Update 19th June 2011
The owner of the little Dashchund that we rescued and called REMEMBER ME contacted us. She is the daughter of the family that owned the dog, but lives herself, in Tokyo. We were shocked by the fact the little dog was tied by a heavy chain outside and would have starved to death if we hadn't rescued him. The dog is now being fostered lovingly by a family in Kansai and of course kept inside. Although the daughter has promised to make sure the dog will be kept inside from now on, it is difficult for us to check on this, we can only trust her word. This is a dilemma we face; should we return an animal to a place where it was neglected even though they are the rightful owners and want their dog back ?
We also had contact from Joyama san, a former ARK staff who is volunteering to supply evacuation centres in Fukushima with pet supplies. She has been contacted by Namie-cho officials saying that people are now being moved into temporary housing and that many cages will be needed for pets. We can't understand why pets cannot be kept free inside the temporary housing units, but apparently not. Once we know what kind of cages they need and the sizes, we will arrange a donation to them.
One veterinarian, Dr.Imamoto of Shinjo Animal hospital in Nara, has recently put his blog up, (see below), appealing for help to rescue animals in the 20k zone. We have received his permission to publish this. Out of the thousands of veterinarians in Japan, why have not more come forward to protest about the thousands of animals which have died through dehydration and starvation, due to the fact their carers were not allowed to go and attend to them ?
Elizabeth Oliver
Animal Refuge Kansai - ARK
Web Site: http://arkbark.net
Dr. Imamoto is a well known Veterinarian in Japan. He has created a statement in Japanese for The Hachiko Coalition to distribute to the media. The Hachiko Coalition has translated this statement into English:
My name is Shigeki Imamoto and I am a Japanese veterinarian. I run an animal clinic in Nara Prefecture.
I have made several trips to the danger zone in the vicinity of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant since the earthquake and tsunami disaster occurred. I’ve seen what has happened to the animals that were left behind. Cows, pigs and chickens starved to death. Dogs and cats as well.
After the incident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, residents were evacuated from the area within 20 kilometers of the plant and told they would be able to return in a few days. This is a very painful situation for those who left their animals believing it would be for just a few days. They are now able to make temporary visits back to their homes, and in doing so are confronted with the starved corpses of cattle they raised themselves, as well as the dead bodies of pets with whom they lived for many years.
Before the danger zone was established, a great number of animals were rescued due to the efforts of volunteers in Japan. Some of those who kept cattle released them from their pens before they themselves were evacuated from the zone. Many thought long and hard before taking action.
No one wanted to see animals that they had raised suffer death by starvation. But the 20 kilometer limit, which was abruptly imposed, became a line that determined life or death for many animals. Currently, primarily through the Ministry of the Environment, volunteer veterinarians have begun rescuing pets in response to requests. But these efforts so far have managed to bring only several pets out of the zone each day, and not yielded great results. There are also some areas where pet owners have been unable to make any visits back to their homes, and every passing day brings them pain.
Through all of this, animals have survived. Pet owners and cattle owners alike hope for their survival. Despite all of this concern, thus far, unable to enter the danger zone, we could do little other than worry.
I’ve received permission several times to enter and assess the situation. It’s no longer time to assess. It’s time to act. There are lives still waiting to be saved.
If we raise our voices on this issue, we can bring about a change in this situation.
— Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Shigeki Imamoto
Previous blog by Dr. Imamotot on 15th April contains very disturbing footage:
http://www.animalsasia.org/images/en...oReport_sl.pdf
I must warn you about the photos in the link above. They are very, very graphic and not for the faint of heart. So very sad. Sad, sad, sad. Japan should take better care of their animals. They could have done food and water drops from planes and could have sent ppl in to release the animals.
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