Amidst the horror, there is hope…. China is in a state of flux, the 2008 Beijing Olympics are on the horizon and everything is changing. Although dog eating has been practiced for centuries, the sudden rush towards a market economy has recently seen a huge surge in “pet ownership”. China is a vast country, but its opinions are made in the key cities, where pet ownership is booming. Our strategy is to reach out to the newly emerging dog lovers and give them the voice and inspiration to stand up on behalf of dogs, against dog and cat eating and create change from within.

What better way to do this than to create a short 16 minute, touching, non-confrontational film, that compels the viewer to reconsider their attitude towards dog and cat eating? "Dr. Eddie: Friend or Food?", sees our rescued market dog Eddie, tell his own poignant story and gives a message of hope that even a mixed breed waiting to be eaten in a market can make a wonderful Dr. Dog!

Appearing alongside Eddie are celebrity dog lovers Gigi Fu and Paul Wong Koon Chung (singer with the rock band Beyond), who says, “We Chinese claim to be civilized. But in places in Asia including Hong Kong and China, people see dogs as food and I think this is uncivilized. It makes me ashamed.” T.C.M. doctors debunk the myth that dog meat has any medicinal attributes and hospital staff enthusiastically explain how patients flourish in the company of dogs in their wards and how animal therapy is changing people’s lives.

An amazing 133,000 copies of the film are being distributed for free across Mainland China in a special Information Pack, which includes

• The Eddie VCD in 3 languages: Mandarin (voiceover by superstar actor/singer Richie Jen Xian Qi), Cantonese (voiceover by Hong Kong comedian Jerry Lam Hiu Fong) & English (voiceover by Grant Thatcher);

• An introductory letter from Jill Robinson MBE (Founder of AAF) explaining our love for companion animals and why we believe that dogs and cats should not be food;

• An Eddie dog and cat “Don’t Eat Us!” sticker;

• A basic dog and cat pet care leaflet. (Research has shown that there is a lack of solid information on how to care for your dog and/or cat, so we decided to print and distribute our own, which specially addresses pet lovers in China).

• Animal lovers are also asked to contact AAF with information regarding dog and cat eating in their area and incidences of animal cruelty. By encouraging Mainland Chinese pet owners to get involved, the film pack helps them realise that they really can make a difference!