We always carry out projects in collaboration with local partner groups. The groups we are working with in 2008/2009 are:
Shenzhen Cats
Shenzhen Cats (SZCats) was established in 2002 by a group of volunteers. After six years of efforts on cat protection, SZCats has become one of the leading animal groups in China. It has hundreds of members through its active online forum. The group’s activities consist of : 1) cat rescues including rescuing, rehoming, community neutering and release, 2) awareness and education through volunteer training, education of pet owners, student programmes and media campaigns, 3) communication and lobbying, including a campaign against cat eating, a common practice in Shenzhen. They conducted a public survey about perceptions of cat eating, and held protests at a cat meat restaurant which was openly killing cats in front of a primary school. The action was widely reported by the Chinese and international media. It led to the closure of the cat restaurant. Following this they held a billboard campaign with celebrity images on bus stops throughout the city to urge people to stop eating cats.
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Zhang Yuanyuan, founder of SZCats: "If an animal protection group can get good mentoring from ACTAsia during its development process, its growth will be accelerated. This kind of mentoring and consultation will have great significance in the development of animal protection in China. Maybe the impact will take time to be seen but only a significant effort in this direction can make us see a bright future for animals."
Changsha Small Animal Protection Society
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Changsha Small Animal Protection Society (CSAPS) was established in 2004. It currently has two hundred members and over a thousand supporters. The organisation is one of the very few Chinese animal organisations which is a legal body and receives government funding for a stray animal control programme. Changsha is located in central China and is not as developed as the coastal cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. The group mainly focuses on animal rescue but also holds public awareness events. The group has a good reputation in Changsha and their work is often publicised by the media. They have a very good relationship with television stations, which often invite them for interviews and also allocate time slots to promote animals for adoption.
Liu Huei, founder of CSAPS: "Since I began receiving systematic mentoring and training from ACTAsia, I started to learn about the animal protection movement in foreign countries and different ways of working. I also learned more about animal protection issues. I started to use what I learned about animal protection experiences in different countries to inform my work, and I now have a deeper understanding about how to advance clearly with animal protection work. This is significant as it will help us as we develop the association."
