Coming together for Animals and Our Community

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
~ Mahatma Gandhi.

The theme for the previous Asia for Animals Conference was "Effecting Long-Term Positive Change", which speaks of our resolve to implement changes and produce results which will improve the quality of life of all living things. We have seen much progress and positive changes in the last 18 months since the Asia for Animals Conference in Singapore in 2010.

The theme for the Asia for Animals Conference 2011 in Chengdu, Sichuan, China is "Out of the Box – bringing animal cruelty to an end", with the objective of spreading ideas, highlighting achievements and exploring solutions on how the exploitation of animals can be reduced and ended.

It was another inspiring, moving and productive Conference for me. I acquired new friends and knowledge and felt more empowered to bring positive change to the natural environment, my community and the animal world by making improvements to help the animal world.

There was an air of optimism, shared moral courage and triumph at this Conference that I didn't feel at the previous two Conferences. I am confident that change is stirring in all of us. In the years to come, we will see greater improvement in animal welfare and protection laws and changes in society's mindset. Animal welfare will very soon be part of mainstream thought and beliefs. In the 1960s, the hippies were ridiculed when they talked about recycling, pollution, the ozone layer and Silent Spring. Nowadays, no one questions the wisdom of environmental responsibility and the sustainable use of resources. I believe the day will come, very soon, when we can see an end to inhumane practices such as the use of performing animals in zoos and circuses, consumption of dog and cat meat, animal testing and big game hunting. I am optimistic that ideas such as humane farming methods, vivisection-free medical testing and humane and sustainable zoos and animal sanctuaries will one day be part of mainstream thought.

The Conference once again brought together animal welfare professionals and volunteers and celebrated activism and volunteerism.

The main purposes of animal shelters are:
- Reunification (of missing companion animals and human caregivers)
- Adoption
- Rescue and treatment
- Sterilisation
- and Humane Education

Is there a necessity for animal shelters in future if all these roles can be assumed by rescue groups? Project Second Chance can provide all the above service on a small scale with higher standards of care.

Engaging everyone:
- Tell people about your work and the results that you have.
- Tell your partners so they value you.
- Tell your sponsors so they continue to support you.
- Tell your employees and volunteers so they can be proud to be part of your team.

Pre-Conference Workshop 1:
Designing our own animal shelter. I have Dr Heather Bacon on my team so nobody had better say anything about our shelter design!
Oh and no prizes for guessing who added the waste composting facility, rainwater harvesting tank, solar parameter lighting and waste separating area. Hahaha.

Jill Robinson with our very youthful and immensely popular animal welfare ambassador, Karen Mok, during the opening ceremony. Karen, you rock!



Opening Ceremony: Celebrating 20 Years of the Dr. Dog Animal Assisted Therapy Programme.

Andrew Rowan of Humane Society International gets down on his knees to play with Dr. Yao Yao too. There goes the previously orderly, dignified delegation! Everyone went crazy when the dogs arrived.



Dr. Yao Yao to the rescue! Whether it's high blood pressure, anxiety, depression or high cholesterol levels, Dr. Yao Yao can help you get better!



Bear enrichment toys at the Animals Asia Foundation exhibition booth.



Sathya checks the breathing of Critical Care Jerry, a veterinary education tool, at the InterNiche Booth. What's the prognosis, doc?

Alternatives to animal testing in education:
- Film and video
- Models, mannekins and stimulators
- Multimedia computer simulation
- Ethically sourced animal cadavers and tissues
- Clinical work with patients
- Student self-experimentation
- In vitro labs
- Field studies

Nick Jukes of InterNICHE with an injection pad, where medical/veterinary students can practice subcutaneous and intramuscular injections.

Winds of Change in China: Youths in China campaigning against the public listing of a pharmaceutical company which produces bear bile products.

With Wai Pak of the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre and friends from the Singapore Cat Welfare Society.

With Nick Jukes of InterNiche during the Gala Dinner. We discussed alternatives to vivisection in research and education, and I shared how I broke into the school lab at age 13 to release the frogs and toads destined for the dissection table. (I can confess to it now because limitation has set in -- it happened around 20 years ago). Besides, we know enough about the effects of smoking on our lungs without having to subject toads and frogs to forcible cigarette inhalation just to cut them open and see their lungs (which was the purpose of the exercise).

The Cat Welfare Society of Singapore receives the Andrews Award for Outstanding Contribution By A Community-Based Programme or Campaign.

A Quick Pictorial Update

I leave for the Asia for Animals Conference in China the day after tomorrow. I will be reunited with my Special Someone then. A quick pictorial update of my week is all I can manage at the moment.


Hopscotch, the Little Kitten That Could.
Hopscotch came with so many health issues -- fleas, worms, digestive problems -- that he almost didn't make it.
He has since been vaccinated, dewormed (3x), given flea baths (2x) and treated for tummy trouble.
Raise your hand if you or someone you know would like to adopt this handsome, active, affectionate and trusting kitty!
Hopscotch is about 3 months old, and I will attend to his neutering when he is 6 months old. Please help me spread the word!



4th June 2011
At the SPCA Booth at the Malaysian International Pet Expo.
Any takers for this cute puppy? He is up for adoption at the SPCA!



4th June 2011
At the SPCA Booth at the Malaysian International Pet Expo.
Kelvin giving Nicole's foster kitten, Baby, some TLC.



My buddy Nicole (right) is interviewed on animal cruelty issues and the animal protection petition on an 8TV Mandarin news programme, "Eyes on You".



4th June 2011
MNS Selangor Open Day / World Environment Day Celebrations at the Lembah Kiara Recreational Park.



4th June 2011
MNS Selangor Open Day / World Environment Day Celebrations at the Lembah Kiara Recreational Park.
Li-Li and Li-Kim's mum (in yellow tee) was a great help to us at the games booth.



4th June 2011
MNS Selangor Open Day / World Environment Day Celebrations at the Lembah Kiara Recreational Park.
Keats' storytelling session gets interactive. The kids get in the act, too.



4th June 2011
MNS Selangor Open Day / World Environment Day Celebrations at the Lembah Kiara Recreational Park.
I managed to persuade Keats to do the Single Rope Technique and she climbed all the way to the top (the tree branch was the height of a two-storey house)
Here she is, all smiles while abseiling down!



Our MNS Nature Guides -- Wonderful, dedicated and passionate, as always!
(Photo credit: Gary Phong)

See you all in two weeks!

Tree Stories

"Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness."

~ Khalil Gibran

Just when I thought that I could not possibly fit another item into my already packed weekend schedule, the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Nature Guides announced that it was holding another botany workshop, entitled "Getting To Know The Local Stars of FRIM", conducted by my friend, FRIM botanist Lim Chung Lu. And so in between organising the office departmental retreat, the MNS Selangor Open Day and doing animal care work at the SPCA, I managed to arrive at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) in time for the much-anticipated workshop on indigenous flora.

Jelutong
(Dyera costulata)

The Jelutong is a tall deciduous tree with relatively light and soft wood. Its wood is used in pencil production, and its resin is chewed as gum. The leaves of the jelutong are spatulate in shape and whorled in arrangement from the end of the twig.

The stingless bee frequently chooses the trunk of the Ironwood (Local name: Tembusu Padang, scientific name: Fagraea fragrans) to build its home due to the deep fissures in the bark.

The Ironwood (Local name: Tembusu Padang, Latin name: Fagraea fragrans) has deep, steep-ridged fissures in its trunk. Its wood is hard and frequently made into chopping boards.

The Damar Minyak (Agathis borneensis) tree has dippled bark and ovate leaves. It produces softwood timber, and its aromatic resin is said to ward off black magic and evil spirits.

Intact male pollen cones of the Damar Minyak (Agathis borneensis).

The Belinjau / Meninjau (Gnetum gnemon) tree, from which we get our belinjau crackers.

The Mata Lembu (Firmiana malayana) has tri-lobed leaves with a heart-shaped base. It sheds all its leaves during the dry season.

Upun Batu
(Upuna borneensis)

The Upun Batu is a dipterocarp with heavy hardwood. Its bark has a cracked and flaking appearance. It is listed in the IUCN Red List as endangered.

So that's where the smell of garlic toast came from! The fruit of the Kulim / Bawang Hutan tree (Scorodocarpus borneensis) smells strongly of garlic, and is said to have antimicrobial qualities.

"Skorodos" is Greek for garlic.
"Karpos" means fruit.


There was an immediate and perceptible drop in the temperature when we stood under the trees. Each part of the tree plays a role in climate control. Leaves absorb or deflect solar heat and improve air quality. Foliage density has an effect on wind speed and direction. Root systems act as a watershed and reduce storm runoffs. Never forget that trees are our friends.



Some asked how to tell if a mushroom is poisonous to humans.

According to my SAS Survival Handbook, you must break off a piece and rub it on your underarm. Wait an hour.
If there is no allergic reaction, break off another piece and rub it on your chin. Wait an hour.
If there is no allergic reaction, break off another piece and rub it on your lower lip. Wait an hour.
If there is no allergic reaction, break off another piece and chew it and spit it out. Wait an hour.
If there is no allergic reaction, break off a small piece, chew it and swallow it. Wait two hours.
If there is no allergic reaction, you can presume the mushroom is safe to eat.

I wrote back to the author and told him I would have died of starvation by then.



The most recognisable tree in the rainforest.

Tongkat Ali
(Eurycoma longifolia)

Compound leaves with terminal leaflets. Crowded at twig tip. Lovely to look at. Tastes awful as heck.



Daun Payung (Literally, Umbrella Leaf)

(Johannesteijsmannia altifrons)


Most railroad sleepers are made of Kempas, a durable hardwood. Disused railroad sleepers are often reclaimed by the construction, furniture and landscaping industries.



Penaga Lilin pyrotechnics!

The most distinctive feature of the Penaga Lilin is its leaves, which crack and pop when burnt. This is due to the fact that its elliptic leaves have a waxy white underside (to reduce water loss by transpiration) which acts as a waterproof sealant. The trapped air-space pops and cracks when burnt.



"Trees have always been talking to us but we have forgotten how to listen."
- Michael Roads

Volunteer Power on Vesākha!

"However innumerable sentient beings are, I vow to save them.
However inexhaustible the defilements are, I vow to extinguish them.
However immeasurable the dharmas are, I vow to master them.
However incomparable enlightenment is, I vow to attain it"

~ The Four Great Vows in Buddhism


Although I profess the religions of Theravada Buddhism and Hinduism, I spend very little time on scriptures and worship. But what I do know intuitively is that religion should give us hope, strength, courage and a moral compass. Religion should never promote suffering and sacrifice. My primary role is to be a good human being and to put my values and beliefs into practice. What is good for others must necessarily be good for me. And due to the strength of my beliefs that I am living my life in the way that my religions would want me to, I feel no guilt about the fact that I go to the temples so infrequently.

This year I spent even less time on prayer than usual on Vesākha, as I had made prior arrangements to volunteer with Sampah Masyarakat in a joint cleanup and greening project with another environmental organisation, TrEES (Treat Every Environment Special), at the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields.

Despite the fact that Vesākha ("Wesak Day" is really just the Sinhalese name for it) is a national public holiday, it wasn't a UN holiday this year and so I was at work all day and could only volunteer for the 1900h - 2300h shift. Still, I managed to reach the Vihara at 1830h and complete my shift by 2330h, and I was pleased with all that we have accomplished in one day.




The Buddhist Maha Vihara cleanup and greening campaign was far more successful and orderly than the Thaipusam Mega Cleanup. The two organisations set up recycling bins throughout the Maha Vihara temple complex and stationed volunteers on shifts to ensure that the public and temple staff sorted their waste and disposed of them in the correct bins. I doubt we would have received the same level of cooperation and understanding at the Batu Caves temple complex!
(Photo credits: Shyam Priah)



Volunteers Melvin and Leela from TrEES collecting used cooking oil for reuse. Well, you know who to thank for not clogging up the drains of Brickfields with cooking grease!
(Photo credits: Shyam Priah)



Sampah Masyarakat volunteer Hariharan sorts food and plant waste for composting.
(Photo credits: Shyam Priah)





The beautifully illuminated Vihara, when I arrived for my shift in the late evening.



The main prayer hall all aglow.



Devotees lighting joss sticks and candles and offering prayers at the numerous shrines throughout the Maha Vihara temple complex.



A revolving, colour-changing lantern display in the Vihara grounds.



4 of the Sampah Masyarakat volunteers: From left, Hariharan, Shyam (the founder), me and Petri.



Leela of TrEES sorting the waste for recycling at the basement. I am awed and humbled by her dedication and unflagging energy.



Guess how long it took 3 of us to cut open, flatten, stack and transport this mountain of cardboard boxes?
No more than 10 mins.







Recyclables waiting for collection in the basement.
"Vow #1: "However innumerable the recyclables are, I vow to save them from the landfill."



Mat and Leela of TrEES sorting and bagging up the recyclables. They amaze me. They've been at it since 0600 hrs.



I finished my shift at 2330 hrs and was about to leave when I saw a troupe of Kandyan dancers making their way into the Vihara. What fun and excitement! It was an unexpected but fitting reward for the hours of hard work.


I trust that the good people at the Vihara will continue the legacy of good waste management practices started by TrEES and Sampah Masyarakat, as they demonstrated examplary cooperation, interest and enthusiasm. I wish all faith groups would place as much emphasis on creating a safe, healthy, clean and livable environment for all living beings and ecosystems.