No animal protection society in Japan

[thistle]

Really makes me mad that there is no society/assoc. that you can call in Japan when you see that animals are being treated cruelly. This is a subject
which some of you may be familiar with, but when you see the way some
people treat their (dogs) it just makes me crazy that there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.
On my dog walk route I sometimes have to pass 2 big labrador dogs, I really hate to for 2 reasons, 1) they are both tied to the wall of the house on an extremely short leash which means that they can hardly move 2 or 3 steps in front of them. 2) one of the dogs, is very loud (due to the stress of being tied to the wall all day)and I would not like to be there if he got off his leash.
Whether they get a proper walk or not I do not know. I have seen the owner of the house once, I did not say anything at the time just gave her a dirty look. I am thinking I will go and talk to her one day though.

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

There is a prefectural SPCA. Whether and how they will help I do not know. If you are concerned, it's worth checking.

http://japanupdate.com/forum/showpost.php?p=19328&postcount=147

[TheNoNamedOne]

E, I don't think in Japanese it is synominous with an SPCA, and I am pretty sure you were not implying that it was. Perhaps my memory is wrong, but I think it is simply referred to as part of the prefectural health office system.

Calling them to come and pick up a dog, ether stray or the owner getting tired of people in the neighborhood complaining about it and agreeing to have it taken away by them, will seal its fate in the gas chamber here.

It is true, no one large org has come to dominate the country's animal welfare problems. Hopefully some day one will. I tend to think that Japanese culture will make that very difficult. A mix of apathy and not wanting to cause friction with neighbors are two of the major problems to overcome.

I think trying to talk to them is the best route. We had a similar situation in our neighborhood about 3 years ago -- a golden retriever always chained to a cinder block with only 3 foot of length. Finally I knocked on the door, a middle aged woman came out, I told her how terrible this was for the dog, that all the neighbors were talking about this family and that it is cruel to keep them such as this -- particularly when this woman had a walled and fenced in yard. Result: They unchained the dog and and now he is running around enjoying life off the chain. Very happy looking now. The son of the house, about 25 years old, new where we lived because of our dog walking near them, and he came and apologised and even thanked us. He said they reflected on the situation (hansei shita) and wouldn't do that again.

I had a few more cases like that as well in the neighborhood. But, not all end successfully.

Good luck, Thistle.

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

I didn't realize that, TP. They just cribbed the name, but not the actual function of the usual worldwide org? Well, I guess that wouldn't be the first time something like that's happened.

I've said the same thing before. Talking is always the first option. Many folk just don't know (shocking as it sounds) that constant barking can be annoying to others, and that living beings don't do well chained up 23.5 hours a day.

I guess with the OAARS in the doghouse, they wouldn't be of any assistance?
http://www.oaars.com/

[TheNoNamedOne]

Well, OAARS will never grow to be of much help or to make real improvements in Japan or Okinawa for the welfare of dogs. Sure, they run around and rescue some dogs here and there and provide comfort to some (and that is good), but if they do not have an effective outreach program to the Japanese populace and supporting campaigns Okinawa wide, then they will remain for the most part a military base org focusing primariliy on issues dealing with military related families and their pets. But that number of dogs and cats is so small compared to the prefectural whole.

Rather than radical surgery to help fix the problems, they are involved in putting band aids here and there.

[thistle]

It is not that these animals need rescued, eelecurb, they just need to be moved into the garden at the back of the house and put on a longer leash so that they can move around or even move around freely.

Problem is getting to the front door, past the ferocious looking barking dog to knock on it!

People like this need to be educated, as TP says, they may not even think they are treating them cruelly.

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

http://arkangels.blog34.fc2.com/

Came across a group called Ark Angels while surfing some other websites. Here's a quote about the group and its work:

A rescue is now underway of 550 dogs that a yet undisclosed breeder has been slowly starving to death.　The majority of the surviving animals are extremely emaciated and suffering from dehydration as well as other conditions. One adult Golden Retriever rescued weighed only eight kilograms :(
According to a blog by Ark Angels the dogs had likely only been fed about once a week, keeping them in a condition whereas they could be easily killed off as necessary. This news is presently being kept quiet until the rescue is over.
There’s more info in the blog though unfortunately it’s Japanese only. There are photographs though.Something you may want to look into Thistle, TP.

[thistle]

Thanks, eelcurb, will try my hand at reading it today!

Where is TP these days, doesn't seem to have been around..

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

Where is TP these days, doesn't seem to have been around..
I think some of the plant life he's been terrorizing has asserted their rights:D
http://japanupdate.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1582&highlight=poison

[pardus]

Result: They unchained the dog and and now he is running around enjoying life off the chain. Very happy looking now. The son of the house, about 25 years old, new where we lived because of our dog walking near them, and he came and apologised and even thanked us. He said they reflected on the situation (hansei shita) and wouldn't do that again.

This made my day! :thumbup1:

[TheNoNamedOne]

This made my day! :thumbup1:

Yeah, that was a happy day for me, too. The dog sure did win out.

See him every night when we walk our kids by his house.

btw, Pardus, welcome to the forums. I have been reading your posts and glad to see someone else is now here who appears to be in the AR camp as well.

[pardus]

Hi, and thanks TheProsecutor! I was glad to see someone holding down the fort. I've gotta say, you sure are organized! Thanks for being a voice of reason ;)