I posted in March about the horrible cat cullings taking place in Beijing to “clean up” the city before the Olympics this summer. If you don’t recall, China is inhumanely killing the city’s cats (whom they allege have SARS) by rounding them up and putting them in death camps to die slow, miserable deaths from starvation, dehydration, filth, and poor medical conditions.

My original post, Boycott Beijing Olympics, promised an update when I found a way for people to take action. At that time, only the Humane Society was doing anything (Humane Society International sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee condemning the culls. They also contacted Chinese animal welfare organizations on the ground).

The World Society for the Protection of Animals has joined the fight. From their site:

Taking action: first steps

As media reports do not always accurately reflect the situation on the ground, WSPA examines allegations of animal cruelty. This enables us to understand the underlying motivations and to ensure we can respond effectively.

Peter Williams, WSPA Regional Director of Asia, is currently investigating the most effective way to collaborate on this issue and urge the Chinese authorities to adopt humane methods of stray cat population control.

He says “We are making positive and progressive headway to hold meetings with officials to resolve this issue.

“Next week WSPA China plans to facilitate and obtain authorisation for two of its veterinarians to visit the cat holding facility in order to discuss alternative and humane methods in controlling the cat population of Beijing.”

Peter is also working with local and international animal welfare groups and the authorities to resolve the underlying problems. By understanding why authorities are concerned about populations of cats in Beijing, and where these cats are coming from, we can design humane interventions to manage their numbers. “

For their full take on the killings go to the article on their site.

In the mean time, WSPA recommends that we all contact our local Chinese embassy with a letter expressing our concern.

Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong,

Email: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn;

Phone: 202.328.2500;

Address: Embassay of the People’s Republic of China in the United States of America, 2300 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., 20008