Source: shanghaiist | Image: sina

Wang Yan from Northeast China a former millionaire has gone into debt in order to save hundreds of dogs from the slaughterhouse. He went broke founding an animal rescue center for the strays.

This 29-year-old from Gelong town in Jilin province has given away all his wealth who once had a net worth of several million Yuan.
The moment of realization came in the form of a tragedy for him. One fine day in January 2012 his beloved pet dog went missing. He went looking everywhere for his dog but he did not find it. Someone directed him to look it at the slaughter house.

Wang looked around the slaughterhouse for a week, but couldn’t find his lost dog.
Instead, he saw gruesome scenes of bloody slaughter that he couldn’t get off his mind. After that soul shocking experience, Wang bought the slaughterhouse and established an animal shelter inside an abandoned steel factory.

With time the shelter grew big, so big that it has more than 200 dogs at a time and more than 1000 dogs have been adopted from the shelter. So far he is able to provide for the shelter with some debt but he fears for coming winter, and he does not accept monitory donation. He wants people to donate supply or care if they want.

Stray dogs are often a big problem in smaller Chinese cities. One city in Yunnan slaughtered 5,000 dogs following a rabies outbreak that killed 5 people. And for dogs you need a license, however earlier this year, the local government of a district in Shandong province issued a pet ban that threatened to kill all dogs, even if the animals were licensed. Even if dogs are saved from the slaughterhouse it doesn’t guarantee their survival due to weather conditions and lack of care.

In India also Kerala Govt was in news recently and was much criticized after the reports of culling spread all over media. Strays are a big problem in the world if we don’t handle properly; we need sterilization, population control, regular vaccination for their health and our safety. Culling is no solution; they have their rights to live. Only way of existence for humans is co-existence with other species. We appreciate efforts of Wang Yan and hope more Wangs emerge to make balance in the world.