In the heart of Manchester, voices united in remembrance of Wang Wang, Fireball Miko and the countless innocent souls whose lives have been stolen by cruelty.
Miko, a young kitten in China whose torture and death became a symbol of the campaign against organised online cat abuse, was among those remembered.
We came together to honour them all, but also to reflect on one story. A story that sent shockwaves across the world, exposing not only the unimaginable cruelty inflicted upon innocent animals, but the deeply disturbing reality of such suffering being filmed and shared for others to witness.
The story of Wang Wang, a mother, and her three tiny puppies. By now, many of you will have heard Wang Wang’s name and the horrific circumstances surrounding her death. You may have seen the images. You may have read about what happened to her. But behind the horror was a mother and three tiny babies who had barely begun their lives.
Wang Wang was a stray mother in Jieyang, China. She was known locally and was fed by people in the area. She had recently given birth to three tiny puppies, believed to have been just two weeks old and not yet able to open their eyes.
On 28th June, several young boys attacked Wang Wang and her puppies.
The puppies were attacked first; they were beaten with sticks and killed during the attack. Wang Wang was then beaten and dragged before being set on fire, all while they filmed the horrific incident.
It’s almost impossible to comprehend.
Three tiny puppies who had never even had the chance to see the world around them.
And Wang Wang, their mother, who stayed with them.
The stories of Wang Wang, Fireball Miko and the countless innocent souls lost to cruelty serve as a painful reminder that the suffering of dogs and cats in China extends far beyond the slaughterhouse. Cruelty is not always hidden behind closed doors. It can unfold openly on the streets, be filmed, shared online and witnessed by the world.
We have witnessed the devastating consequences of cruelty first-hand through some of our own rescues, and we know all too well that Wang Wang’s story is not an isolated one.
“We have a dog at our shelter called Sasha, who is missing her two back legs because when we found her, she was lying on a butcher’s table fully conscious, having just had her legs chopped off.”
In the heart of Manchester, amidst the noise and movement of the city, supporters of NoToDogMeat came together for a peaceful vigil in remembrance of Wang Wang, Miko and the countless innocent souls whose lives have been lost to cruelty and the dog meat trade.
For a city that continued to move around them, there was an amalgamation of sorrow and joy. Her life deserved to be mourned, but it also deserved to be celebrated, and there was a united sense of purpose among everyone who had gathered there in her name.
Photographs were displayed, and messages were shared as people stopped to remember a mother and her three tiny puppies, whose lives ended in unimaginable cruelty. Songs were played, their sombre yet beautiful lyrics filling the air and carrying Wang Wang’s memory amongst those gathered.
There was something incredibly poignant about standing in such a busy city and hearing those songs, whilst people stopped to remember animal lives that had been anything but peaceful.
People who care deeply about animals can sometimes feel as though they are shouting into the void. We see the suffering, we carry the stories, and we wonder whether our voices are ever loud enough to make a difference.
But then you stand amongst a crowd of people who have come together for an animal they never knew, in a city that has no connection to where her life ended, and suddenly that feeling of helplessness becomes something different.
It becomes solidarity.
It becomes a collective voice.
And perhaps that is what Wang Wang’s vigil represented most of all. She could not speak for herself, so others chose to speak for her.
Not because one vigil can undo what happened, but because remembering matters. Because speaking her name, and the names of all those who suffered before her, matters. Because every time we refuse to let an animal’s suffering be forgotten, we remind the world that their lives mattered too.
To understand more about what days like this mean beyond the vigil itself, I spoke with Bernii and Maxine, both long-term animal activists and avid supporters of NoToDogMeat.
It was interesting to hear their perspectives on the day, but also on the wider importance of vigils, particularly the sense of unity they create and how bringing people together can turn shared compassion into action.
Their responses shared a common thread: the importance of connection and collective action. Vigils create a space for people who share the same concerns and passions; they allow them to exchange ideas and consider how collective compassion can be translated into meaningful action.
Bernii particularly mentioned something of significance: the physical act of showing up. Choosing to give your time and your presence is a statement. It creates visibility and, in doing so, has the potential to create a domino effect that reaches far beyond those attending. It can strengthen the resolve of those already aware of the dog and cat meat trade, while opening the conversation to those who are not.
In that sense, a vigil is not simply an act of remembrance. It is also an opportunity to educate, to connect and, more importantly, to turn awareness into action.
It was something Bernii addressed directly in her speech:
“Coming to this vigil is only the first step.”
It was perhaps one of the simplest lines of the speech, but also one of the most important. Bernii spoke of three things needed to bring about serious change: “people who are aware, people who care and people willing to take action.”
That message of collective responsibility continued throughout her speech. She reminded those gathered that lasting change rarely comes from one person or one grand gesture. Instead, seemingly small actions, when repeated by enough people, can become something considerably more powerful.
“What may seem like small actions taken by you, when they are the right actions and multiplied by lots of people, become a movement, and movements really can move mountains.”
It is a sentiment that sits particularly well with NoToDogMeat’s own motto: No Action Too Small.
Perhaps one of the most powerful reminders of what taking action can achieve was standing among us that day.
A few of NoToDogMeat’s rescues attended the vigil, including Mocha and Mouse, also known as Frosty. Mocha was beaten so severely that she was left blind before being sent for slaughter in China. Mouse was also rescued from slaughter by NoToDogMeat.
Speaking to both Michael and Una, who rescued Mocha and Mouse (Frosty), they too shared the same sentiment about the day: the importance of people coming together and uniting for a common cause.
Rescue stories are often told through the lens of their happily ever afters. We celebrate that they are safe, their transformations, their new homes and the lives they finally get to experience. That is an important part of advocacy. It allows us to share what coming together for a common cause can achieve.
But it is also easy to lose sight of what had to happen for that happily ever after to exist in the first place.
Perhaps most importantly, what I took away from Bernii’s speech and my conversation with Maxine is something I hope will resonate with us all.
Someone had to act.
Someone had to notice. Someone had to care enough to intervene.
Behind every rescued animal is someone who made the decision to help. People who stepped forward, arranged veterinary treatment, raised the funds needed for their care and offered them a place of safety.
Because these things do not happen through love alone.
They happen because people raise awareness. They happen because people donate, campaign, share stories, sponsor dogs, attend vigils, foster, adopt, volunteer and refuse to look the other way.
Advocacy can take something seemingly invisible to so many and make it visible. It can take suffering that is happening in silence and give it a voice capable of reaching people across the world.
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘giving a voice to the voiceless’. For NoToDogMeat, that is particularly relevant here. We are advocating for sentient beings who can feel pain, fear, comfort, affection and joy, but who cannot stand before governments, challenge legislation, organise campaigns or tell the world what is happening to them. We have to do that for them.
And then comes the domino effect.
Someone sees a story and shares it. Someone else sees that post and donates. Another person decides to volunteer. Someone sponsors an animal. Someone attends a vigil. Someone fosters. Someone adopts.
One action creates the possibility of another.
Individually, those actions might feel small. Collectively, they create a network of people who may otherwise never have crossed paths, connected by the belief that something needs to change. They keep an issue visible. They keep conversations going. They ensure that suffering happening thousands of miles away does not simply disappear because it is out of our immediate sight.
Advocacy also challenges helplessness.
When people first hear about the dog and cat meat trade, or a story as horrific as Wang Wang’s, a natural response can be: ‘What can I possibly do about something happening thousands of miles away?’
Advocacy gives us an answer.
You might not personally be able to rescue that animal, but you can support the person who can. You can amplify their work. You can donate towards veterinary treatment. You can sponsor an animal already in sanctuary. You can share their story with somebody who has never heard about the trade before. You can attend a vigil and stand alongside others demanding change.
And perhaps that person you reached goes on to do something too.
That is how the ripples spread.
For Wang Wang and her three puppies, for Miko, that action came too late to save them. Nothing can change what happened to them, and no amount of advocacy can give them back the lives that were so cruelly taken.
But their stories did not end there.
They have travelled thousands of miles. People spoke their names. They shared their story. They gathered in Manchester for animals they had never met, in a place far removed from where their suffering took place. In doing so, they made something that could so easily have disappeared into silence impossible to ignore.
And that matters.
There are still dogs and cats suffering in the meat trade. There are still animals waiting for someone to notice, someone to speak, someone to intervene and someone to care enough to act.
That is why advocacy matters.
Someone becomes aware. Someone speaks. Someone shares. Someone donates. Someone campaigns. Someone rescues.
One action creates another, and collectively those actions become something far greater than any one of us could achieve alone.
We could not change Wang Wang’s or Miko’s ending.
But in speaking their names, we can make sure their stories become part of the action that helps change another’s.
That is the domino effect of advocacy.
And that is why no action is too small.
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