Burgie woman launches bid to save dogs bound for China's meat markets
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A MORAY woman is going the extra mile to rescue dogs bound for Chinese meat markets.
Along with friends, Julie McMillan (55), from Burgie, set up the Dog Meat Trade (DMT) Dachshund Support Group three months ago – which has already raised £10,000 and rescued seven dogs so far.
Julie and her friends – Lesley Scott and Dawn Kitching, from Newcastle, and Lynne Wilson, from Edinburgh – are fundraising to save the lives of dachshunds from the barbaric meat markets.
The group works alongside One Paw Dog Rescue China, which rescues dogs and alerts their UK counterparts to the dachshunds. The UK group then funds the dogs' return to health and their journey to the UK.
Kinloss petrol station worker Julie already has five rescue dogs, including three dachshunds and two mongrels. She said: "Some of the dogs we help rescue are ex-breeding dogs which are passed on to meat markets when they're no longer of use. Some of them are stolen from the streets and sold to meat markets.
"It's a really barbaric trade. But we don't post graphic pictures on our Facebook page – I think most people understand how horrible it is."
At the moment they are supporting 10 dachshunds, who are going through the process of vaccinations, health checks, rabies shots, being spayed and getting passports before they are flown to the UK to live out the rest of their lives in happy homes.
Julie worked cocker spaniels before becoming a fan of the dachshund breed. She said: "They are very quirky little dogs, real characters. They're not the easiest to train, but are really good fun."
The dogs go to foster homes when they arrive in the UK. They are then assessed before forever homes are found through the group.
With cargo costs at around £1600 for each dog, the friends launched the Facebook group to help raise funds, attracting more than 1200 followers.
In a big push to raise funds to fly such dogs to safety, the group is encouraging people to sponsor them, donate or participate in a socially-distanced walk. The Little Legs, Big Hearts 10-Mile Sponsored Walk will take place on Sunday, September 6, from 11am, from the Cairngorm Mountain car park to Aviemore.
Julie is currently awaiting the arrival of a blind poodle, called Evie, from China through One Paw. She said it was difficult to ascertain Evie's breed initially, as she had very little hair when she was rescued off a meat truck.
Her sixth pack member will be flying over to Paris, then the UK, tomorrow, August 18, and Julie will drive to Liverpool to take Evie to her Moray home on Saturday, August 22.
Eating dog meat is not illegal in China but selling dog meat as food is against food safety laws. However, in April China’s Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs released a draft policy that would forbid the consumption of dogs, recognising dogs as a "special companion animal", and the cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai banned the eating of dogs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Visit the Facebook group's page here.
