“Please remember the animal victims in Japan“

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 21, 2011

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“Please remember the animal victims in Japan“,

Vancouver Green Party Parks Commissioner

(Vancouver), Park Board Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon is asking Vancouver residents to remember the animal victims of the Japanese tragedy. “Along with the incredible human suffering and destruction caused by the Earthquake and Tsunami, many animals were swept away and lost. Many that survived are now homeless and need our help” said Mackinnon.

Rescue organizations like Heart Tokushima, Animal Refuge Kansai (ARK), the Japan Cat Network (JCN), Animal Garden Niigata, and the Nippon SPCA are actively rescuing animals from the devastated area. An on-line information group, the Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support can also be accessed through Facebook.

A message on the Animal Rescue Kansai (ARK) website says: “The tragedy keeps on unfolding. Thousands of people are dead or missing and we can assume that most animals in the path of the tsunami perished. We are especially concerned about the number of pets left unattended in homes by people forced into the evacuation centres near the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. It is not clear how many would have been allowed in these centres with their owners. Others in evacuation centres have lost everything and if they have pets will probably have to give them up.”

Mackinnon, Vancouver’s elected Green Party Park Board Commissioner, is urging people to also donate to animal rescue organizations in Japan. “I have donated to not only the Canadian and Japanese Red Cross, but also to an animal rescue organization” said Mackinnon. “Animal Rescue Kansai (ARK) and the Japan-Earthquake-Animal-Rescue-and-Support have Paypal accounts so you can donate on-line”, he added.

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More information:

Commissioner Mackinnon: (c) 778-389-1956

Commissioner Mackinnon’s blog: betterparks.blogspot.com

Desmond Rodenbour, Chairperson, Vancouver Green Party: (c) 604-512-4487