NoToDogMeat

The charity was started by lawyer Julia de Cadenet in 2009 as a campaign to end the abuse of dogs and cats. Julia first witnessed the horrors of the live meat markets in China and says that is when she knew she had to act. Julia created the campaign group NoToDogMeat and then started the charity under the formal name World Protection For Dogs and Cats in the Meat Trade. It is under this banner that the charity lobbies both governments and the UN.

Speaking about creating the charity Julia de Cadenet said: "As a dog lover I cannot imagine anything worse than my best friend used for food - and the thought of her being beaten, hung, skinned, blowtorched or even boiled alive leaves me frozen and distressed. Imagine then an entire festival devoted to eating dog as part of a trade where such methods are commonplace. This is not a myth created to shock - it's a fact."[1]

As well as continued lobbying, the charity works directly with shelters in China to rescue dogs and cats that are destined for the meat trade.

Some of the dogs from the rescue centres are rehomed in China, while others travel abroad to find loving homes such as ambassador dog Annabel,[2] a chow who was rescued blind in one eye and partially skinned, who appears at NoToDogMeat events on a regular basis and has also appeared at Crufts 2020 at Birimingham's National Exhibition Centre.

NoToDogMeat also carries out regular vigils and protests outside the embassies of countries which still have a dog and cat meat trade, and lobbies governments directly for change.

NoToDogMeat is a vegetarian organisation[3] and has thousands of active supporters around the world.

These are the charitable objects cited by No To Dog Meat and held by the UK Charity Commission.[4]

The NoToDogMeat global campaign began on social media in April 2013, by a like-minded group from the fields of law, veterinary science, journalism and animal rescue – all motivated by their dogs.[3]

The charity World Protection for Dogs and Cats in the Meat Trade (a subsidiary of NoToDogMeat), the first charity of its kind in the United Kingdom was legally formed on May 24, 2013 and was placed on the UK Charity Commission register in November.[4]

The charity's aim is to promote enforcement of the 'Universal Five Freedoms of the Sentient Being' for the dogs and cats as defined in Article 7 of the OIE Terrestrial Code.[5]

In May 2013, NoToDogMeat took a short film on the dog meat trade to the Cannes Film Festival (Marche du Film) using footage of cruelty gathered by long-term activist Kyenan Kum from IAKA.[6]

In October 2014 when Channel 4 broadcast their Unreported World documentary Vietnam's Dog Snatchers footage made by NoToDogMeat campaigners was used.[7]

The charity says it is committed to helping brave rescuers who stop trucks on the way to the Yulin Dog Meat Festival as well as raiding markets and slaughterhouses. The charity helps people in the affected countries to make a change.[8]

In January 2018 the work of NoToDogMeat was formally recognised by United Nations and granted Special Consultative Status [9]

In June 2020, ahead of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, NoToDogMeat was the subject of a double page spread in The Daily Star which told the stories of a number of dogs which have been rescued by the charity, including tiny lhasa apso Oliver, who was brought to the shelter close to death but now has a happy life in London.

In the same month Julia de Cadenet explained why the Coronavirus could be good news for dogs destined for slaughter, as it would hopefully stifle the festival and put an end to the circus that surrounds it.[10]

In April 2015 NoToDogMeat responded to news that China was moving to class dogs and cats as unfit for human consumption, amid claims that eating stray animals could be to blame for the Coronavirus pandemic.[11]

In the same month the charity was the subject of publicity when the story of Mary and Annabel was told. The heartwarming story told how Annabel, a one-eyed chow rescued from the meat trade by NoToDogMeat campaigners was supporting her disabled owner Mary through Coronavirus shielding after Mary rescued her.[12]

The charity has many supporters around the world including the comedian and animal rights campaigner Ricky Gervais [13] and the actor Orlando Bloom[14]

In 2015, a New York Times exposé expressed concerns from campaigners that a Chinese woman named Mrs Yang - who was, at the time, the subject of one of the charity's campaigns - was misappropriating funds, and treating the animals in her care poorly. These claims were backed up by 46 organisations in China including Dr Peter Li, China specialist for HSI.[15]

Charity Founder Julia, flew to China with Trustee Robert Donkers and investigated the issue with other animal rights campaigners and shelter owners. They immediately stopped funding for the woman's work, and directed funds from the campaign to other more deserving sanctuaries.[16]

An excerpt from a statement from Julia on this issue on the charity's website reads: "The facilities were horrific. There was excrement and rotting garbage everywhere, dogs were tied up with open sores and no access to water and we even found the rotting carcasses of dead dogs. We went with 12 reputable activists. Her reaction was not to welcome the charity helping her but to shout at us and call the police".

A further excerpt adds: "I am a lawyer so I knew under the 2011 Charities Act, Cy-Pres Doctrine, if you have money left from a restricted fundraiser it can be used for a purpose similar to that intended and carried over to next Yulin or to fund other rescue. I knew once the Charity Commission had all the facts they would support our decision and they did. Actually when we were out there we took part in two truck rescues so we were able to fund those. The remaining funds saved nearly 400 dogs"

At that time, two supporters of a similar charity started an online crusade to demand that NoToDogMeat continued to fund Mrs Yang regardless of how she treated the dogs, and made numerous statements in the media, which did not take into account the work that NoToDogMeat was doing with the Charity Commission to legally reappropriate the funds. This led to a story in the Daily Mirror which also appeared online.[17]

No To Dog Meat complained to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC/ IPSO) about the story, saying that it contained inaccuracies. The PCC did not uphold the full complaint as the Mirror stated they were not directing any accusations at the charity just stating the two men's opinions. The Mirror also offered to print a clarification about the law, but the clarification never appeared.[18][19]

The Charity Commission looked into the matter and agreed with NoToDogMeat's position regarding cutting ties with Mrs Yang and supported their decision to use funds to help reputable organisations.

The Charity Commission issued a formal apology to NoToDogMeat for any ambiguity that arose from its comments to the newspaper.

NoToDogMeat continues to hold charitable status in good standing and recorded a formal complaint against one of the men, a charity trustee himself, for misquoting the law and his actions to harm the charity's reputation.[20]