Rescue – Vegans.UK

Scottish Vegan Festival 2016

October 17, 2016 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Cupcakes from Pitxu's — Cupcakes from Pitxu’s

When you go to a vegan fair, take my advice, arrive hungry. I mean skip breakfast and get down there with a proper appetite. If you don’t, you may regret it. There’s so much more to a vegan fair besides food of course (what do you mean, ‘is there?’) but there’s nothing quite as frustrating as that feeling of being too full to try that pie, that donut, that sizzling burger. So, do yourself a favour and make sure you at least get a decent run at it.

There's even vegan steak... — There’s even vegan steak…

As I entered the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh on a sunny October day, it was a great prospect to look at all the stalls and know that every single one of them was not only vegan friendly, but TOTALLY vegan. Oh, bliss. I mean, in this non-vegan world it’s a fabulous novelty.

...and vegan steak sandwiches. — …and vegan steak sandwiches.

I’ve done reviews of vegan fairs before, so if you’ve read them you’ll roughly know the drill. There are loads of stalls – from charities, to cupcakes, from beauty products to t-shirts and jewellery. This particular fair was in aid of Farplace Animal Rescue, a no-kill shelter located in County Durham who campaign for the rights of animals. I bought one of their anti-badger cull t-shirts and spoke to some of their volunteers. They’re running a campaign at the moment to try and raise some money, see here for details. They also re-home animals, from rabbits to pigs!

Everything was in aid of Farplace Animal Rescue

One of the first stalls I stopped at was a charity called Pounds for Poundies who raise money in order to help rescue charities save more dogs from an uncertain future in the pound. Another t-shirt was purchased and they told me about their current campaign which aims to get people to consider re-homing a staffie, as there are so many in pounds at the moment.

Ponds for poundies — Pounds for poundies

I was pleased to finally meet the faces behind Humblestuff, the makers of environmentally friendly, vegan cleaning products. The fizzing sticks that are used to clean toilet bowls can also be used as a bath bomb! I’m pretty sure it’s the only loo cleaner that can make that claim!

I’m constantly amazed by the wonderful quality of modern vegan cheese. Both Tyne Chease and Nutcrafter Creamery were there, with some fabulous examples. They had firm cheeses, cream cheeses and even vegan butter. Gone are the days when an excuse not to go vegan was ‘I’d miss cheese’ thanks to companies like these. Bute Island Foods was also doing tastings and their range just keeps expanding. They’re the ones responsible for Sainsbury’s new hit vegan cheese (or ‘Gary’ as it’s been christened by the internet…) It does me good to see products like this filtering through to the mainstream.

There were some spectacular sauces and chutneys on display too. My particular favourites were The Spice Witch (the mango and chilli chutney I bought was as good as any I’ve had in an Indian restaurant, if not better) and MaRobert’s Taste of Tanzania (I only got the medium spiced sauce, as I’m obviously too wimpy for hot or extra hot. It was delicious though.)

All this is to say nothing of the cake! I was so encouraged to see many local bakers there with stands. The interest in vegan cakes is always high and bakers have nothing to lose by catering for us. Believe me, I don’t know any non-vegans that would turn their noses up at these delectable offerings.

I could go on and on, but let’s just say I spent most of the day here and was not even slightly bored. It was a lot busier than many expected it to be and I’m so glad it was a success. As more and more people turn to veganism, I can only see these events getting bigger and better, and that is a very happy thought.

Buying pets

January 7, 2015 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

There were a couple of news stories in the media recently that caught my attention and spurred me on to write about one of the issues that I feel very strongly about, but is a bit of a hazy area of knowledge for a lot of people. It’s being covered more and more by journalists, but it’s worth mentioning again about the subject of pets being bought over the internet, from an ad in a newspaper, from a pet shop, or even down the pub. When I was researching this article I was utterly shocked at the sheer number of money making organisations (for that is all they are) selling dogs online. Some claim to be responsible and not supplied by puppy farms (more of them later) but really, how do we view man’s best friend, or indeed cats or rabbits for that matter, if we treat them merely as commodities. Animals are not ‘things’ to simply buy and sell.

I anger some people when I am seen to lump ‘responsible’ breeders with horrific puppy farmers. I know that many breeders love their dogs to bits and would do anything for them, but I simply can’t get past the fact that in the end, they are putting more dogs into the world, to be sold at a profit, when rescue centres are full to bursting and, according to charity Puppy Love Campaigns a healthy dog is killed every hour in the UK by council run pounds. Is it so strange to find that unacceptable? After all, one of the news stories I referred to earlier was that of a Shar Pei who had been abandoned at a station in Ayr, along with a suitcase containing his belongings. This dog is a pure breed who was sold on Gumtree in 2013 to people her previous owners didn’t know. They hadn’t even bothered to find out their names or address. This rendered his microchip useless as the cads who had abandoned this poor soul hadn’t registered themselves as guardians. It shows that it’s not just people who abandon staffies and fill our rescue centres with them who treat dogs as mere items. Those who covet so-called desirable breeds can do too.

Dogs are for life, not just for Christmas

Dogs bred for profit was the assumed cause behind the second story that I came across in the past week or two. A litter of seven young puppies were abandoned outside Battersea Dogs Home in London in a laundry basket in freezing temperatures. The staff suspect that they were Christmas presents that failed to sell. Unwanted merchandise, if you will. Dogs Trust are currently appealing to constituents to write to their MPs regarding the illegal smuggling of puppies from Eastern Europe into the UK. This is a worrying trend that is set to continue unless people wake up to the fact that if they choose to buy pets from an ad in the paper or online, chances are that those pets have been factory farmed. This means that mothers are kept in filthy conditions, never being exercised or cared for in any way, their pups taken away from them and sold, where they often fall ill or die prematurely due to the conditions into which they were born. By this time, often the seller is untraceable. Apparently, Wales and Ireland are the main trouble spots in the UK for these horrific types of facilities, but of course even if animals are bred there, they can be shipped to any part of the country.

It is such an irony that those who buy animals online are often put off rescue dogs because ‘there must be something wrong with them.’ (See other rescue pet myths busted here.) Dogs Trust annual report 2014 lists the most common reasons given by those who surrendered dogs to the charity. From the commonest they are: Owner in hospital; Housing problems; Work commitment; Unwanted litter; Change in owner relationship; Family crisis; Owner died; Owner pregnant or has a new baby (don’t get me started on that one!!!); Unable to cope with puppy behaviour; Unable to cope with breed traits.

Dogs waiting for a new home. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

So really, we can see from this that, not only are puppies available at rescue centres if you’d like one, but that when puppies are bought somewhere they more often than not end up in a rescue centres because of the owners, not the dogs themselves. The financial crisis has forced many people to unwillingly relinquish their dogs and I feel for them terribly. Sometimes life throws stuff at you that is completely unforeseeable and one is compelled to make a heartbreaking decision. However, all too often, owners fail to neuter their dogs or fail to take proper responsibility or simply fail to care. This is not the dog’s fault. There are so many lovely dogs, cats, rabbits, and more in rescue centres that there is no reason at all to line the pockets of breeders. Some of these animals may be a bit confused or frightened at first, (wouldn’t you be if you’d been dumped without explanation?) but most dogs respond to love, just as most humans do.

For a list of rescue centres, see my article on Dogs. SSPCA and RSPCA both care for all sorts of animals from mice to horses. There are several dedicated feline rescues, the best known of which is the Cats Protection League. Look at local listings for rescue centres close to you.

Dogs

November 25, 2014 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Dogs

I love dogs. They are unique animals. If you treat them well they’ll be the most loyal, affectionate and enthusiastic friend you’ve ever had! Over thousands of years, humans domesticated the dog to our mutual benefit. They would guard our camps and we would give them any extra food we had. Everybody’s happy. Over time, different groups of humans were drawn to dogs with different characteristics and so as far back as Ancient Egypt, there were recognisably different breeds of dog.

http://www.viva.org.uk/ — Dalmatian at dog show, Australia. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

In modern times however, over the last hundred years or so, those breeds have become so extreme that almost every pure bred dog today has inherent health problems. From the deafness of Dalmatians, to the hip dysplasia of German Shepherds and the breathing problems of pugs, through intensive breeding we have done dogs a great disservice. For a dog loving nation we are one of the worst culprits here in Britain as our kennel club still doesn’t clamp down on the breeding of fathers with daughters and brothers with sisters, which perplexes me greatly as surely that’s just basic genetics. As humans, we discovered that marrying your cousin wasn’t the best idea genetically many years ago. I mean, just look at the royal family of years gone by…There’s a great documentary about this subject called Pedigree Dogs Exposed, which, although eye opening and very informative, does contain scenes of dogs in pain and or distress as a result of their health problems, so be warned. I don’t agree with the documentary maker on everything, but she has been brave and relentless in her pursuit of the truth in an effort to better the welfare of pedigree dogs, so good on her.

Dog in cage in Asia. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

The result of all this domestication is that dogs are in the unique position now of being reliant on humans for their wellbeing. Unfortunately it turns out that many humans are not only irresponsible but cruel, and dogs pay the price for this. From people who chain up their dogs outside, to those who arrange dog fights, to puppy farmers, to the abhorrent dog meat trade in Asia, humans have let dogs down big time.

Dog chained up outside. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

There is hope. Up and down the country and across the world, there are a band of people who should not only be praised to the skies but also given a hell of a lot more money than they are at the moment. I talk of course, of the rescuers. The outpouring of support for the Manchester Dogs Home recently when it was the victim of arson was truly heart-warming. This nation loves dogs, I just wish there wasn’t so much need for these charities.

My dog was a rescue from Dogs Trust West Calder

Dogs Trust (formally The National Canine Defence League or NCDL) is the biggest dog rescue charity in the UK (and they’re now in Ireland too). They run educational programmes to give young people the information they need to be responsible dog owners. They assist homeless people with their dogs, giving them free veterinary care and advice. Their freedom project provides foster care for the dogs of those who are the victims of domestic abuse, as a violent partner often threatens to kill dogs and shelters generally can’t accommodate them. Dogs Trust also try to keep the greyhound racing industry honest as it can be a hotbed of corruption and cruelty.

Greyhound, caged. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

They also work overseas to help dogs in Eastern Europe, India, Malta, Thailand and the Philippines, with neutering programmes, vaccinations and education. Crucially, they attempt to combat the unregulated and horrifically cruel dog meat trade. Back at home, they have environmental enrichment at their rehoming centres so that the dogs’ stay in kennels is as stress free as possible. All Dogs Trust dogs are neutered and microchipped before being rehomed. This is one of the issues I feel most strongly about, as without microchipping there is no responsibility and without neutering there is no hope of keeping the number of unwanted and abandoned dogs down. Once a dog is rehomed, they even give out free advice which may include having a visit from a dog behaviourist, if you are having any issues with the new member of your family. A brilliant initiative Dogs Trust have started is working with young offenders, so they can use their community service to help train dogs in need of a home. This gives them a tremendous sense of achievement and usefulness, helping both the dogs and themselves. Dogs Trust also have a special centre for elderly dogs filled with cosy couches and quiet and they never put a healthy dog to sleep.

Hurricane Katrina rescue dog. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

All this is to say nothing of the fantastically dedicated folks who run smaller charities. There are people who stay up all night hand-feeding puppies who’ve been dumped in a bin and left for dead. There are those who train dogs for enriching professions like search and rescue or assisting the disabled with charities such as Canine Partners. Volunteers walk countless dogs and give out cuddles. Canine carers coax shy dogs, abused dogs or those who have had their will broken by being intensively bred from a young age, out into the sun and gently encourage them to have fun again.

We have a responsibility towards dogs. It is our duty to look after them. After all these years of making dogs reliant on us, we cannot let them down. At the very least, we should do all we can to respect dogs and make sure that we educate ourselves and our children how to treat them well. Dogs will find us if we’re trapped under rubble, they’ll sniff us out if we’re lost on a vast hillside, they see for us if we’re blind, hear for us if we are deaf, assist us with everyday tasks if we become disabled, they fight in our wars and keep us safe by finding bombs and illegal drugs. They even listen to children to reduce anxiety as they read, help those with autism and can predict epileptic seizures! Dogs love us, so much. We should love them in return.

There are loads of charities all over the place that help our canine companions, so here are a few of them for you to check out. If they are local to you, perhaps you could ask if they need any donations of old blankets or duvets. Many charities have Amazon wish lists or would just love it if you dropped in to donate a can or two of food. It doesn’t have to cost much, or indeed anything at all, but these organisations need your support. Thanks. Or, if you feel you’re ready, maybe you could think about rehoming a dog yourself. It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.

The Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home (where I got my first dog)

The Blue Cross (rehoming locations limited, but their charity shops are all over the place.)

Many Tears Animal Rescue (Llanelli)

Rain Rescue (Rotherham and Sheffield)

Freshfields Animal Rescue (Liverpool and Wales)

Wetnose Animal Aid (Helps smaller organisations and has a list of them on their site.)

A Better Life Dog Rescue (rehome dogs into the UK from Romania)

Helping Paws (A new charity that helps dogs from all over)

Nowzad (Rescue organisation started by a British soldier that assists dogs in Afghanistan)

K9 Angels (helping dogs from all over)

Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – SSPCA (Helps all animals, including dogs, all over Scotland)

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – RSPCA (Animal charity for England and Wales.)

Greyhound Rescue UK (Site that lists all local greyhound rescue organisations within the UK.)

There are also farm animal sanctuaries who rescue dogs too! Here’s a couple:

Mossburn Community Farm Animal Sanctuary (A lovely place. I visited the animals there on my birthday this year.)

The Farm Animal Sanctuary (Associated with the excellent charity Viva!)

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