6.1 Summary1. How did you join Lily Oshiro, Principal Hsu, and Wang Feng?
Li-Feng Huimin Pavilion, which was founded by Lily Oshiro, has about 1.3 acres of land in Tainan. She is from Kaohsiung, and tries as hard as possible to earn money for stray dogs back in Taiwan. The Pavilion's purpose is to provide a free place for these dogs. We don’t want to put them in cages. Principal Hsu is also a very compassionate woman. She founded the Nursing Park that offers shelter for more than 300 dogs during their first year. Then, Wang Feng, who has also worked in the animal protection field for decades, made contact with them. Yang Huai-Min joined later on when he attended a stray dog’s event. The four of them now supports the financial, executive, and rescue of Li-Feng Huimin Pavilion.
2. How did you balance your time with daily life, work, and the involvement of animal protection?
As an actor, Yang wants to put his mind and body into animal protection events rather than his work. He believes that rescuing these “little children” is far more important than his own work or money. Thus, if an animal protection event overlaps with his own work schedule, he will cancel work and attend the event.
3. Who is responsible for different steps of the animal rescue? Did you work with other groups? How many people have come here and adopted the dogs? How did you provide medical protection?
In order to decrease the rate of euthanasia cases, animal shelters have an unconscious competition with each other on the number each year, Those shelters also want peaceful rescuing process rather than violence. The Pavilion’s job on the adoption process is to interview those applicants to see if they can be responsible for the dogs’ future. If a person returns the dog, the Pavilion will not put that dog up for adoption again, so the dog won’t feel unsafe by staying in different places.
4. What can the government do in order to decrease the rate of death of stray dogs? How about the non-governmental organizations?
The Pavilion hopes the government can sign contracts with the keepers and put electronic chips inside every dog’s body, so the government can have the information for the dogs and the keepers. This system can prevent dog keepers from abandoning their dogs. The government also should not kill stray dogs whenever they catch one. They should just go through the TNVR process. Dogs will only feel respected when we keep them alive and help as much as we can.
5. What are the goals or purposes of the Li-Feng Huimin Pavilion? How much money does the pavilion spent for a month? How did the Pavilion solve financial problems? Have anyone questioned or attacked the four of you?
Of course, hard work always comes hand in hand with difficulties and many obstacles, and their motives are always being questioned. Nonetheless, they never cared about the rumours; they focus only on their cause, and what they should be doing. They devote themselves on helping and caring for the stray dogs, hoping that they will be able to find a place they can call home and will be cared and loved. They do everything they can to help, and when saving the dogs, there isn’t a specific person or leader, and they never turn to the public for financial help. They work together with the Animal Protection Agency, and every one of them have a specific job. They encourage one another, and mentally support one another, and help one another when in need. The whole pavilion has about 300 dogs, and to prevent any conflicts about financial issues, they never turn to the public for financial aid, but how should they keep their cause going? They set up this little charity fair, and by using this money and their own, they work hard to manage the pavilion, and to provide the dogs with a safe house -- a heaven for stray animals.
6. Is the Pavilion planning to go to central Taiwan or northern Taiwan?
The Pavilion is going to Yilan to build a new house called Li-Feng Huimin V Pavilion, which includes Doctor Vincent Chang.
7. Have you join a rescue before? Is there any memorable experience you want to talk about?
There is one time when Li-Feng Huimin Pavilion rescued a dog called Tien Tien. She was a very stubborn dog and never accept human. The Pavilion didn’t know the her background at the first place, so the team investigated. Then we find out that Tien Tien had congenital cataract. All her resistance is just a result for her unsafeness. Yang thinks we should try to stand in the animals’ shoes when we are trying to help them. Dogs don’t bite people for no reason. They bite because they think human is harmful and aggressive. Thus, patience is essential in animal protection.
8. Do you have any comments on Netherlands’ work towards “zero euthanasia” for stray animals? Do you think Taiwan can also accomplish that in the future?
Euthanasia has pros and cons. Though there are laws that prevents euthanasia, you still cannot control the numbers of stray dogs. That is why TNVR is so important, and the system of electronic chips is necessary. Governments in US and Europe all have the projects and programs. Taiwan is short on this, and here is the part we are going to work on.
9. How do the Pavilion dispose the dogs’ dead bodies?
The Pavilion uses cremation, tree burial, and flower burial.
10. Tainan’s Mayor puts stray animals together, trains them, and tries to make them become search and rescue dogs. Do you think it is a good idea? Does the Pavilion want to work with the Mayor on this project?
The Mayor wants those dogs to serve because dogs are good friends and buddies with human. Yang thinks the plan is really great, but there is no agenda for cooperating with them.
