| slow and McCormack lost
a couple roommates in the process. He ultimately spent NT$70,000
of his own money to send Lazarus to a facility in the Florida
Keys. He implied that his roommates were uncomfortable with
the situation.
"We had to find a vet that would take him,"
McCormack said. "Nobody wanted to deal with him. We
finally found Dr. Yang, a very compassionate man. We were
just looking for someone to look at him.
“Dr Yang said: 'We try'. That's all we were looking
for."
McCormack's connections at the Wildlife Rescue Center in
the Florida Keys procured Lazarus’ full recovery there.
Apparently, some animal welfare groups actually have to
import strays to keep up their quota so they can maintain
funding. Animals Taiwan is also well on its way to becoming
a registered, fully funded animal welfare group.
"We started by raising money for a no-kill center
in Taipei County called Help-Save-A-Pet. I posted on Forumosa
for like-minded people and we had about six or seven come
out at first. Now we have about 20 people who do it as a
hobby," McCormack explained. "We need 30 people
before we can become registered and start applying for grants.
But we're almost there. We also have some Taiwanese people
involved.
"People do care in Taiwan," McCormack added.
"There are some very, very good people out there…There's
a group in Kaohsiung similar to ours, local people, but
there are some expats involved there too."
McCormack said it was his meeting with Dr. Jane Goodall
in December last year that triggered the movement. Goodall
was here for a conference and he said it was just luck,
a typhoon and good timing that gave him an audience with
the well-known animal welfare spokesperson and activist.
"It was like meeting royalty," McCormack gushed.
"We talked for about three hours at her hotel. She
just said we should get organized and, once Jane Goodall
tells you to do something, it really makes you do it."
Other factors, such as fundraisers and discussions on Forumosa.com,
combined to form Animals Taiwan. And although cats are also
a large group of strays and taken in by people involved
from the group, dogs are the ones that stand out the most.
"Dogs are more high-profile…more obvious. Cats
don't carry as much disease. What we would like to do is
control the population. The magic number is 67%."
The 67 % solution is brilliant in its simplicity. Ideally,
the group would set up a test area somewhere in Taiwan,
perhaps an area of four square blocks where there may be
100 stray dogs. The group would then target all the strays
in the area as “catch and release” dogs. Eventually,
most of the dogs would be spayed or neutered and thus, a
lower birthrate. In the long-term, this will reduce the
population to an ideal number: 67.
It's not rocket science. It's obviously impossible to rid
the streets of all strays. So, McCormack says, if his and
other local animal welfare groups can control the population
they have the first part of the solution.
Most of us have noticed the homely looking dogs hanging
around dense business areas of town. These dogs are not
so much strays as "community dogs”. Area merchants,
passers-by and residents generally accept community dogs.
They are fed scraps and cared for by the community.
McCormack says the community dogs sometimes take the place
of a family pet. People love having dogs around but can’t
necessarily take care of them all the time. The community
dog fills the pet void, but remains homeless. The problem
is that community dogs breed and increase the local population.
This creates unwanted dogs and the problem of neglect.
"The community dog is what we're looking at,"
he said. "If you can keep the population down to 67%
by spaying and neutering, and then returning them to the
streets you can control the numbers."
But there are some alarming statistics to consider.
"I know that 18 months ago there was a study done
in Taiwan that said three times as many people are more
likely to adopt a dog. But you know, trying to keep a pet,
especially in a place like Taipei where people have to work
long hours, is very difficult.”
"In the past, one of the major animal groups did a
study here and said the worst place in the world to keep
a pet is Taiwan. My goal is to change that.
Animals Taiwan is looking for donations, which are
the backbone of their operation. If you would like to become
involved or if you would simply like to learn more about
this group, you can contact them at www.AnimalsTaiwan.org |
