Our action and initiatives on welfare issues specific to the region:

• Monitoring of archaic, degrading animal shows and lobbying authorities to end them.
• Immediate emergency relief for animals in desperate situations such as our response to the tragic Tsunami.
• Exposure of the shocking reality of wild animal markets and their potential for diseases, such as SARS.
• Financial and expert support for smaller groups.
• Our work in conjunction with Traditional Medicine Practitioners to promote the concept of 'Healing without Harming'.
• Speaking out for animals on issues as they emerge, such as successfully lobbying Disneyland HKG to reverse their decision to serve Shark's Fin at wedding banquets.

There is a saying amongst Southern Chinese that "anything with four legs, except a chair and anything that flies, except an aeroplane, can be eaten" and nowhere is this more true than in Guangdong Province, where the live animal markets are famed for the astounding variety of animals on sale for human consumption.... cats, dogs, deer, frogs, donkeys, foxes, wild boar, herons, snakes, squirrels, hedgehogs....the list seems endless and no animal is spared in the growing quest for the most exotic or extravagant dish e.g. one very famous Guangdong dish is called "Dragon, Tiger and Phoenix" which is a mixed stew of snake, cat and chicken.

Whilst the meat and body parts of some animals are historically believed to have certain medicinal or aphrodisiac qualities (which in itself is not an excuse for cruelty), many others are simply eaten in restaurants to prove the host's wealth and social status.

As a result, these markets of misery continue to expand and flourish throughout China and literally millions of wild, endangered and domesticated animals are condemned to live and die under the most hellish conditions imaginable.... Each day, cage after cage of terrified animals (arriving from across China ), are thrown from trucks as if they were little more than bags of rice. The markets are a mess of tangled limbs and broken bones, dying puppies and desperate wildlife. The sounds and sights are horrifying, whilst the stench of filth and disease is overwhelming. Blood, guts and excrement cover the floor as animals are carelessly butchered, often with deliberate cruelty, for little more than human greed.

Is it any wonder that a disease such as SARS incubated in such conditions?