ALIVE Newsletter No.108 Topic

Preface

— By Yasuhiro Seino (Representative and Co-Director of ALIVE)

ALIVE’s fundamental principle of being committed to animal welfare has remained unchanged ever since the organization’s foundation by the former director, the late Fusako Nogami. However, while we hold fast to animal welfare as our main principle, we often face challenges and we have serious discussions on how we should deal with relevant issues. We usually choose the best and most realistic way we can indentify to improve animal welfare so that we can safeguard our principle. In such discussions, the participants struggle to find the best way to comply with the demands of reality without compromising this principle. In the process of making decisions, we all ask ourselves “which choice is likely to be most effective in improving animal welfare in the future?” We can focus on our ideals, which are usually very clear, straightforward and powerful, but if these ideals are far removed from reality, then the general public will not accept them and this raises the concern that we might not be able help improve situations that animals have been placed in.