Poisoning at shelter stuns advocate
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Two of the poisoned dogs receive IV drips at a clinic. Wang Yixuan |
An animal shelter that has been the scene of fighting and the theft of animals recently was rocked by tragedy on Friday when 19 dogs were poisoned.
Seven of the dogs have since died and managers at the shelter, which is run by the China Small Animal Protection Association, are trying to find out whether the latest incident was connected to the earlier ones.
Officials from the shelter, which is in Haidian district, said the dogs were poisoned with phosphorous on Friday morning.
Seven German shepherds died and two German Shepherds were treated at China Agricultural University after the incident. The other 10 dogs were treated at the shelter and have since recovered, said Lu Di, the 80-year-old chairwoman of the association, who has been at the shelter since Friday.
"The dogs were poisoned by phosphorous and the hospital doubted that the poison was put into the dog food," Lu said.
She said the finger of suspicion is pointing at a worker or volunteer at the shelter because the gate was locked and outsiders would not have been able to enter without collusion from the inside.
Lu said nine people tried to dash into the shelter and grab dogs on Nov 3. They failed in their smash-and-grab raid when workers and volunteers fought and repelled them.
On Dec 3, someone at the shelter worked with people on the outside to steal three German Shepherds and a labrador, she said.
"The four dogs were worth about 30,000 yuan," Lu added.
She said the leaders at the shelter are wondering why the dogs were killed.
"The only thing we are sure about is there must have been someone on the inside helping them," Lu said.
"The poisoning was such a cruel thing to do, we will try to find this insider."
Many volunteers help out at the shelter, ensuring the animals are cared for and outsiders are not admitted, she said.
Lu said police are investigating.
The association was established in 1992 and has adopted more than 700 dogs, mainly from the streets and from slaughterhouses. The association has also rescued some cats and two peacocks. The shelter occupies 6.9 hectares in Haidian district and opened in 1999. Lu said it costs about 150,000 yuan a month to feed the animals, money that is raised from donations.
(China Daily 01/18/2010 page26)
