Landmark Legal Victory in China
It happened on May 28, 2020 in Zhangwu County, Liaoning Province
Animal activists intercepted a dog meat truck with 147 dogs. Local law enforcement were engaged to maintain public safety as the crowd grew when angry animal advocates showed up. Tension grew by the hour. The standoff lasted three days, but the outrage lasted years. That was just the beginning. The action and subsequent fight for justice has led to the biggest landmark case and court ruling against the sale of dog and cat meat in China and those who trade in it.
Under the bright sun of justice, the Zhangwu County government was found to have illegally conspired to help a dog meat trader break the law.
Representatives from various relevant local government departments visited and examined the situation. For fear of government corruption as past experience has taught them, some advocates took turns to standing by the truck for three days and nights. Others called the hotlines of various government departments at local, city, and province levels.
Day 3
Pleading for action to punish the dog meat trader and to release the dogs to local volunteers, the advocates pushed for enforcement of the current law. They explained that the dog meat trader broke the public food safety law by transporting livestock across provinces without proper vaccine documentation and proof of the origin.
Day 5
Under the mounting public pressure and anger for inaction, on day five, the county government gave a written statement on their website informing the public that the dog meat trader did indeed break the public safety law and, as a result, he had been given a hefty fine.
147 dogs were cruelly betrayed.
As for the 147 dogs, Zhangwu County officials informed the public that they had gotten them all adopted within two days by local villagers who paid RMB500 ($70) for each dog. This was proved to be a lie as our volunteers got video evidence from so-called “adopters” who confessed that they were ordered to buy the dogs. The head of the village ordered them returned to the official in charge who then, in turn, returned the dogs to the dog meat trader for slaughter.
Out of the ashes, the phoenix rises.
Such a corrupt government scheme uncovered in the public eye with thousands of animal activists around the country intently watching is beyond the imagination. Animal activists all over the country were livid. This truck was intercepted on May 28 and two days later, an order was passed that the Chinese Agricultural Department was to reclassify dogs and cats as companion animals and not livestock.
With renewed hope of justice, WOA organized and backed activists who went to visit the Department headquartered in Beijing. For 18 straight days, activists visited the Agriculture Department demanding action, but received no official reception nor any official response.
Unofficially, the Agricultural Department stated that they are not the “enforcement department” for such incidents. It is up to the animal activists to settle the dispute with the Zhangwu County Government, itself.
Enough is enough.
Sadly, in the past, this was often the case how the dog meat truck story ended. The government officials were bribed and corrupted. They used their powers to bend the rules and plot schemes to benefit the dog meat trader as in the case for Zhangwu County. Even though the law clearly stated that to lawfully transport livestock across the Provinces that proof of origin and vaccine documentation are required. In the absence of such proof and documentation a 21 day quarantine is required. It meant nothing to these officials. People gave in after so many failed attempts.
But, not any more!
Heqian and Cuiqin, two strong-willed women decided that enough is enough. Both women are well known animal activists all over the country as brave, tough and driven. Since the official channels didn’t work, we decided to use legal weapons, instead. Something no one has ever tried.
With the help of WOA, we raised enough funds and hired a tough lawyer from Beijing. No local lawyer would dare to take the case for fear of revenge. Faced with threats, interference, and intense pressure from different sides, we proceeded to sue Zhang County for failing to fulfill their obligation to publicly release a citizen’s request for information regarding the reports and proof of fine payment by the dog meat trader, dog adoption info, etc. regarding the 147 Dog Meat Truck episode.
“Courage is not in the absence of fear, but the triumph over it” --N. Mandela
Finally, the court date was set at 9 am on December 28, 2020. Heqian, Cuiqin, and the lawyer, took an overnight train to arrive at Zhangwu County at 5 am. Having received so many threats and investigation prior to the court date, they feared they would put themselves in the hands of criminals if they came a day earlier. However fearful they felt for their lives and safety, they never for a moment thought of quitting. After seven months of fighting and waiting, finally, the verdict came.
We won.
Zhangwu County government is ordered to publish all evidence and information demanded. They have until February 24th to turn in all the information. To meet such demands, Zhangwu County will inevitably expose their misconduct. Some officials will lose their jobs or potentially be put in jail, as explained by our lawyer.
Meanwhile, the court has also allowed this case to be heard by the lower level courts as precedent (an earlier successfully won case that guides the ruling of subsequent similar cases).
This means the same lawsuits can now easily be won again at the city, county, town, and district levels. We are waiting for the government to turn over their evidence. If they refuse, we will sue them again with the possibility of a criminal case the next time.
Ending the dog and cat meat trade in China is within our reach.
With the successful outcome of Zhangwu County lawsuit, we now can take steps to further crack down on cat and dog meat operations throughout the country. Especially in the hubs of a few known places, Yulin, Pei County, and Hebei province.
This is all possible because in July, 2020, the Supreme Court of China had published a new guideline for court rulings, which specified that “universal rulings should be applied to precedent cases.”
This means that if we collect evidence of dog and cat meat trade activities that’s not in compliance with public food safety laws, we can first demand local governments’ response. When they claim they enforced the law, but won’t offer sufficient proof, then we can sue them to get the proof of the actions they took or didn’t take.
They will be held accountable.
Naturally, they will lose and with such exposure to the public eye, it will force the government to take real action or face personal consequences to the officials involved while sending warnings to other government officials that they will be held accountable.
We are extremely excited at the possibility that we now have a real legal weapon to fight the dog and cat meat trade. With the success of Zhangwu County lawsuit, we are hopeful that success will build on success. With determination and unwavering support from the animal activist community, together, we can end the cruelty of dog and cat meat trade.
There is finally light at the end of the tunnel after decades of fighting.
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