Thesis Question:
In what ways do social and legal considerations
impact animal rights and welfare in different parts of the world?
Unbalanced distribution of power and responsibility of pet owners involving animal welfare
Section A: Identification and Justification of Issue
The violations of pets’ welfare are demonstrated as abandon, physical violence, and improper treatments. Animals do not speak human languages, yet preventing them from being heard and protected. When human has ownership, their responsibility to take care of pets is difficult to oversee. The lack of education on animal welfare, unsubstantiated legitimacy to address the issue and restrain individuals from violating animal rights are the key components in the discussion. Criteria to access animals’ welfare exist in controversial debates. Civic organizations are the key actors that advocate for the uphold of animals’ welfare. I intend to explore animal welfare and rights’ definition, contrast the situation in the United States between China, demonstrate the relationship between each actor, and evaluate the effective means to protect animal welfare on a global scale.
I am intrigued by the topic because my pets have been mistreated by others in my childhood years, and I have witnessed overpopulated stray animals on the streets that bear harsh conditions and the news of physical abuse to animals all caused by humans. I am involved in this global issue by taking photographs for animals in Chinese adoption festivals and shelters in the U.S. for helping the adoption. I also engaged in Canine kennel to volunteer for positive interactions. I hope my effort can help solve the issue by contributing to the organizations on the globalized platform to advocate norms and educate reachable audiences.
Political issue refers to how power is distributed. In this case, each actor and stakeholder’s influences over the issues resulted from the impacts of different stratifications. Power speaks to the ability to influence change and impact (International Baccalaureate Organization 17), and I will analyze actors’ distributions of power. The issue ties into the concept of sustainability, which is defined as consideration of future generation’s availability to the current environment in a stabilized mode (International Baccalaureate Organization 19). The means of euthanasia and neutering are part of the sustainable process that improves the situation by ending the cycle and preventing future concerns. Non-violent means are also implemented. The government’s interest and relationship with the issue also shape its implementation of power on a legislative scale. I engaged in my political issue by planning interviews with the actors that are solving the issue. I interviewed the CHEW Dog Rescue’s volunteer coordinator, Seattle Humane’s Education coordinator, and the Founder of a dog shelter based in China.
Section B: Explanation of the Engagement
Prior to my engagement process, I did complementary research on the topics of animal welfare. I read articles regarding the current government’s ordinances. These articles provided me with the historical benchmarks and development of animal welfare on international scales. I prepared interview questions and researched their goals for asking specific questions. I spoke with Gloria from the CHEW Rescue and received her knowledge in rescuing and fostering dogs. I talked to the educational coordinator of Seattle Humane. I also talked with the founder of Ms.Wu Rescue Shelter in China. I was impacted by the organizations’ commitment to protecting animals without profit, and working collaboratively towards a common goal. I was reintroduced with the crucial concept of public education and positive engagement with animals, which I learned about during my engagement in the Tacoma Humane Society as a volunteer for dog enrichment.
Section C: Analysis of the issue
Volunteers are located in different parts of the world, and they aim to speak for animal welfare via humanitarian intervention and non-violent practices. For decades, inhumane and irresponsible practices against pets such as violence, abandonment, and illegal trafficking are taken seriously by individuals and non-profitable organizations. Despite volunteers’ varied identities, their incentive to uphold animals’ welfare was formulated by the empathy and the ethical urge to protect animals: “saving these dogs is like stepping onto a pirate ship, once you’re on it, you have no way back. You can’t ignore them once your relationships with the puppies occupied your heart” (Appendix B). Michel agrees that “[t]he emotional register of tenderness is so powerful that even today it underpins the commitment to animal protection of a majority of activists” (Michel 146). The actors’ motivations to push the issue toward a positive direction conform to liberalism, in which individuals have the power to affect changes and view humanity optimistically (Mansbach & Kirsten 27).
Power refers to the ability to effect change and influence others (International Baccalaureate Organization 17), whereas each actor impacts the issue with distinct uses of power on different scales to reform animal welfare and greater justice. Actors work towards a universal goal, that they believe animals are not properties. As the Journal of Animal Animal Ethics indicated that “animal welfare is the key principle underpinning the governance of animals” (Caley 1).Volunteers take the responsibility to solve the problems of stray animals’ overpopulation and preventing practices that violate animals’ welfare when the pet owners are irresponsible. This ideology corresponds with liberal’s theory, that individuals and organizations withhold the power to push issues toward a positive direction via humanitarian interventions. The volunteers both from China and the U.S. believe that they are able to influence the norms of the society, and make significant changes on animal welfare with external support. Until 2019, the coordinator of the CHEW rescue indicates that they have rescued and fostered about 945 dogs; the Founder of Ms. Wu Dog Shelter rescued about 600 cats and dogs. CHEW claims that 50 percent of the dogs come from the community when people can no longer be responsible due to divorce, health, and housing incidents (Appendix A). In these cases, pet owners have the power to intervene, and their actions toward pets are tied with an individual’s social responsibility and their values of animal welfare.
The actors work collaboratively on regional and international scales to protect pets. The CHEW rescue works with a shelter in California affected by the forest fires recently and transports them to Washington State for foster homes’ opportunities (appendix A). The Seattle Humane has help transported animals from a Shelter in the Bahamas destroyed by Hurricanes (Appendix C). The above actions align with liberalism’s theory, that individuals are able and encouraged to cooperate with other organizations to overcome obstacles collectively. Humane organizations utilize soft power to intervene in the issue. Individuals are smaller in size and their influences are less effective to solve the issue and long term problems as compared to the States. The unbalanced power pattern resulted in actors’ access to legitimacy. States withhold greater legitimacy to modify laws that protect animal welfare, and influence stakeholders with abundant financial resources.
From the national scope, Washington State’s government intervened in the issue of animal welfare, implemented power on a legislative scale, and cooperated with individuals in the local arena. In 2019, The WA government’s testified 1640 Bill indicates that “[a] retail pet store may not sell or offer for sale any dog or cat unless: The dog or cat has been obtained from an animal care and control agency or animal rescue group...and the dog or cat has been spayed or neutered” (Law Files Washington Government Legislature Biennium). In contrast, China does not have any laws that regulate animals’ welfare. The stakeholders do not see supporting local organizations as beneficial to them, thus individuals are less able to affect change and receive support when the sovereign authority declines their values. Power dynamics are present in the corporation’s influence over organizations. In Chinese Culture, the virtue of helping others whenever needed is not showcased by most of the corporations when it comes to animal welfare. Ms. Wu claims a lack of financial support from legal systems and corporations (Appendix B). In contrast, Alaska Airlines supported the Seattle Humane and remains in partnership (Appendix C), hence presenting a positive figure to the consumers.
Different cultural and political backgrounds impose varied obstacles for the representatives to overcome. The rescue process in the United States is different from China’s. Organizations in the U.S. rescue animals from natural disasters and take pets that the owners are not able to take care of. In China, a group of people sells dogs that are illegally stolen from the owners or stray from the street to restaurants for profit. Cultural relativism refers to this situation when people use culture to justify decisions and define values. The group of people that traffick and consume dogs believes that their actions are justified without legal punishment. Their actions to consume dogs are relative to their culture, which is currently viewed as harmful practices in China. The founder claims that the majority of the rescue animals were rescued from the dog trafficking trucks: “In the summer of 2019, we saved sixty-five dogs from Beijing, and eight dogs from Wuqing’s dog trafficking trucks. If we didn’t rescue them, they would die” (Appendix B). Chinese governance does not withhold universal entitlements to enforce the prevention and consequences of dog trafficking, hence volunteers take over the responsibility in China.
Activists also consider the importance of education as a key to impact animals’ welfare. Violation can be prevented via the development of education from a liberalist’s lens, and human nature is benign (Mansbach & Kirsten 27). Seattle Humane’s education coordinator believes that “we learn when we’re young can be so important to how we behave when we’re adults...if you want something to change, it’s important to engage younger people, who maybe have more of a flexible mindset”(Appendix C). Positive behavioral enforcement, spay, and neuter are the common procedures done by the volunteers to solve the issue sustainably. In order to prevent overpopulation, the CHEW rescue makes sure they are all spayed and neutered (Appendix A). The Seattle Humane also spay or neuter every cat and dog for the same purpose (Appendix C). The founder of the Shelter in China believes that the population of animals that need rescue has decreased significantly in China, due to the organization and pet owners’ increased awareness of spaying and neutering (Appendix B). “Adoption and spay/neuter programs were found to work well in combination, and to continue being effective as society approaches ‘no-kill’ dynamics” (Frank 1). There has been an evolution of animal welfare regulations and a focus on education globally along with diverse identities and cultures.
Section D: Synthesis and Evaluation
Social and legal considerations have a profound impact on animal welfare, but still, the public needs further education, and the government needs more attention to the issue. Different governance structures and the legal system’s responses towards the issue reflect each actor’s interest and shape the status quo of the issue. According to Megan, “the US mass media do not appear to have a coherent or consistent discourse on the issue of the treatment of nonhuman beings...the uneven establishment and application of animal-related laws in the US court system do[es] not speak to a consistent practice” (Megan 640). The volunteers mitigate the problem through neutering and spaying sustainably. Animal welfare is only protected by people who are willing to improve animals’ life qualities and grant them protection rights. Advocates’ ability to intervene in the issue is limited by their power to codify laws with financial support.
Cultural relativism shape people’s value systems, and perception of the issues globally. I learned from Seattle Humane that animal rights activist has opposite intentions from animal welfare groups. I can improve the objectivity of my analysis and avoid uncertainty by including perspectives from animal rights groups, actors who do not see themselves responsible for animal welfare, and people with the opposite interest for counterclaims.
Within the scope of politics and ethics, injustices against animals are injustices against humanity: “[A]nimals suffer appallingly at the hands of men. And the more a man behaves fiercely toward animals, the more he grovels to the men who dominate him” (Michel, p. 97).
Humans are the only actor that violates the animal’s basic needs based on self-interests. To us, pets are just a short part of our life, but to the pets, their whole life is on us. The need for states to establish laws that protect animal welfare and educational practices to raise the public’s awareness is at stake.
Works Cited
“(Animal) Victims and Social Domination.” The Animal Rights Struggle: An Essay in Historical
Sociology, by Christophe Traïni, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2016, pp.
125–156. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1jd94gh.10.
“Diploma Programme Global Politics Guide.” Dp-Global-Politics-Guide.pdf,
International Baccalaureate Organization, Nov. 2016,
www.cosmopolitanschool.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/dp-global-politics-guide.pdf.
Glick, Megan H. “Animal Instincts: Race, Criminality, and the Reversal of the ‘Human.’”
American Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 3, 2013, pp. 639–659., www.jstor.org/stable/43822923.
“HOUSE BILL 1640.” Law Files Washington Government Legislature Biennium, 2019, lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1640.pdf.
Joshua Frank. “An Interactive Model of Human and Companion Animal Dynamics: The Ecology and Economics of Dog Overpopulation and the Human Costs of Addressing the Problem.” Human Ecology, vol. 32, no. 1, 2004, pp. 107–130. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4603504.
Mansbach, Richard W., and Kirsten L.. Taylor. Introduction to Global Politics. Routledge, 2018.
Michel, Louise, Mémoires de Louise Michel. Ecrits par elle-même. Paris: Maspéro, 1976 [1st ed. 1886].
Muir, Heidi. Personal Interview, Nov. 5th, 2019
Otter, Caley, et al. “Laying the Foundations for an International Animal Protection Regime.” Journal of
Animal Ethics, vol. 2, no. 1, 2012, pp. 53–72. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/janimalethics.2.1.0053.
Stewart, Gloria. Personal Interview, Oct. 30th, 2019
“USDA APHIS: Animal Welfare.” USDA APHIS | Animal Welfare, www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalwelfare.
Wu, YongNian. Personal interview, Nov. 4th, 2019
Appendices
Appendix A
Gloria Stewart, Volunteer Coordinator of the CHEW (Canine Health Education & Welfare) Dog Rescue in Pierce County, Washington
GS: “Okay. So go ahead and ask me a zillion questions and I will give you a zillion answer. How’s it.”
Me: “Thank you so much!”
GS:” Yeah!”
Me: “So my first question is um why do you choose to commit yourself in the shelter and the issues of animal adoption? So what motivates to work for the protection and welfare of animals personally?”
GS: “You know I always felt that I would in my lifetime be involved in saving animals. We need to be their voice because they can’t talk, and sometimes they end up in circumstances that it’s not really their fault. And so I wanted to be part of the solution, and not the problem. So working in Dog Rescue gives these dogs a second chance at a better life.”
Me: “Ok. So when you’re talking about circumstances that the animals are experiencing, what specific circumstances they are experiencing?”
GS: “Well, many times our animals come from divorces, um many of them come from elderly people who go into the hospital and then who are not gonna come out of the hospital, people lose their jobs have to downsize, and moving to an apartment doesn’t allow pets, um, some of the animals are just left in a yard twenty-four-seven, three hundred and sixty-five days with little or no human contact. And that’s no way to have a dog if you gonna have a dog, the dog should be part of your family but not everybody, unfortunately, thinks like that. We wish they did but they don’t. So.”
Me: “So what ideas do you have on like legal enforcements impact on pets and issues of stray animals? So let’s say if there is like strict legal enforcements that enforce that a pet owner that they have to take care of their pets or if there should be a law that enforces the animals’ rights? So do you think there should be enforced to be applied to guarantee animals’ rights? So you have mentioned that some animals they have not considered as family members, they are just being used as properties and like”
GS: “Exactly.”
Me: “People who are responsible for and in charge of their rights. Would you think there should be a specific law or enforcement if pet owners should get along with when getting receive a pet?”
GS: “You know in a perfect world Tiffany, absolutely. I think before somebody could adopt a pet, I’d love to have them pass a test. Like, when it gets cold outside, do you leave the dog outside or do you bring it in. But in the world that we live in, more and more laws to protect animals are being drafted are being voted on and are becoming on. But it does seem to move relatively slowly. If adopting a dog becomes too tough, then the dogs won’t get adopted. So it’s really, it’s a very fine line we find in our dog rescue, 90% of the rescue is really educating the people who want to get a dog, add a dog to their family, or educating those people who want to give us their animals. So education. Chew Dog rescue stands for Canine, health, education, and welfare. And we spent a lot of time educating the public on the care of the dog, on dog ownership, what is expected, what they gonna expect, what they should do, what they shouldn’t do.”
Me: “Yeah so education is a huge part of this.”
GS: “It’s ginormous. It is a very huge part. ‘Cause there’s a lot of people, well when I was a little girl when you house train a dog we were told that if the dog had an accident in the house you would rub the dog’s nose in it and put the dog outside. We have found that it is the absolute worst thing you could probably do. Positive reinforcement reinforces the correct behavior that you wanna see. Hitting the dog, yelling at the dog, does nothing, it just gives you a fearful dog, some fearful dog can become aggressive. But positive reinforcement and encouragement just like we encourage a child em goes a long way and dogs want to please their owners. They want to please their people because it makes them feel accepted and loved. And when we don’t think like a dog, we think like a person, sometimes we are doing the dog for justice. ‘Cause we need to think like a dog. Why did the dog pee on the floor? Well, the dog peed on the floor because you’ve totally ignored all his signals that he’s been giving you the last 30 minutes, that he needed to go outside. Is it the dog’s fault? No. That’s human’s fault. ‘Cause the human wasn’t paying attention to the dog to read the dogs’ cues.”
Me: “Yeah. I totally understand the part you talked about positive engagement. So what policy do you have in the shelter about euthanasia or like neutering dogs? Do you have any specific constraints or policies for euthanasia in the shelter?”
GS: “We do. Um first thing Tiffany, we are not a shelter.”
Me: “Ok.”
GS: “We are a rescue. Our dogs live in people’s houses until they are adopted. We have foster homes just like for foster children. Ok? Now, our philosophy when it comes to euthanasia is this: we seldom have to do that. But there are some circumstances where it becomes necessary. If the quality of the dog’s life can not be improved through medicine, nutrition, um loving care if this animal is going to continue to suffer, that’s not fair. So in an instance like that, it is kinder to put the animal down. When it comes to spay and neutering, um before any of our dogs are adopted out, we make sure that they are all spayed and neutered. Because we do not wanna increase the dog population. There are so many more dogs than there are good quality homes for them to go in. I would love to see all the puppy mills shut down. They are the worst thing that ever happened to the dog. They’re just awful.”
Me: “Why do you think it’s awful from your perspective?”
GS: “Well, have you ever seen a puppy mill? You will never sleep again. I will describe very gently. The dog in cages they are breed over and over again, they never get to get out of the cage, nobody touches them, pet them, or loves them, they’re fed, they’re breed, they have puppies, they barely get to recover, they’re breed, they have puppies, they are just little money-making machines, it’s a miserable life, they live in filth, they’re not clean, um many of them are inbred, so brother and sisters breed, the genetic lines of the dog are diluted, they come with health conditions they don’t live long, it’s miserable it’s a horrible life for any dog. But so many of these puppy mills are filthy the dogs are walking in their poop for years because it’s never cleaned up. They are never taken out of these cages they walk on the wire. The pets that they are feed are caught up. They are hermetic they’re full of fleas they’re full of flies they are full of parasites. It’s, it’s awful. It’s gross. Well, you can do research and just goggle puppy mills. It’s awful. They’re money, they’re, puppy mills were created so people could make money breeding dogs but so many people are doing it just for the money they know nothing about the care of the dog. ”
Me: “Do you think that connects to the business of pet stores?”
GS: “You know, it does a lot, but there are some new, I thought it was just in Washington state I thought passed it, Tiffany, to where pet stores can no longer sell puppy mill dogs. They have to sell rescue dogs.”
Me: “I see.”
GS: “I think. You might want to check that out but I thought it was on the news, I thought, I know there’s a law that they are trying to get pass through all of the states, but I thought Washington did pass it.”
Me: “Ok. I will further do some research on that.”
GS: “Yeah do some. Because I’m trying to keep up on all the things happening with dogs and about dogs, but there’s a lot of reading and I just don’t have this many endeavors to devote to reading.”
Me: “No problem. My last question would be what obstacles did you face when setting and establishing foster homes, and how do you overcome them?”
GS: “Well, what we have done is when somebody wants to be a foster for us, we have them complete an application, kind of like a job application because we take this very seriously. We have them provide references and we call them and ask these people, well how does these people, you know how does this person who wants to be a foster force, how do they handle dogs, how they seem to interact, we physically go to their house, and walk through it, and make a determination if we place a dog in this person’s home, is it gonna be safe? Does it appear that this person knows how to take care of a dog? Will know to let it out to go to the bathroom, take it for walks, take it in the car with them when they’re running little urine, will they take it to the doctor when needed? So we thoroughly check out the new foster. A lot of fosters, one of the biggest things they say is “oh I could never foster because I would want to keep the dog”. But, what we do is we ask the foster, well do you want a small, medium, or large dog, do you want a male or female, and what’s your favorite breed. And then we don’t get them that type of dog.
Me: “Wow is that a strategy.”
GS: “So just, just cause you to foster a dog, and we share our foster mentor. We actually have a foster handbook. Little handbook we wrote it all down. But we mentor them through the fostering process and we let them know that they’re just giving this dog some stability. They’re giving this dog regular meals, they’re giving this dog a safe place to lay their head at night instead of being out on the streets fighting off bigger dogs, or meaner dogs and having kids throwing rocks at them. So you’re re-kind of connecting with the dog, giving it a place for it to just regrow and settle in. and we support our foster, we support them with everything that they need to foster the dog, if they have questions we have dog trainers that we can bring in to their home, watch them interact with the dog, see if we need to tweak some behaviors, we’ve got lots of tips and tricks. So, we are able to overcome pretty much every obstacle because we’ve experienced it. We’ve seen it. We have dealt with it before. We’ve been doing this for seven years and I think we’ve seen everything and we saved about a hundred and twenty dogs a year. So we are up well into the 900 dogs saved. I think we’re up to 945.”
Me: “So what’s the largest source of the dogs that come from? Like stray dogs or just from people who do not have time to take care of the dogs they just give it to CHEW?”
GS: “It’s kind of, it’s fifty-fifty. So fifty percent comes from the community, people who want to give their dogs to us because they no longer can take care of it, or no longer want to take care of it. The other 50 percent comes from local shelters that we work with. And so we kind of rotate through the shelters, right now we’re working with a little shelter and I hope the fires are not close to it but it’s in California. There is nothing around the shelter for 50 miles. And yeah this little shelter, people drop their dogs off in the parking lot, so we’ve gotten some of our best dogs, they are strays, and the dog catchers have to go out and get the dogs, we transport them up here to Washington states, and then we place them we can’t bring them up unless we have a foster home to put them in. But so fifty percent from the community, fifty percent from shelters we work with.
Me: “I see. Well, you have such responsibility in doing the issues that you care about.”
*showed me her dogs
GS: “With dog socialization, you wanna well-balanced dog so they need to get along with other dogs.”
Me: “Thank you so much for the interview!”
GS: “Oh you’re so, very welcome!”
Me: “...Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!”
GS: “Thank you so much for being interested in saving animals. All right bye bye honey.”
Appendix B
YongNian Wu, Founder of Ms.Wu’s Dog Rescue & Canine Shelter in Tianjin, China
Me: “喂您好？您是吴阿姨吗？”
Wu: “对对对”
Me: “您好，我叫王佳呈，然后我目前在写一遍流浪动物保护的研究论文。我这几年一直都有了解过您的小院...我觉得您在国内在这方面做了很多有关贡献，然后我就是特别想请教您一些您的经历和目前的工作这样子。”
Wu: “噢噢噢，行，行”
Me: “您现在是在犬舍吗？”
Wu: "对对对，现在就在这个狗院里了。"
Me: “阿姨您好您好，看得见看得见”
Wu: “看这帮宝贝（狗）们”
*Showed me her shelter
Me：“那这样阿姨，我问您几个问题，我想采访您一下”
Wu：“啊你说你的”
Me: "就是您为什么是选择花这么多时间在帮助这些流浪动物上，你就是觉得为什么这些宝贝对您很重要？"
Wu: “我呀，就是觉得你这么说哈，俺们开始养这个狗，我们不是今年下岗吗，今年我是60岁，我下岗那年哈，要是不下岗还接触不着它们你知道吧，下岗呀，我们孩子那年他是12，在人民公园后门那买了一只狗花了220（RMB），那阵啊我都怕我都摸不了，那个猫吧，就是害怕，后来呢等于是买了一只就这么样的就上了这个圈套了。你想啊，它越养越有感情，眼神咱都知道了要干嘛，后来就是你想下岗就在外面卖东西嘛，那阵咱国家也不算太发达嘛也没有，什么手机啊，电动车嘛都没有，就是蹬着三轮，卖东西去，你下岗楼下对吧，就接触到流浪狗了。那阵狗啊还稀少了啊，接触流浪狗就是名狗，有残疾，有毛病的狗，是这样。等一养上他们呢这就是那个嘛了啊，这就完了啊，看它们就倍儿可怜，就上家救。那阵是嘛呢甭管有条救没条救咱就毫不犹豫啊，捡来就上宠物所给看病，看完病，养好了，自己养一个。捡着了就这么样，就轮回，就每一只狗都有一段心酸的故事。都不是说平平淡淡的，就是这样现在呢等于是维持着22年，今年是22个年头。”
Me: “哇二十二年了呀。”
Wu: “啊，对对对，二十二年。等于是嘛呢，02年那年，就是阴错阳差的，平房改造，给了四万六，再建新楼，用这四万六买了一套等于五楼的房子，住了半年，那阵四万六买的精装修，房子买的还真不错，五楼，那阵等于我们三口40只狗，爆炸了啊乘不下了。等于02年咱那个拆迁以后买了一套五楼的房子嘛，等于经济上一不行了，你越救狗越多。那走到哪哪有流浪狗。太惨太惨了。随后呢就把那房子给卖了，可是咱也不会倒弄房子咱也不懂啊，那阵啊房子刚有点开头，四万买的嘛六万五卖的，就一直到如今就没有房子了。踏踏实实在这（犬舍）呆着现在。你看，就是咱养了二十二年狗了吧，咱搬家就不止二十二次。房东有事，这事那事，不行狗搁屋里就得搁院子里，要不就邻居有事，你知道嘛，诶呀这各种原因就搬了多少次家，搬到这里来哈已经是第三年了，咱租的这是五亩地啊，是平地，盖个大棚啊搁个放狗的地方嘛的都是盖的就是这样。一年啊，这五亩地平地一年是三万的租金，电费是一块钱一度，这是。咱这呢就是吃饭是个大问题，现在目前，你想想国家不管我这块，这说话在两年前七年前啊，我儿子他爷爷给留的杨村小世界的房子，也卖了，卖了24万多了，就是也是嘛呢，你平凡老百姓做点买卖卖点东西维持维持不住，怎么办呢，孩子的房子也卖了，孩子房子也卖了。孩子现在住的是公租房。国家给的公租房。”
Me: “那您全家都付出了好多。”
Wu：“啊，就是嘛呢哈，就是这是个贼船上来了下不去了。跟咱们的狗也有一定的感情了舍不下了。”
Me: “那您觉得就是小院目前大部分的狗和猫来源都来自于您救助的路边的流浪动物吗？就把它们收进来算来源吗？”
Wu：“啊对对对。咱呢哈就是这捡来的狗基本上还都有毛病，还是也得治，去医院也是个大的消费，给治完以后完整的回来了主要都挺正常的了。是嘛呢，咱这哈目前连猫带狗是600来只，吃饭是个大问题，每一年给他们打一针防预针，一年得花一万多得给它们买那个预防针，每个狗和猫打一针，预防它有病啊。就这样预防着还有老弱病残的还得救。就是这大问题。公狗做绝育，公狗必须做节育，这是这样。反正这其实就这经验也不算太多哈，就是平常吃饭嘛的的条件再差也给它们搭配好了。有菜啊有肉啊就是玉米面啊咱自己做。玉米面啊也去批发市场买，不是动物吃的，买人吃的。动物吃的净有掺假。”
Me: “那您就是目前小院现在这么多的动物会有很多人来领养吗？或者您小院有什么宣传措施吗，让大家来领养这些动物？”
Wu: “那个宣传措施啊，就是目前啊，有那么俩义工，人家还得上班，就给咱带着宣传，咱呢宣传力度不算太有影响，因为嘛呢你还得有点学问呐对吧，你像那大学生影响力度大呢，影响面就大是这样。咱现在呢是挺为难的，就社会上好心人啊有，但是就是没有嘛长性。给一次两次就不给了。 诶我给买点狗粮，狗粮吧这帮宝贝们还挑，不耐吃的还不好好吃，所以咱就说你买玉米面给它们做为主。对外领养这块呢哈，我上过当。上过当就是把咱两只狗弄走以后吧哈，转天他又来要一只狗，又给他一只。给他一只吧，这还说好些年前在武清那会儿。要赶着我儿子来，我儿子说呢怎么昨天弄走两只今天怎么还要呢。我儿子说呢我上它的厂子去看看去吧。他就把他八位号的一个号码给我们留下了。我们孩子就跟他们联系了，到他们厂门口，他给弄成死机了，不接了，你知道吧。这个领养不是事。现在等于嘛呢，我对外我不领养了。因为嘛呢你好不容易让他有个家了，这人咱不相信那。他是骗子他特别能说。绝对啊，他要是骗子啊，他就比正常人能说的好几倍。你说这事给你骗走。所以现在这事啊，咱这名狗也有，都是一些有毛病咱给治好了，大金毛，恶霸，牛头梗，拉布拉多，泰迪，我这好狗太多，你知道吧。它们有那个占便宜不是为了养狗的那人啊，来到你这不抱好目地啊，问你这有嘛嘛狗吗，有嘛嘛狗吗。找便宜来的。你看给饭都给来了，拿机器绞的，一般一天得20亩。”
Me: “您觉得小院目前需要什么样的帮助呢？就是您想看到这件事情有什么样的发展？”
Wu：“解决目前最需要的问题哈，咱现在是嘛呢哈，你看这盖的大棚哈，天一有雨，这大棚啊一有雨一有风就掀。今年就给掀了。就是嘛呢，改善是一个大问题但现在不敢动，就维持，哪漏修哪哪漏修哪。是这么样一改善就需要大发的钱这钱咱哪有啊。这是最大的问题。修建他们的猫舍狗舍。咱今年夏天哈，从北京救了65只狗。还有武清的那个狗车上救了8只狗。这八只狗呢你要是不救呢那就死了。”
Me：“狗车就是去非法交易是去卖狗肉的吗？”
Wu：“对对对对。这是。因为陆续的这今年夏天救了一百来只狗，这就乘不下了，咱呢目前盖了个狗舍，改了狗舍呢哈这个狗舍盖的动工钱整个欠人家的。料钱欠给单位了，就是买谁的欠谁的。工钱呢别人找的工人，那就好说话，也欠人家的。诶呦压力，就这咱目前压力也大。”
Me：“就是经济压力是吗？”
Wu：“经济压力大。你想没有正式的来源，就是凭好心人今天给点明天给点，人家都老百姓人家能给咱多少，对吧。 给咱一块也是给咱十块也是。”
Me：“您觉得这个流浪动物这个问题就是国内的话最根本的问题在哪？你觉得是为什么会有这么多流浪动物为什么就需要您去...”
Wu：“我再跟你说为什么哈，我们那阵不是下岗买东西去吗，那不有外地的卖东西的吗，知道吗，有外地卖东西的。他跟前啊有他那种上货的三轮车啊，电动车，他呀不管从哪学来的这个公狗母狗拴那了。合着随便玩。都是它们发展出来的。因为嘛呢，人不给做绝育。它们不给做绝育，明白吗。这个我们是再清楚不过了。因为我们接触他们，我们好比说耐着他们，我们给他们做绝育他不让。他们这帮农村人可恨极了哈，他不让你做节育。回头呢，就这么掺掺掺掺，这一窝下一窝这一窝里不可能有一个母狗。有俩仨，有先掺。”
Me：“所以说他们是养狗的吗？我没太听清楚。”
Wu：“他们是嘛呢，不管找谁要来的，狗，他们就让他呢这个狗拴着摊位的跟前，他们就拴着在他们家门口带着几天熟了，他就可以放开了。放完以后就属于他们家的狗了，给他们看车，是这样，知道吧。它就随便玩，跟别的家的公狗配狗，就让它这么样的下，明白吧，是这样。”
Me：“我了解了。那您觉得大家对于流浪动物这个问题需要什么样的意识或者教育吗？”
Wu：“这个流浪动物这块哈，就是嘛呢，就是干嘛呢人别伤害它们。要是基本上咱这国家这流浪动物啊我觉得少多了，现在少多了。”
Me：“您觉得是为什么呢？”
Wu：”就是要有的情况下呢哈，就是能给它做结余吧，给它做节育，对吧。给它做绝育是最主要的问题。甭管公的母的都给它做了，它就不掺（交配）了。我觉得就是你说具体的问题你怎么办呢，流浪动物，它就随便掺掺呢关键是。”
Me：“所以您觉得就是说绝育挺重要的。”
Wu：“啊对对对对对。”
Me：“那您一般就是在小院每天的工作是什么呢？
Wu：“我呀，我现在工作就是注意他们，别有病，拉粑粑正常，给他们吃的搭配好了，最主要的卫生。卫生给她们弄干净了。擦粑粑擦尿，墩布...”
Me：“那您一个人做很多事情。”
Wu：”啊对。我们孩子他爸爸还没退休，我退休了，跟着我一块忙乎，是这样。咱现在等于我呢去年我还能干了今年说嘛这体格，我腰有毛病，就差着。咱现在目前哈能等于600只狗嘛，连猫带狗，得雇人呐。之前呐，雇了四个人，连做饭呐带打扫卫生呐。平均一个人呐得伺候100多出点头只狗。”
Me：“是志愿者吗还是雇的员工？”
Wu：“就从家门口这雇的人，是这样。你得有工资开销啊，对吧。咱要好比说呢，咱要能救护的话孩子们这不就卫生这方面就脏，对吧，就不干净。你要是有人给他们彻底的，赶前我们孩子给你照那个了吧，你看我这环境小狗们呆的这环境嘛的特别干净。因为它一干净它就不得皮肤病了，要得皮肤病多受罪呀，对吧。”
Me：“因为我发现就是这样，国外也有很多这样的就是流浪动物收容所，但是它就是有很多人都在一个舍里面然后也有很多就是捐款什么，大家都有很多意识去领养。然后它这边领养是怎么样呢，是专门派人去检查就是那些收养的就是避免骗子这些呀，有人虐待狗这样子的。”
Wu：“诶对对对，对。因为我觉得国外对这个小狗嘛的特别重视，人家介个居民们呐市民们呐对狗，既然养人就好好养，你知道嘛。咱不行咱这块。虐待狗说扔就扔，说养养，说不养就扔了，都是他们造成的。你想我这院里名狗倍儿多，那都是他们养养不养了对嘛。然后因为嘛不养它，有毛病了，不给看， 对吧，他们那不就扔了吗，是这样。”
Me：“挺不付责任的对吧，也不把动物当做有生命的。”
Wu：“啊对对对对对。就是不负责任。你呀哈，谢谢你哈。我的电话都给你，你呀不行加我个微信，你随时跟我微信联系就行。”
Me：“今天很高兴能跟您聊天，谢谢您！”
Wu：“你要是有机会回国来，你随时来，啊。你跟我儿子那个联系，随后让我儿子开车带你过来啊。”
Me：“好的好的谢谢您。”
Wu：“不谢不谢不谢。”
Me：“那今天就这样嗯，回来我加您微信。”
Wu：“行，行，你忙。回见啊！再见，再见。”
Appendix C
Heidi Muir, Education Coordinator of Seattle Humane, Non-profit Organization in Bellevue, Washington
H: “Education Services this is Heidi”
T: “Hi Heidi nice to meet you. This is Tiffany, can you hear me right now?”
H: “Hi! I can hear you. Thanks for your call.”
T: “I have prepared six questions for you. Would you be convenient answering those questions right now?”
H: “Yes. Now is a great time.”
T: “Thank you so much. So ill just start with the quick question about your work in the shelter. So My first question is why do you choose to commit yourself to shelter and adoption of animals? So like what motivates you to work for the protection and welfare of animals personally?”
H: “I really care for animals, I’ve always had a pet, I was 2 years old, and...yeah, of course, I was not the only person taking care of it when I was two. Haha. I just feel like animals add so much to our lives, they are also something that it’s important for us to be responsible for. We’re responsible for the original domestication of animals that it’s our special jobs to protect them.”
T: “Ok, thank you. And um what is the primary source of animals that enters the Seattle humane? So what is the major source of the animals that you have in the shelter, like where do they come from? Like, from rescue?”
H: ”So we’re lucky that in Puget sound areas there are many people who are willing to adopt animals, so about two-thirds of the animals are transferred from um other shelters so that we can help make space in those shelters. And about, some in Washington state, and some even outside of Washington state. So for example, you know that now it’s the time that there’re hurricanes and like the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean sea, and then there’s wildfires, many other natural disasters, and when different shelters have affected those disasters, we can support them by transferring animals here. So, for example, there was recently an animal shelter that was completely destroyed in the Bahamas, as a result of the Hurricanes went through, so we are able to bring some of the cats from that shelter here to Seattle so that we can find good homes for them.”
T: ”I see, so you guys provide transportation among different countries.”
H: “So usually just throughout the United States. I think the case with the Bahamas, is the first time that we’ve helped organize a transfer in of animals that we’re not from the United States or United States’ territory, so, for example, we’ve taken some from Puerto Rico when there’s been Hurricane but Puerto Rico is still a part of the United States so it’s U.S. territory. So usually we don’t work to transfer from other countries, however, if there’s any organization that’s transferring animals, or let’s say for example it’s also happened that the individual um brought some cats from the Philippines, she rescued cats from Philippines, and did everything that was necessary to bring them here, and then they came into our care.”
T: ”I see. Wow, that’s a lot of effort.”
G: “Yeah there’s a lot of organizations that we work with, one is called Wings of Rescue, so they will, for example, raise money for the transportation of these animals, and then we have transfer vehicles that we own that we’ll go drive to the airport and pick them up and bring them here. Um Alaska Airline is also a great partner sometimes they will help out with the transfer of animals and if it’s in area that we can drive to, so for example we’ve drive to Olympia, we’ve driven to Yakima, sometimes we even drive into Oregon in California, and we’ll bring animals here. And that’s the case about two-thirds of the time other, about one-third of the animals that are here, they come directly from the home, the home where they were living, so their families have come to the unfortunate realization that they can’t take care of them anymore, sometimes that’s due to the health of the owners, sometimes it’s due to the health of the animals, um or housing insecurities that behaviors of the animals, many different reasons, they just come down to we’re a safe place to bring in animals that some is not able to take care of anymore.”
T: ”I see. So of these great works, you have mentioned that what you guys are doing right now is nonprofit and it’s volunteer-based?”
H: “So it’s correct that we’re a non profit organization, or a 5o1c3, which is also called a charity, about eighty percent of all of the money that comes here are donated from an individual, or a company, or a foundation, and then about twenty percent of the budget that it takes to run the shelter comes from fees that we charge for our services, so, for example, it isn’t um there is a cost to adopting an animal that helps recover some of the cost that we spend on them, and then we offer dog training classes, which is often offered for free when you adopt an animal, but also any member of the public is welcome to sign up and there’s a fee, so that supports our animals. And then since I work in the education department, we have a lot of educational programs here that are also based on a fee. So for example when we do day-camps over the summer, the fees of the children are paying to attend our help and support our animals that live here.”
T: ”I see. So what do you hope to see in the world for the development of animals’ welfare and in general of the topics of animals’ protection? What do you think is the most important to solve the issue, and what do you hope to see in the future?”
H: “I really hope that people understand how important companion animals are, really all animals, but especially as I mentioned those animals that people domesticated and who live alongside us, just to realize that they’re more than just a possession that can be replaced, they are really their own individual beings. They can add a lot to your life by being in your life, and um importance with that there are so many that are waiting for homes, we are looking for homes for, and so to whenever possible, adopt an animal, if you aren’t able to adopt an animal, there are also options to foster an animal. So let’s say for example that you’re a young professional person maybe you just college can you don’t know if you’re gonna live in the same place after a few months. You can always foster an animal for a weekend, a few weeks, a few months, they don’t have to be a permanent part of your life, but you can really do a great service by fostering, and if you are not able to adopt or foster, volunteer; and if you are not able to volunteer, donate, so there’s always a way to get involved and support the animals.”
T: “I see. So what is Seattle Humane's ultimate goal as an organization?”
H: “So we say that our mission is to save lives and to complete families. One of our goals is to make sure that the entire state of Washington, in all of the shelters and in all of the animal care institutions that are here in the state that they have over 90% live release rate, which means that animals aren’t being euthanized based on space, so that’s a big goal that we have, and then of course if we are able to do that successfully in Washington to bring up the whole country, so there aren’t animals that are being euthanized in shelters just because they’re getting too full.”
T: ”So in your shelter, do you have any policy of neutering and Euthanasia?”
H: “So every animal, that is adopted through us, or I should say every cat, dog, and rabbit, I can’t say every animal anymore haha, it’s going to be spayed or neutered, we adopt those animals like chinchillas and hamsters and Guinea pigs that are really hard to spay and neuter, so. In that case, we’re going to adopt them like two girls or two boys so that they can’t make more babies, because when they make babies they make a lot of babies but that’s another, yeah. But cats, dogs, and rabbits, um we’ve been part of responsible ownership. For us, adopting those animals is making sure that they are spayed or neutered before they even leave us, as far as euthanasia in your organization, it happens less than 2% of the time, and it’s never because we don’t have space. We plan very carefully so that we’re always able to have the resources to take care of the animals that we have, it’s sometimes becomes necessary to euthanize an animal if they become very very sick, or if we realize that they are dangerous and it’s not gonna be safe adopt them into a family.”
T: “I see. Thank you so much! And another question would be that so how do you think the process of neutering and spay is very important in the process of helping animals’ welfare, is it really having a large link to the issue of overpopulation of animals?”
H: “Yes, absolutely. If you think especially for cats, a female cat, if he is not spayed, can give birth three times in a season, and each of those litters may have six kittens in them. So that can be eighteen cats a year just from one cat, and if none of her cats if none of her cats or kittens are spayed or neutered, then within six months the female will also be able to have more babies. So. Within a couple of years, it can be hundreds of cats produced just from one cat who wasn’t spayed or neutered, well a non-spayed female and a non-neutered male, and all their offspring producing cats. It just balloons very very quickly. And we see that over the several decades, that Seattle humane has been an operation, and of course, many other organizations as well, and just and general awareness of how important it is, not just for overpopulation, but even really in health and behavior of the animals to be spayed and neutering we are seeing that um fewer animals need to be euthanized base on spay. And we’re able to, like I said, to even have animals coming in from other states here in Seattle humane ven 10 years ago we didn’t have the same amount, um the same ability to transfer animals into our shelter, where we are still dealing with animals that are here in the state.”
T: “So you are mentioning about awareness and education, and how do you think education is the part of your job, and how is it important in protecting the animals?”
H: “Well, I think what we learn when we’re young can be so important to how we behave when we’re adults, like I said I grew up with animals, um they’re always been so important to me, so just keep in that mind and to adulthood to the things that I can do, um have been really important and I think with anything if you want something to change, it’s important to engage younger people, who maybe have more of a flexible mindset, not to say that you can’t reach adults, but adults could be busy, and it’s not maybe a priority in their life at the time, but if I can reach out to kids and let them know they’re important, those are things they can do as well, then I love doing that.”
T: “I see. And my last question would be like, so in the email that you wrote me, you have talked about how animal welfare is different from animals’ rights, and how animal rights’ organization would probably not support the adoption of animals as pets, so in the past have Seattle Humane have any interactions with animal rights organizations, or do you just do different jobs base on your own goals and opportunities?”
H: “You know, I’m not sure...It’s hard for me, I can’t, like identify or maybe met someone in the community who worked for an animal rights organization, so some examples of animal rights organizations should be like PETA, is probably what people are heard of the most, um they’re a more radical group like the animal liberation front, and their idea is that animals shouldn’t be used for any purposes that, yeah, they have a right to exist as individuals and be left alone by humans. And like I said I believe that animals especially companion animals are our responsibility. So it’s, they can be involved and be used by people because having a pet is wonderful, but it’s important that we are responsible and we’re taking care of our responsibilities if we are gonna have animals in our lives. So that’s, that’s sort of what animal welfare is. And I think a lot of people who might have the idea that ‘oh they’re for the animal rights’ if they really look down at the differences between those two things, they will find they’re probably most interested in animal welfare.
T: “I see. So there’s a subtle distinct difference between what you guys do.”
H: “Yeah. I would say that we probably have some of the same goals, so, for example, many of my coworkers are vegan or vegetarian, and that’s something that’s really promoted by animal rights organizations, and part of our policy here is we have, for example, catering if we have a big meeting, or we get together as a staff and we are gonna bring food then we order vegetarian food.”
T: “I see. So in the email you also said that mostly the Seattle Humane get communication with the animal control agency, so how does the general process look like when you interact with the animal control agencies? Do you accept and take transportation of animals from the agency?”
H: ”Yes. So when I mention that we transfer animals into our shelters, we might be directly transferring from another shelter in Washington state and another animal control organization, so for example in, um for the city of Bellevue, our animal control is handled by regional animal services of King County, or Raskc, and they have a shelter that’s located in Kent. So in those that animals that they collect through their work, um maybe shelter there, they can be adopted through Raskc, but as you can imagine there’s more animals coming in then being or may be adopted out. So some of them will get transferred into us, and if someone brings a stray animal here, we would need to contact Raskc or we need to contact the animal control agency in the area where the animal was found. And, um, let them know about it and let them make the decision how they like to perceive often, um they’ll say it’s ok, you can have it there at your shelter, and then we have to wait. We have to wait for three days, to see if an owner comes forward to claim the animal for we’re able to adopt them out again.”
T: “Wow that’s such a long process. Thank you so much for answering me these questions and providing me such knowledgeable information! I feel like I just learned a lot after having this conversation with you.”
H: ”Oh great! Yeah, I’m glad to help, and definitely let me know if you have questions in the future.”
T: ”Thank you so much for helping me out!”
H: “Oh yeah absolutely! I hope you good luck on your project.”
Written Analysis, research, and interviews by Jiacheng (Tiffany) Wang