ‘man’s best friend’, and pet numbers are increasing along with veterinary treatment possibilities and a strong pet food and product industry. Yet they are also considered as pests, being seen in some parts of the world as a public health problem due to dog bites and associated injuries, as well as the risk of disease or parasite transmission, such as rabies.

The number of dogs in Chile is estimated to be over 3 million, with a median human per dog ratio of 4.8. As with other parts of the world, the presence of an uncontrolled canine population poses risks not just to the health and welfare of the public, but also environmental health risks and concerns for the welfare of the dogs themselves.

Dogs are attracted to places where humans live and often this will bring them into conflict resulting in damage to property and injury to humans and dogs. Because stray dogs are so clearly visible in the streets, they attract the attention of the public and tourists, with rising numbers of dog bites sometimes leading to life-threatening consequences. In various parts of the world, management of the expanding dog population has involved the implementation of animal breeding control programmes along with vaccinations campaigns to tackle zoonotic disease risks, alongside education programmes for children to help with safety awareness.

We will keep you up-to-date with our work in Chile, but in the mean time if you are interested in learning more about Street dogs, why not watch our short film dedicated to them on YouTube?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-UEb9KOgpE