People who care about animals truly form a worldwide community. There is not the least doubt in my mind that I feel more of a connection to animal lovers in parts of the world I have never visited, speaking languages I don’t understand, than I do to my next-door neighbors who just don’t get it. Our shared appreciation for the value of all sentient life is a unifying force that gives me hope in what so often seems like a hopeless world.
Choices for Tomorrow
Certainly Japan has been the focus of attention for everyone in the world over the past weeks, and that includes those who value the lives of animals as well as those of people. And while Japan may not be at the top of the headlines any more, the disaster continues. The animals who have had it the hardest are clearly those left behind in the 12 mile radius “no-go” zone surrounding Fukushima’s nuclear power plant. While some people have been able to go in to rescue pets, most hard hit of all, of course, are the farmed animals, who have been left to starve.
Choices for Tomorrow, an organization that advocates for a vegan lifestyle and promotes cross-cultural Japanese/American animal protection campaigns, has provided us with contact information for some of those groups in a position to help any animals who are still alive by permitting veterinarians and animal protection organizations to enter the no-go zone to feed and/or rescue those who are still hanging on. Please take a few minutes today to drop them a line, and ask your friends to do the same. Feel free to share the note you sent in the comments section below:
Fukushima Prefecture Livestock Industry Division
(*Please write “Animals in Fukushima” in the subject box.)
chikusan@pref.fukushima.jp
Ministry of the Environment
Animal Welfare and Management Office
(*Please write “Animals in Fukushima” in the subject box.)
shizen-some@env.go.jp
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Livestock Production and Feed Division
(*Please write “Animals in Fukushima” in the theme box.)
https://www.contact.maff.go.jp/maff/form/114e.html
Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry
(*Please write “To Nuclear & Industrial Safety Agency” in the subject box)
https://wwws.meti.go.jp/honsho/comment_form/comments_send.htm#form
Kozue and Masami, the masterminds and kind souls behind Choices for Tomorrow, will be on the Our Hen House podcast this Saturday to discuss the situation in Japan in more detail. I hope you will join us, either here on the website or on iTunes.