After the earthquake and nuclear plant accident that occurred on March 2011, animals were left behind inside No-go-zone in Fukushima, Japan. Among them are many dogs kept on their leash, many farm animals in the barns died from starvation. Cats that are stuck inside the house are so starved they even eat each other. These scenes are literally hell on earth. There are thousands of dead bodies, parts of the bodies, and bones here and there. This nightmare still continues even over two years after the disaster. Still, many animals are forced to live in an extreme condition on top of the bitterly cold winter there.
Hundreds of thousands of them had already died because of starvation, illness or euthanasia. There were an estimated 490,000 animals (pets and livestock) in the area before the disaster. However, statistically the actual number of pets was considered to be two or three times of that number.
The government announced that they would euthanize all of the livestock inside the zone after getting the owners’ agreements. Now there are only some hundreds cows remain. We cannot imagine how many precious lives have actually been taken.
Except from allowing the officials some rescue works, the Japanese Government has almost no plan for saving animals, and has been ignoring countless numbers of mails, petitions and signatures demanding the rescue sent both from in and out of the country.
16 rescue groups finally got permissions to enter the area and worked on December 2011. Although the restriction by the government was quite severe, the rescuers saved 34 dogs and 298 cats, according to the Ministry of Environment. By looking at this number, we can say that the works of private organizations are pretty remarkable. Now as the permission to enter the area has expired, the groups were forced to stop their rescue work. The government says they will consider what to do after checking the number of animals still left in the area. To save the rest of the pets in the area, the rescuers have to be allowed to go back to work.
Most of the groups have been running short of money and hands. The shelters are already operating over capacity. Therefore the groups especially need adopting/fostering volunteers for the pets. Donation (both money and goods) is also essential.
We can rarely see the tragic situation of those animals on Japanese media. Also, the groups that worked with permissions on last December, had to sign many written documents prepared by the central and Fukushima prefectural government. It includes “To refrain from taking pictures/movies and make them public, except of the pets which are rescued and looking for their owners”. Many people are feeling as if the information has been controlled by the government. Only very few people in Japan know what is happening to the animals, therefore it is hard for the rescuers to get support. Sadly, we have to ask for help from people, media and governments overseas. We have to hope that our own country will be criticized so they will actually do something.
We need a big international help. Please spread the word about this story and raise your voice. Please encourage the Japanese government to do the right thing.
Thank you.
☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*
福島原発から半径20km圏内が避難区域に設定されたとき、住民たちは「すぐに避難してください。２～３日で帰れます」と言われたので、ペットを含め全てを置いて避難しました（ペットは多くの避難所で同伴を許可されませんでした）。しかし一か月後、正式に警戒区域に設定され立入禁止となり、動物たちを迎えに行くため、家に帰ることができなくなりました。
取り残された動物たちは…たくさんの犬が繋がれたまま餓死、多くの家畜が柵の中で餓死。室内に閉じ込められた猫は、空腹のあまり共食いをして果てた子もいます。区域のあちこちに遺骸や、白骨化した亡骸が放置されています。まさにこの世の地獄です。非常に残酷で非人道的な状態です。保護団体とボランティアが、逮捕と隣合せのなか、被ばくを続けながら命がけで数多くの命を救っています。しかし、何十万匹という動物たちの命が失われました。１年９カ月が経過した今も数千頭の動物たちが、夏は炎天下、冬は極寒のなか餌も水もなく取り残されています。
区域には…内臓が透けるほどやせ細った猫が食べ物を求めて彷徨い、かちこちに固まったおにぎりに顔を伸ばしたまま息絶えた猫の姿も。犬たちの中にはまだ人を慕い、ボランティアにしがみつき、車を追いかけてくる子もいます。ずっと飼い主さんを待ち続けています。
政府と福島県は保護活動を行ってきましたが、行政だけの活動ではとても間に合いません。一昨年12月、期間限定で民間団体の立入り許可が下り、数百匹の犬猫が保護されました。しかしそれ以降は許可が下りず、区域への立入りは厳しくなる一方です。ボランティアは、命を救うために法を犯さなければならないのです。そして過酷な環境下で動物達の数は増え続けています。一刻も早い救助、命をつなぐための給餌、そして望まれない命の増加を防ぐ対策が必要です。避難区域の動物たちの現状に詳しく、保護の技術に長けた民間ボランティアを積極的に活用するべきです。
一方、政府は、警戒区域内の全ての家畜を、所有者の同意のうえ殺処分すると発表しました。精神的に追い詰められた酪農家の中には、自ら命を絶たれた方が何人もおります。避難区域では、何人かの畜主さんが過酷な状況の中、いまだ多くの牛の命を守り続けています。経済的価値を失ったからといって殺すのではなく、命を生かし、農家を救い、希望ある復興につなげるのが国の使命ではないでしょうか。
