Dr. Mei Tanaka

Dr. Mei Tanaka is a veterinarian and animal welfare advocate who established APYCF's Animal Welfare Division in 2023. Before joining, she served as a field director with Humane Society International in Asia, where she led campaigns against the dog meat trade.

Under her leadership, APYCF's animal programs rescued 2,140 dogs in 2025, placed 1,680 in adoptive homes, saved 890 from the meat trade, and sterilised 6,840 through mobile veterinary units. She designed the division's two-pronged approach: direct rescue combined with vendor transition support.

Mei believes lasting change in the dog meat trade requires economic alternatives for vendors, not only enforcement — a philosophy that shapes APYCF's intervention model.