Goodall leads animal rights parade

By Patty Lu Taiwan News, Staff Reporter 2006-10-29 02:35 AM


Renowned British primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall yesterday led hundreds of people dressed up as animals and natural elements in the 2006 Roots & Shoots Animal Parade in Taipei Xinyi District to show their love for animals and to raise awareness for the protection of all living creatures in Taiwan.
Over 500 people of all ages and 30 groups joined the parade, with each group or individual wearing creative and artistic costumes made from recycled materials that depicted animals and other creatures.
Goodall, looking animated and energetic, led the parade along with three people dressed as two giant gorillas and a colorful elephant. Marching to the sound of an African drumbeat, the parade attracted pedestrians who joined in spontaneously to show their support for animal protection in Taiwan.
Monkey business
One of the gorilla costumes was worn by an enthusiastic English man named Sean McCormack, who is co-founder of Animals Taiwan which was launched in December 2004 with the aim of raising awareness of the problem of stray animals and educating people on the responsibilities that come with pet ownership.
Danshuei elementary school students, decked out in colorful wings and cute hats, formed a "butterfly group." With some of them ringing small bells, the students were a popular group at the parade. One of the group leaders said that each student represented a beautiful butterfly species in Taiwan which was once known as the "Kingdom of Butterflies."
Another group that attracted quite a bit of attention was made up of National Tsing Huan University students from Hsinchu City who displayed a billboard that detailed the life cycle of a frog. Professor JuJu Chin-shou Wang, who led the group, said that his group was called frogs because "Tsing Huan" sounds like the Chinese word for frog.
Roots & Shoots
The Jane Goodall Institute - Taiwan, founded in May 1998, is the first of its kind in Asia and is dedicated compleytely to environmental conservation and animal welfare through an educational program called Roots & Shoots.
The Roots & Shoots project was launched to engage and inspire youth through community service and service learning. This global program emphasizes the principle that knowledge leads to compassion, which inspires action. All Roots & Shoots groups focus their efforts on the human community, animals, and the environment.
Goodall said that while roots and shoots are small, roots can spread to the underground and make a strong foundation, while shoots can break the earth and shift stones to search for light.
'Individual action'
"Everyone should recognize the power of individual action," said Goodall, who was once referred to as the "Mother Teresa of the simian world."
According to Arker Chen, a project manager of the program, the purpose of the parade was to inspire more people to care about animals.
"Human beings are caregivers who have a responsibility to protect animals," Chen said. "This is a one of goals of the program."
Nita Liaw, a project coordinator said that there are over 400 groups of Roots & Shoots in Taiwan to date, which is a great achievement that must be sustained.