Interview with Animal Alliance Asia 

Please welcome Elly Nakajima, the Co-Founder and Director of the Animal Alliance Asia, and Surajan Shrestha, the Nepal Coordinator.

Animal Alliance Asia builds and mobilizes a community of local animal justice and vegan advocates across Asia to create waves of impactful actions for a better world for farmed animals. Through this interview, we would like to introduce our members to the public and our audience. We are excited to learn more about the Animal Alliance Asia!

Part I: Introduction

IALA: Elly, could you please tell us more about your organization? What was the major drive for you to found this organization? What specifically does your work include?

Elly: The driving force behind founding our organization stemmed from a genuine passion to address the gap in animal advocacy within Asia. Having personally encountered challenges in finding opportunities for growth in advocacy within Japan, and witnessing similar experiences from our co-founder in Hong Kong, we were motivated to pioneer a platform for learning and collaboration across the region. Since launching, we have been humbled by the overwhelming response from advocates across Asia, eager to join our mission. Our grassroots beginnings have evolved into comprehensive programs, including the Fellowship and ReRoot Asia Fund.

The Fellowship Program, informed by comprehensive research conducted in collaboration with Faunalytics, targets culturally specific challenges faced by vegan/animal advocates in seven Asian countries. Through tailored interventions, such as school partnerships and public awareness campaigns, we aim to instigate diet change and cultivate a network of change-makers. Meanwhile, the ReRoot Asia Fund addresses the crucial gap in access to international funding for local initiatives by providing grants and mentorship in local languages. With a focus on supporting projects that promote dietary transformation in culturally sensitive ways, we continue to empower individuals and groups across Asia to create lasting impact.

IALA: What are the difficulties you have ever faced during animal advocacy work (e.g., local issues specific to a certain country)? 

Elly: One of the most significant challenges is the discrepancy between successful approaches seen in Western countries and their effectiveness within different cultural and religious contexts. This is the reason we founded Animal Alliance Asia. Cultural nuances, historical backgrounds, and diverse communities within the same country add layers of complexity to our efforts. Identifying what works in each specific context has been a formidable challenge. To address this, we have prioritized community building, facilitated discussion groups, and conducted extensive research to gain a nuanced understanding of the intricate cultural implications affecting our advocacy work. This process has been essential in guiding our strategies, and we're enthusiastic about implementing these insights into our programs moving forward.

IALA: Among many missions and objectives of your organization, what, as a co-founder and director, have you found the most challenging in implementing your ideas?

Elly: One of the most challenging aspects has been effectively communicating the necessity for long-term movement-building efforts within the Asian advocacy landscape. Building a substantial advocate base in a region where the movement is relatively small requires persistence and patience. Our initiatives, including community building, research endeavors, and training and funding programs, are all strategically geared towards this long-term goal of movement building. However, the nature of these efforts means that the impact may not be immediately visible on a large scale, which can be discouraging for both our staff and supporters. Despite this challenge, over the past four years, we have witnessed significant progress as more advocates across Asia have begun to implement strategic approaches, ensuring their work is impactful and effective. This tangible growth serves as a testament to the importance of our long-term vision and fuels our determination to continue our advocacy efforts.

IALA: Do you have anything to share about the plans of the Animal Alliance Asia that it intends to accomplish in 2024?

Elly: In 2024, Animal Alliance Asia is embarking on a significant shift in our approach. We are moving beyond advocacy training and funding to focus on incubating projects tailored to specific audiences in each country we operate in. Through our Fellowship Program, meticulously designed with insights from our research and community-building efforts so far, we're addressing culturally significant issues across seven Asian countries. By implementing tailored interventions such as school partnerships and targeted public awareness campaigns, we aim to catalyze diet change and foster a network of change-makers. ReRoot Asia Fund is dedicated entirely to initiatives promoting dietary transformation this year. Our efforts are finely tuned to the unique needs and contexts of each country, maximizing our potential for creating lasting change.

Part II: Nepalese Animal Law Issues

IALA: Today we are pleased to interview Surajan Shrestha, the Nepal Coordinator of the Animal Alliance Asia, and learn more about Nepalese animal law issues and gaps. What do you think are the most important and pressing animal law issues that exist in Nepal? In many countries around the globe, regulations concerning animals may exist but lack enforcement. What is the situation in Nepal? How do you think animal protection can be improved?

Surajan: Nepal is a country without farm animal protection laws. Although we have some laws, we do not have a separate animal welfare act to address animal welfare issues as a whole. While we are still working on building a welfare system for animals, there are already attempts happening in Western countries to upgrade to pursue animals as sentient beings.

In the case of wildlife, Nepal has moved towards commercializing wild animals making wildlife farming and breeding policy more lax than ever. This step by the Ministry of Forests and Environment has not only encouraged to normalization of the farming and slaughter of wild species of animals like deer, snakes, birds, etc, but also threatened the survival of wild species discouraging the long activism by wildlife conservationists and animal advocates.

Some religious and cultural practices in Nepal involve the sacrifice of animals and birds, such as during major festivals like Dashain. The provisions in the National Penal Code 2017 of Nepal discourage the killing of animals in public, unless such slaughtering has been done since time immemorial like in a fair, feast, exhibition, or event place, etc. Balancing respect for cultural traditions with animal welfare concerns is a complex issue that requires careful consideration and dialogue.

In many countries, including Nepal, regulations concerning animals may exist, but enforcement can be lacking due to various factors, such as limited resources, capacity, and awareness. There have been several cases of animal cruelty like torturing/killing dogs and raping cows after the National Penal Code 2017 was passed, and, due to lack of awareness, only a few of the culprits were sentenced to the punishment as stated by the law. Also, the Animal Transportation Standard is hardly enforced by the Animal Quarantine Office, which makes it difficult for farm animals during transportation.

While these challenges exist, a few measures can be considered to improve the animal protection in Nepal:

• Pressuring concerned departments to pass the Animal Welfare Act;

• Strengthening the prevailing laws;

• Enhancing the enforcement of animal protection laws;

• Conducting public awareness campaigns to educate communities about animal welfare issues;

• Fostering collaboration between government agencies, NGOs, community groups, and international organizations to address animal welfare issues collectively;

• Organizing education programs with the inclusion of animal welfare education into the school curriculum;

• Providing training programs for veterinarians, animal handlers, and law enforcement personnel to promote the humane treatment and care of animals;

• Involving local communities in decision-making processes related to animal welfare and encouraging grassroots initiatives to address specific animal protection challenges.

IALA: What is the attitude of the government and the public towards the legal protection of animals, animal law movements, animal welfare, and animal rights activism in Nepal?

Surajan: Nepal is a country without the existence of the Animal Welfare Act. However, Nepal has shown a degree of commitment to animal welfare through the inclusion of some animal welfare points in a few acts like the Animal Health and Livestock Services Act #2055, the Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act #2055, and the National Penal Code (2017). It has shown some progress in terms of legal protection and awareness regarding animal welfare and rights, although challenges exist. Within the last decade, the animal welfare and rights movement in Nepal has grown, reaching a larger portion of the population resulting in the inclusion of animal protection-related acts in the National Penal Code in 2017. It has addressed some issues concerning mostly the welfare of companion animals, stray animals, working animals, and especially for the protection of the cow family. Cows are considered sacred to the Hindu population, while the total Hindu population of Nepal surpasses 80%. In one of the decisions made by the Supreme Court of Nepal in 2019 hearing the writ petition for the protection of stray cattle, it was mentioned: “And that, cow is not just constitutionally associated with our national identity, that she also a mascot our religion, culture, civilization and custom, her protection is clearly a national obligation of Nepal.” which means that judicial system of Nepal is working on acknowledging a cow as a sentient being.

Although there is no animal welfare act in Nepal, the government is showing interest in bringing one into existence. Animal welfare and rights-related organizations prepared and submitted the draft act in 2023 to the concerned departments, and the draft is still under the review process before coming into existence. If approved, it will be the first animal welfare act in Nepal. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that Nepal has already moved into federalism and a few individuals/organizations have already started lobbying with the local government to pass their animal welfare bill at the local/province level rather than waiting for it to pass from the federal government.

As people are becoming more aware of the sentience of animals through direct education programs and social media posts, people are gradually starting to take the case of animal cruelty seriously. People have started to connect themselves with the animals and have started to show interest in filing complaints for any cruelty case witnessed.

Regarding the animal law movement, there are animal advocates like us who are keenly interested in studying animal law and bringing change in the legal system of Nepal but miss it due to the absence of animal law courses in Nepal. One of the organizations was working on the inclusion of animal law in the universities of Nepal as a part of the course but it has not been effective so far. Animal rights advocates believe that animal laws are mostly human-centric while they should have been eco-centric.

Talking about animal welfare, non-vegetarian people also seem to have accepted the concept of animal welfare. People believe that it is not good for animals to experience pain and suffering although they are there for humans to consume. That is why, meat consumers have also been found to have taken action against the system of keeping chickens in the battery cages. They have also been found to have raised voices and/or taken action against the inhumane transportation of animals. People who consume milk also feel that cows should be treated with respect and should not be abandoned in the street once their milking period is over. That is why, some of them have been found to have been involved in pressuring the local government to establish shelter for such animals and also, to raise male calves who are now killed illegally/abandoned in the street by both small and big farmers just to get milk from mother cows.

People here do not like the term ‘vegan’ and are often mocked. But still, the animal rights/vegan movement is growing in Nepal as it is related to animal suffering, the health of people, and environmental sustainability. There are business houses that are trying to offer an alternative to meat based on the taste and nutrition to the people so that they could replace it with the meat of animals.

To sum up, the animal protection movement is growing in Nepal and people are positive towards it.

Part III: International Cooperation

IALA: How do you think Asian countries might help one another in animal advocacy work to improve their protection? How can the Western countries where animal law is more progressive help Asian countries in this matter, in your opinion?

Surajan: I believe that Western countries can offer expertise, technical assistance, and resources to help Nepal and other Asian countries develop and strengthen their animal welfare laws, regulations, and enforcement mechanisms. This may include providing training programs for law enforcement officials, veterinarians, and animal advocates. Progressive law schools like Lewis & Clark Law and Harvard (to name a few) can embrace the application from both legal and non-legal background students of Nepal who are interested in pursuing animal law degrees with partial/full scholarships rather than creating a restriction for them with the eligibility criteria of higher English language proficiency score. As far as I have talked with vegan and law animal advocates, the large sum of semester fees and language score criteria has really discouraged them from applying for the course. Opening up an opportunity for Nepalese students to study animal law can help Nepal improve its animal welfare standards.

Organizations in Western countries can facilitate partnerships and networking opportunities between Nepalese and international animal welfare organizations, research institutions, and advocacy groups. These collaborations can promote knowledge sharing, research collaborations, and joint advocacy efforts. They can provide funding or grants to support local animal welfare initiatives, projects, and organizations in Nepal. This can help strengthen grassroots efforts to improve the welfare of animals in communities across the country. International organizations can collaborate with Nepalese authorities and organizations to implement educational programs and public awareness campaigns on animal welfare issues. These initiatives can help change attitudes and behaviors towards animals in Nepal. I believe that collaboration and mutual support among Western and Asian countries can really contribute to creating a more compassionate world for animals.

IALA: As an individual and organization advocating for animals across Asia, what do you think is the most effective way to raise awareness and enhance animal protection in this region of the globe?

Elly: Effectively raising awareness and enhancing animal protection across Asia requires recognizing and embracing the region's immense diversity. With 48 countries and varied community structures, cultural practices, and linguistic landscapes, there's no one-size-fits-all strategy. It is essential to approach advocacy with cultural sensitivity and humility, for example acknowledging historical associations between marginalized communities and animal slaughter. Leadership must emerge from every corner of Asia to ensure advocacy efforts resonate within local contexts. Additionally, we must navigate the complexities of political unrest, which can jeopardize basic human rights and necessitate a nuanced approach that addresses broader social justice issues alongside animal justice concerns. Taking these factors into account, a multifaceted and inclusive approach is crucial for fostering meaningful change in animal protection across the region.

IALA: Thank you very much for taking the time for this interview. We enjoyed talking with you and discussing animal law issues that we can solve together at the Institute of Animal Law of Asia (IALA) and Animal Alliance Asia within the Alliance for Animal Law of Asia.