Piled up like luggage in tiny cages, 61 dogs crammed tightly into six metal cages dehydrated and without food for days, travelled in a minibus on their way to a slaughterhouse in Cambodia.
Hopeless and helpless, facing a cruel death in the Cambodian meat trade Maximoff, Drax, Gamora, Falcon and Shadow’s fates changed forever when the vehicle they were travelling in was intercepted by local authorities in February 2021.
And in a cross-border adoption programme Four Paws, a global animal welfare organisation, and Tears Animal Rescue joined forces to ensure the five pooches ended up in loving homes.
On Wednesday 14 February, the five dogs touched down in Cape Town for their happily ever after.
According to Four Paws country office director Fiona Miles, the dog trafficker was arrested and the animals were rescued.
“A law was passed in July of 2020 in the city of Siem Reap banning the dog meat trade,” she said. “Following the interception of the slaughterhouse minivan in February 2021 and after arresting the trafficker, the Cambodian authorities reached out to Four Paws to assist in taking care of the rescued animals.”
A “momentous mission” of healing and finding loving homes for all the rescued souls soon began.
“Dogs were piled up like luggage over one another in tiny cages, intertwined in what seemed like a desperate ball of animals and making it hard to tell which foot belonged to which animal.
“With friends from Paw Patrol Cambodia and later Animal Rescue Cambodia, Four Paws began providing care and treatment to the dogs.”
It is estimated that more than 30 million dogs and cats are killed for the dog and cat meat trade each year.
The five rescue dogs arriving in South Africa are global ambassadors to help spread global awareness of “one of the biggest threats” to companion animals anywhere in the world.
“We see them as ambassadors providing a voice to millions of dogs still stuck in the trade and millions more experiencing cruelty globally.
“Four Paws remains committed to implementing humane and sustainable dog and cat population management programmes in South Africa, where we support communities and partners to participate in our stray animal management solutions.”
Of the 61 dogs, 31 found loving homes in Cambodia and some were taken to the United States of America (USA) and Switzerland with the help of our Four Paws offices, however after three years of promoting local adoption in Cambodia the five remaining dogs had not been homed.
“Unfortunately, for the dogs local adoption in Cambodia proved very difficult as there was little interest from locals in adopting the dogs even after several local adoption campaigns.
“In collaboration with TEARS Animal Rescue, Four Paws ZA is overseeing cross-border adoption (CBA) of the five remaining dogs in South Africa.
“In this particular situation, Four Paws has opted for an exceptional case due to the situation on site.”
Miles explained dogs who end up in the dog-meat trade were either snatched from their families or taken from the streets.
Many of the animals used to supply the trade in South-East Asia are stolen family pets or stray animals collected from the streets and rural villages.
“It is impossible to say for certain where these dogs originated from,” Miles said, “it is possible that they were originally somebody’s pet, stolen for the trade, or that they were a stray taken from the streets. In Cambodia, it is common to have ‘community dogs’, where they live on the street but are cared for by the community.
“Buddhist pagodas are also commonly seen as a haven for stray dogs where they will be cared for as best they can, so are often targeted by dog meat traders.
“While we cannot ascertain if these five dogs have felt the warmth of a loving home, we know that they will bring immense joy to the lives of five lucky families that have saved them from their cruel fate.”
An estimated 10 million dogs and several million cats end up in the meat trade in South-East Asia alone.
“Investigations have documented the severe brutality in all stages of the dog and cat meat trade including how the animals are captured, transported, sold, and finally slaughtered. Alongside our network of local charity partners, Four Paws is active in ending the dog and cat meat trade in three countries in South-East Asia namely Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia.
“The dog and cat meat trade is one of the most pressing companion animal welfare issues of our times, it undermines any national efforts to bring rabies and other zoological disease spread and infection under control and presents a health risk to locals and tourists alike.”
Meanwhile, since they arrived in Cape Town, the dogs have received a clean bill of health but will be kept in quarantine between seven and 14 days as part of the standard travel regulations for dogs travelling between countries, before being transported to Tears Animal Rescue. “As soon as we receive the final all-clear on their health Tears Animal Rescue will be able to collect them and have an adoption day for the public to view and meet these special dogs.”
