IN COURT: Representatives of 10 veterinary clinics submit medical records for the treatment of dogs rescued by volunteers on April 15, 2011, at a court in Beijing on May 28 (CFP)

"We don't have any money to pay the clinics," said the CSAPA's Lu, who sold her own apartment in Beijing to cover the association's operating expenses. Compared to the total costs for feeding and caring for hundreds of cats and dogs, its fundraising programs haven't made much of a dent. "We are struggling with money all the time," Lu said.

"Every rescue mission ends up as a farce," said Peng Tao, an animal protection volunteer from southwest China's Chongqing.

In February 2007, cat lovers found more than 400 cats squeezed into a warehouse in a pet market, also discovering they might soon be put down.

They soon took action to save the cats, calling the police and media and pleading for local resident help. After these efforts proved to be ineffective, they broke down the warehouse door and delivered the cats to the CSAPA in Beijing.

Many cats were sick and the medical costs were, as with the dogs, very high. The CSAPA was unable to raise enough money in such a short time and many cats died soon after the rescue. At the same time, the increased workload from dealing with the sudden influx of cats led to CSAPA workers demanding a pay rise, which caused a conflict between them and animal activists. On top of this, after they broke down the door of the warehouse to save the cats, the volunteers and the CSAPA received threats, according to Lu.

Right methods

"Saving cats and dogs can be expensive, which reflects the deeper issues of unregulated industry in China," Peng said.

According to Sun Quanhui, chief scientist with the World Society for the Protection of Animals, a rational method for protecting animals needs two things—legislation and public participation.

"For example, dogs are not subject to slaughter or food quarantine regulations," Sun said. "This loophole results in conflicts between the dog-meat industry and dog lovers." But he warned that having volunteers forcibly stop a legal dog transportation vehicle on the highway should be defined as "violent philanthropy" or vigilantism, which is against the law.

Sun stressed that what China's animal protection organizations need is a complete and transparent management system, including professional consultancy from experts in the field as well as a set of regulations on how to deal with emergencies.

Wang Zhenyao, Dean of the China Philanthropy Research Institute, said that he would be more rational next time when animals were found in need of help. "The purpose of rescuing them is not simply to free them, but to allow them to live healthily and happily," Wang said.

Wang noted that if people rescued dogs or other animals; but didn't care about them afterward, they would lead very miserable lives and would likely starve to death or die of illness.

"Saving animals simply out of enthusiasm is far from enough. From an outsider's point of view, successfully saving cats or dogs from the hands of slaughterers is the end of the story, when it is really just the beginning," Wang said.

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