Two days in a row, an American charity saves puppies from the illegal dog meat trade in China and transports them to New York, to meet their new families.
As many as 30 million dogs a year suffer from the dog meat trade across Asia, so ending this cruel business is extremely challenging and requires a genuine understanding of the situation on the ground and a multi-layered strategy.
An American charity has been operating “boots on the ground” there and has been saving dogs from the illegal dog meat trade in China for four years now.
No Dogs Left Behind works hands-on with local activists through emergency response, pulling dogs directly from slaughterhouses, dog meat trucks, wet markets, and traffickers.
A week ago, they rescued 34 puppies and flew them to New York to meet their new owners. The next day, the second shipment of dogs arrived at JFK Airport. The air was filled with joy for the survivors from China’s meat trade!
No Dogs Left Behind, a charity founded four years ago, has a shelter in Beijing, and it has been on a quest to rescue dogs from China’s meat trade and find people in the US who will adopt them.
The 34 dogs from the first shipment were introduced to their new owners at the airport on Friday evening, and on Saturday afternoon, an additional 45 dogs arrived at JFK, flying with Air China.
The families waited for their new puppies at the airport, and some of them have arranged the adoption from China months before.
Instagram user ‘avonjunkies’ posted about the arrival of his new pet, called Floyd, and said he was ‘eternally grateful’ to No Dogs Left Behind because they made it happen.
Another one, ‘dancehalllovenyc,’ posted on their Instagram Story, ‘Tiger getting ready to go home’ and put three heart emojis and a picture of Tiger getting into its carrier.
It was reported that several dogs have sadly died before they could get on the plane to the United States. No Dogs Left Behind is investigating the matter, as they didn’t get any explanation about the cause of their deaths.
No Dogs Left Behind continues the work and plans to bring a total of 135 dogs to the United States soon.
Jessica Bush posted a video and photo of one of the adoptions on Facebook, writing:
‘What a day! Met the new adopted member of our family Lola from No Dogs Left Behind at JFK today, as they came in from China. Thank you, Jeffrey Beri, and your wonderfully compassionate team. Lola is adapting very quickly! We love her. Carly Weinstein so very happy!’
The founder of No Dogs Left Behind, the 56-year-old Jeff Beri, and his team, have saved thousands of dogs. They have to use various tactics to save the pups from certain death. They often have to use drones to track the meat sellers.
Beri said:
“This by far is the largest transport that we have done.
These dogs… are my heroes, the adopters are my heroes who’ve waited for their dogs for almost a year now, and every dog that walks the streets is an ambassador for the cruelty-free movement that we’re fighting for.
Dead, on the plate, skinned alive, boiled alive, blowtorched, beaten to death. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a poodle, whether or not it’s a German Shepherd, a Golden Retriever, a mutt, doesn’t matter if it’s a Chinese dog, they don’t care.”
The activists usually confront the illegal traffickers directly and threaten to turn them into the Chinese authorities where they could face heavy penalties.
Beri explains:
“The fines exceed the cost of the meat, which is why they turn them over.”
The mission of the charity “extends beyond borders worldwide, advocating for the creation and enforcement of animal welfare laws, and raising awareness for a cruelty-free, sustainable world in which no animal is violated, exploited, tortured or slaughtered for commercial goods or profit.”
Great job, No Dogs Left Behind!
People like you make a change in this world!
