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Animal advocacy

By on April 30, 2008

ARK began life as Animal Refuge Kansai in 1990, an Osaka-based NPO group that works for animal welfare. Rescuing and re-homing pets while operating a humane, no-kill shelter. For the last few years, ARK’s Tokyo office has been helping rescued cats and dogs to find new homes in the capital, too.

“We don’t have a shelter in Tokyo, so any animals that we accept for re-homing are temporarily placed with foster families,” explains ARK Tokyo’s representative, Briar Simpson. “We are always in need of new families willing to look after animals on a temporary basis.” For families on the move, fostering is an ideal way to spend time with furry friends, but without the long-term commitment that responsible pet-ownership entails.

“Our main project for 2008 is to develop our fostering program for cats in Tokyo. Fostering is perfect for people living in Tokyo that miss having a pet, but want to travel and go away for the summer,” Briar says. “We are organizing a network of people that can cat sit for each other when someone is away. We can also work it to completely avoid the summer.”

With word about ARK Tokyo’s activities spreading, the group has been able to successfully re-home an increasing number of rescued cats and dogs. However, there are still many more animals out there needing help. “Even if you can’t adopt a pet, there are other ways to be involved with ARK,” notes Briar. “We need volunteers who can help spread the word around ARK’s activities. We welcome all offers of help!”

It is a sad fact of life that attitudes to pet ownership in Japan sometimes leave something to be desired. Spaying and neutering of pets, while routine in many overseas countries, tend to to be the exception rather than the rule here. This results in unwanted kittens and puppies which, sadly, are often abandoned or end up at one of the city’s pounds, where efforts to re-home are close to zero. Some unscrupulous breeders and pet shops, more interested in making money than in the welfare of their animals, also contribute to the problem.

“There is still a lot to do,” says Briar. “We have been talking at school events, vet seminars and various fundraising events to raise awareness about the role of animal welfare in a caring society.”

ARK holds regular adoption events in Tokyo at Dog Life Design, a dog run in Setagaya. The next one will be held on Saturday, May 10th. Members of the public are invited to come along, meet some of the cats and dogs available for adoption and get to know more about ARK’s activities.

Adoption event: Saturday, May 10th. 1-4pm at Dog Life Design, 5-24-5 Komazawa, Setagaya-ku. Nearest Sta. JR Komazawa Daigaku. http://doglifedesign.com/access/

ARK Tokyo: (080) 6146-3889
briar_tokyoark@arkbark.net
www.arkbark.netPhoto © Elena Derevstova

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