Chinese Animal Activists Save Hundreds of Dogs From Being Eaten

Courtesy of China Underground

Hundreds of dogs were spared being served on the dinner table in China after activists staged a 15-hour standoff to save them.

(More on NewsFeed: Read about China’s live animal keychains)

Last Friday afternoon, hundreds of dogs were on their way to Chinese restaurants when a suspicious driver swerved his car in front of the truck to stop it. He then alerted activists on his microblog, who gathered 200 strong around the truck. They rendered the vehicle immobile, jamming traffic on the highway.

After a long standoff right outside Beijing, an animal activist group managed to free the dogs by purchasing them for 115,000 yuan ($17,600). Conflicting reports differ on the number of dogs involved, but the Global Times has placed the number as high as 520.

(More on NewsFeed: Read about China banning animal circuses)

Sadly, many of the dogs were found with collars and nametags, indicating that they may have been stolen from their beloved owners. The healthy dogs will be put up for adoption while the sick ones were sent to pet hospitals in the nation’s capital. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether some of the allegedly stolen dogs will ever be reunited with their owners.

Both dog and cat meat are popular delicacies because they are believed to promote bodily warmth during the winter season. In recent years, authorities have considered putting measures in place to outlaw the practice.

Local newspapers suggested that the transporters would probably face no repercussions. Animal protection laws barely exist in China, and the truck had all the legal permits to transport the animals. Still, it’s one significant victory for Fido lovers everywhere.

(More on TIME.com: Read about tiger abuse in China)

Erica Ho was previously a reporter for TIME in Hong Kong where she wrote about technology, pop culture and Asian international affairs. Before that, she worked at Gizmodo, Lifehacker and AOL. She now currently runs Map Happy, a travel-oriented site.

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New Protests in Egypt: Activists to Picket Cairo Zoo for Animal Rights

Dana Smillie / Bloomberg via Getty Images A lion looks out from its cage at the Giza Zoo in Cairo, Egypt

The Egyptian uprising was enough to wrestle a dictator from his long-held post and bring shadows of democracy to a Middle Eastern nation. But can people power also be utilized to elicit support for an animal-rights movement?

A coalition of organizations and activists in Egypt have banded together to demand an overhaul of animal treatment within the country, and just as weeks of protests forced the resignation of former president Hosni Mubarak in February, they hope that a citizen demonstration will bring a renewed focus to the issues that have long plagued the country and seem to only get worse over time.

The Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals (ESMA), along with the Egyptian Society of Animal Friends (ESAF) and Animal Welfare Awareness Research (AWAR), announced over the weekend that a protest will take place outside the Giza Zoo on April 16 to bring to light matters ranging from the state of the zoo itself to illegal wildlife trades, unregulated pet breeding and the government’s propensity for shooting or poisoning homeless animals in order to control their population.

(More on TIME.com: See the fate of Cairo’s many cats)

Mona Khalil, ESMA co-founder, said in a press release announcing the protest that now is the time to seek rights for Egypt’s animals, as the nation is currently focused on building a more humane society overall.

“The way Egypt treats animals is a shame. The Giza Zoo is a national disgrace, Egypt has become known as a hub of the international illegal trade in wildlife, and the municipal policy of controlling street animal populations by shooting and poisoning is deplorable,” Khalil said in the release. “At the root of all this is a not only systemic corruption but also policy failure, as Egypt is lacking even the basic animal welfare legislation that would enable the prosecution of violators.”

As a new, democratic government is being constructed within Egypt, these organizations and their supporters have outlined specific (and likely controversial) demands, including launching investigations into corruptions at the Ministry of Agriculture and enacting legislation that will provide legal standards on how animals should be treated within the country. But while Egypt has a history of respecting — and even revering – animals like cats and camels, the current environment is a far cry from ancient times.

Whether or not the demands of these demonstrators will be met remains in question, but NewsFeed agrees with the group’s effort to piggyback on the country’s newly-united spirit. After all, if you’re going to reform a nation, why stop at its human citizens?

(More on TIME.com: See TIME’s top 10 heroic animals)

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Vegan Activists Vandalize Iowa State Fair Butter Cow

AP Photo/Iowans for Animal Liberation In this photo provided by Iowans for Animal Liberation is the 2013 butter cow at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Iowa State Fair’s iconic butter cow — a meticulously sculpted 600-pound slab of bovine-shaped butter traditional to the event since 1911 — has been restored to pristine status after vegan vandals slathered it in red paint early Sunday morning.

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The animal rights activists, who identified themselves as “Iowans for Animal Liberation” in an email to the Des Moines Register after the act, apparently hid in the fairgrounds’ Agriculture Building (located in east Des Moines) Saturday evening, waiting for the fair to close. Then they broke into a refrigerated room where the massive butter cow was held for display and poured red paint over it, painting the words ”Freedom For All” on the exhibit’s display window.

“After dismantling the lock to the refrigerated case housing the Butter Cow with a screwdriver, we doused the entire butter sculpture in red paint,” read the email, according to the Register. “The paint represents the blood of 11 billion animals murdered each year in slaughterhouses, egg farms, and dairies.” The group goes on to paint its actions as a “wake up call” to those who consume animal products, warning that they’re “directly supporting suffering and misery on the largest scale the world has ever known.”

No one has yet been arrested, but Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Scott Bright noted authorities are reviewing security footage taken of the building’s exterior.

The act of vandalism occurred early enough that butter sculptor Sarah Pratt, who was informed early Sunday morning, was able to touch up the cow by the time the exhibit opened at 9.a.m., the fair’s marketing director Lori Chappell told the Register. Chappell added: “We didn’t miss a beat.”

Does attacking popular traditions really persuade anyone in the long run? It’s unclear, but Iowa Animal Rescue League director Tom Colvin told the Register, “Quite frankly, it’s situations like this — attacking beloved Iowa traditions like the butter cow — are not going to get the general public on your side. They have a reverse effect.”

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Matt Peckham is TIME's video games, science tech and music tech correspondent based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His work has appeared in Variety, The Washington Post, The New York Times and others.

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