![]() ![]() Troupes of about ten dancers, called Ren and wearing yukata or happi (kimono with shorts), begin their procession to the sound of traditional Japanese instruments: drums, flutes and shamisen. to 10:30 p.m., with a lively parade through Tokushima’s downtown streets. Today’s Awa-odori Festival starts during the day with a few small performances, but the main event occurs from 6 p.m. Officially permitted only during this 3-day period, dances could not take place in temples, and participants could not wear weapons or masks.Ī nightly matsuri in the heart of Japanese summer During this era, samurai were not allowed to participate in festivities, even if they were authorized to dance in their own homes. Sake was distributed to citizens, who began to dance with their musical instruments. This matsuri became its own celebration in 1586 when the local daimyo (lord) Iemasa Hachisuka celebrated the completion of Tokushima Castle with a great deal of alcohol. This festival was then created while people were dancing during the "death festival," a Japanese Buddhist celebration during which ancestors’ souls return to visit the living for a few days. Its choreography is derived from dances for Buddhist prayers dating from the Kamakura period, as well as kumi-odori, a harvest celebration. The term "Awa-odori" entered use only in the 20th century, but this celebration dates back to the 16th century, when Tokushima Prefecture was called Awa. It is nicknamed "the fools’ dance" because of its refrain: " The dancing fool and the watching fool are both fools, so why not dance?" You can speak up by signing our petition urging the USDA to do right by animals across the country.The festival, which is so beloved that the prefecture’s airport was named after it, attracts about 1,5 million tourists every year, about 5–6 times the city’s population. The AWA is over a half-century old and has not kept pace with our changing times, and the USDA is failing vulnerable animals. We will also continue to work with our partners at the state and local levels to prevent the cruel practices tolerated by the USDA from affecting their communities. The ASPCA will continue to advocate for federal-level changes and work through the courts to hold the USDA and those who violate existing laws accountable. Insufficient laws, coupled with the USDA’s neglectful enforcing of its bare-bones welfare regulations, has proven to be a recipe for massive animal suffering. However, the USDA usually chooses to take no action at all. When breeders violate these standards, the USDA is responsible for initiating enforcement actions against the licensee. The USDA oversees the licensing and inspection of puppy mills to ensure they comply with the AWA’s extremely low standards. Female dogs can be forced to breed during every heat cycle, with no opportunities for their bodies to recover. Under current regulations, USDA-licensed puppy breeders can legally keep dogs in small wire-floored cages-stacked on top of one another-for their entire lives. The AWA currently outlines notoriously weak standards of care for dogs in commercial breeding facilities (a.k.a. Despite significant changes in our cultural and academic understanding of what animals need and deserve, only modest changes have been made to the AWA over the past 54 years. It was the first federal law to regulate the treatment of animals in laboratories, zoos and the pet trade (including commercial breeding). The AWA was signed into law on August 24, 1966. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-the federal agency charged with enforcing this law-has all but dismissed its responsibility to the animals under its oversight. Unfortunately, the federal law charged with protecting dogs in puppy mills-the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)-isn’t strong enough to do the job it’s meant to do. We have been fighting against puppy mill cruelty for decades. You can help hold the USDA accountable by signing our petition urging the agency to truly protect the animals under its oversight.Department of Agriculture (USDA), the federal agency responsible for enforcing this law, is failing to properly regulate puppy mills-allowing inhumane, cruel conditions to persist. Today marks 54 years of the Animal Welfare Act, the federal law regulating the treatment of animals bred for commercial sale, used in research, transported commercially or exhibited to the public. ![]()
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