lifestyle

Animal welfare in Japan improving

12 Comments
By Jessica Kozuka

We’ve covered some stories in recent months about the distressing state of animal welfare in Japan and shocking cases of animal abuse, but that isn’t the whole story. Granted, in comparison with many other developed nations, Japan lags behind in this area, but that doesn’t mean it’s stuck in the Stone Age either. Through the hard work of their human advocates, the situation for dogs and cats in Japan has been improving.

In the interest of acknowledging those efforts, recognizing where Japan is getting things right, and just generally bringing some good news to the table, we wanted to share with you some of the positive changes happening in Japan.

So first off, let me say that this piece mainly deals with the situation for dogs, cats and other companion animals. I’m aware that the situation for other animals, in particular those raised for consumption or on display at zoos and aquariums, is not so sunny.

The numbers

It’s no secret that Japan loves pets. In research recently published by Goldman Sachs, the number of pets in Japan was put at 21.3 million, far exceeding the number of children under 15 in the country. About 35% of households have a pet and many of them live lives of luxury as pampered members of the family, with Japanese spending about 3.8 trillion yen a year to keep them happy, according to a Fuji Keizai report.

According to the Pet Food Institute of Japan, 70% of dogs and 90% of cats now live indoors, another factor that has contributed to big increases in average lifespans for cats and dogs. In 1985, the average lifespan for a dog in Japan was 7.6 years. In 2012, it was 13.3 years. For cats, it’s 13.5, up from about 11.

If you are a pet in Japan, clearly life is good, but what about the animals that haven’t found their forever home? The demand for cute puppies and kittens drives unscrupulous breeders and stores, the lack of education about animal care means more abandoned and euthanized pets later on, and the Japanese culture of the new means there is not much interest in adopting older animals.

But there are signs of progress here too.

The most recent revision to the Japanese Animal Welfare Law in 2013 had two key provisions directed at improving conditions for animals for sale in Japan. The first stipulated that kittens and puppies not be removed from their mother and litter mates for 56 days after they are born, an extension from the 45 days previously stipulated. This change, however, will not be fully implemented until 2018. The other change mandates that animals not be put on display between the hours of 8pm and 8am, putting a stop to the practice of late-night and 24-hour pet shops.

Atsushi Hosokawa, a lawyer who volunteers with animal organizations, cautions that the changes don’t go far enough and are too focused on pets rather than animal welfare as a whole, but says, “If you consider all the facets of the changes (including ones we haven’t discussed, such as prohibiting the sale of animals online), I think it’s an important moment for the progress of animal welfare in Japan.”

Under control

Changes at the "hokensho," or animal control offices, are another example of progress.

Animals abandoned at the hokensho or picked up by animal control officers generally have a limited window of time to be claimed or adopted before they are put down. And if you imagining a humane end where the animal is given an injection of phenobarbital and falls asleep, think again. For budget reasons, most hokensho gas large groups of animals at a time with CO2, a process that suffocates the stressed animals over several minutes, with the larger ones almost always the last to die.

Every day, about 500 animals are put down in this way, but believe it or not, that is actually an improvement. According to government figures, these numbers have been steadily declining. In 1974, hokensho across Japan put down a staggering 1,221,000 dogs and cats–that’s about 3,345 a day! Last year, the total number was just 162,000.

Some of this is due to efforts within individual hokensho. Kumamoto Prefecture, for example, implemented rehoming policies aimed at reaching zero kills after workers tired of ending so many innocent and healthy lives. They no longer simply accept animals surrendered by their owners, but counsel them on how to resolve problems and pressure them to seek solutions that won’t end the animal’s life. Incidentally, the changes to the animal welfare law mentioned before have also made it illegal for breeders to dump unwanted animals on the hokensho.

A large part of the drop is likely due to the efforts of private citizens. The number of privately run TNR (trap, neuter, release) programs has been rising across Japan in the last decade, for example.

In Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, home to the Imperial Palace, Akiko Katori and other local volunteers in the Chiyoda Nyantoka Naru Kai worked together with the animal control office to deal with their feral cat problem through a TNR program. Since March of 2010, the ward hasn’t had to put down a single cat.

“Feral cats are not an issue that can be dealt with at an administrative level. The cooperation of local people is essential,” Katori said in an interview with Spa! Magazine. “It would be great if we could find an owner for every cat, but it’s hard to find foster homes if it’s not a kitten. This program spays and neuters feral cats and then releases them as a ‘community cat’, to be looked after for its lifetime.”

On the heels of this success, many municipalities have also begun offering subsidies for private citizens who bring feral cats in to be sterilized as a means of keeping the population down and deterring other stray cats from entering the neighborhood. Although feral dogs are a problem in some rural areas of Japan, TNR is not an option due to rabies regulations.

Attitudes about animals in Japan can be fairly retrograde by Western standards, with the idea that animals are just things, not beings with agency or feeling.

As veterinarian and animal advocate Shigeki Imamoto puts it, “The view that ‘dogs are dogs, cats are cats, and people are something else entirely’ has deep roots in Japanese society and the idea that owners have a responsibility to their pets has not yet spread throughout society.”

Complicating matters is a lack of awareness about what actually happens to animals when they end up at animal control and misconceptions about the suitability of adult animals for adoption.

To combat this, some NGOs and volunteers are focused on awareness-raising, such as photographer Sae Kodama, who makes posters to educate the public about the animals available for adoption at the hokensho and the responsibility people have to care for their pet its entire life.

In recent years, Kodama says Facebook and social media have made a huge impact on her efforts, exponentially increasing the number of people she is able to reach and the number of people who are able to reach her to collaborate or to get permission to use her photos and posters, a loop that empowers both sides.

“By chance, an elementary school teacher happened to see a poster I put up by a kindergarten,” she says, as an example. “The teacher used my posters to teach a lesson about the number of animals being killed. When I realize a life has been saved by the things I was able to communicate or that were communicated to me, it motivates me to continue with my efforts to raise awareness.”

For all that remains to be done in Japan, things seem to be moving in the right direction. Fewer animals are being needlessly put down, more people and organizations are working in animal welfare, and most importantly, the public’s understanding of what it requires and means to keep a pet is changing. And that’s what progress looks like.

For those of you considering adopting an animal or volunteering your time or money, there are some great organizations in Japan including Animal Refuge Kansai, HEART Tokushima, SALA, and Japan Cat Network. They do great work, so be sure to give them some love.

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Actress/sexpert Aya Sugimoto founds organization for animal welfare in Japan -- 500 cats & dogs legally killed in Japan each day, but one organization says ‘no more’ -- 161 Dachshunds Rescued From Abusive Breeder in Osaka, In Need of Homes

© RocketNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


12 Comments
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Hi! I've been searching for a site to report animal abuse or negligence of a pet near my home. There's a very cute dog left outside on a very short leash with very little or I should say no walking space. I assume the dog is male. His side is to the wall. He doesn't move very much. I can't look at the dog but he is right there and I see him every day. I feel so bad for this dog. And lately, he's appearing worse. He has a dog house. I don't think he can get inside it fully. And he is chewing his dog house up. I can tell he is very upset. It's hard to say whether it gets the right amount of food and water. He has a lot of hair, needs brushing and washing. It's just horrible and breaks my heart. If my apartment would allow pets, I would adopt it immediately. I don't understand. If his master cannot offer him a life then why don't he or she try to find him a new home?  I'm almost sure that somebody would adopt him. He has such a cute face and was very friendly until now he's always sitting by the wall. Why does his master do this? It's not right. I know people in the neighborhood look at the dog. And I can feel they wonder the same but nobody isn't doing anything about it. I want this stop. I can barely walk in the way where the dog is sitting. What can I do?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This is a great article - thanks. I loved VightingViking's story about saving a police dog. Every dog or cat saved is one less dog put down or dumped on the streets. Every country have their citizens who are uninformed about the needs and care animals. But it does seem that Japan is not at the bottom of the list of those who do nothing. However, a first world country like Japan should by now have been first in line when it came to animal protection laws and implementation thereof since they claim to be mostly Buddhist and a TRUE Buddhist would understand that animals are sentient beings with similar needs as humans and have taken greater care to protect animals in general. Still they are improving and we need to admire them for that.

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I really like this article and thanks for posting. This is something very informative and a very nice description about animal welfare. Animal welfare is very necessary for the animal safety and security. As a responsible and a clever human being one must take proper care of his/her domestic animals. It is also useful to show your love towards all domestic animals. They are very useful for us and we all know that. We must consult with Vets for the treatment of our pet animals whenever necessary. So, Animal care is very important to provide a healthy life to all the animals.

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i also rescued a lovely Bedlington Terrier from a breeder in Kyoto. She was in a horrible condition, had to have most of her teeth removed, had no hearing and was blind in one eye. Problem is the breeder still has several other dogs and my efforts to close them down have failed. There really seems like nothing can be done to stop this cruelty.

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Sorry but those are just numbers and lollipops, people still treat animals as commodities, I rescued an old beagle from a wall of snow this past winter(-6°C) , japs seems nice but most of them just feds and vaccines their pets, some have them instead of kids because they can throw their pets when they bored or the animals gets too old, shame on them.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Just 162,000" is "still" far too many.

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@Thunderbird2

Thank you for your kind words. I had adopted other dogs when we lived in the Kansai area from the same "JAWS". Unfortunately, after ten wonderful years with our last (police) dog, he developed cancer from drinking "TEPCO" water and died last year in March. I'm still having difficulty getting over it...

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Japan may love pets, but many owners treat them like accessories. That's not to say they are all bad. The neighbor on our right has a child that kidnappes kittens. We think he is trying to assimilate them to him. The first died. The 2nd and 3rd we rescued, but could only save the 2nd one. His parents couldn't care less. We spent nearly 20,000 yen trying to save them. We can't keep any pets in our place. Luckily the neighbor on the left is wonderful animal lover that helped us take of the 3rd cat. We got to the cat too late and after a week just didn't wake up. My wife and I would like to start a spay and neuter program for our neighbor hood. About 20 adult cats roam around here.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Some people are eternal cynics... or just like arguing with everyone FV. Glad at least someone saved a dog from the gas chamber, and a police dog at that.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Somebody obviously doesn't like the fact I actually saved a dog ? And NOT for the first time... JAWS does a great job. If you, personally, don't want to adopt an animal yourself, please try not to criticize those who do. Thank you.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Riiiiight.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

To the author :

You forgot to mention "JAPAN ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY" (JAWS) where my wonderful ex-police dog came from.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

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