Well, it is that time of the year again. And the publicity stunt of a little know town in Guangxi, China, has succeed beyond the wildest expectation. Yulin, is now well known in the so-called animal lovers circle, including those in China. It is estimated that up to 10,000 of dogs and perhaps cats will be eaten. We see a ridiculous outpouring of sympathy for those animals killed. Many are calling for a boycott of China because of this made up festival. Some extremists even called for eradicating China as a nation.
Some of the more extreme comments can be found here but it is basically all over the web on “Stop Yulin” post:
#StopYuLin2015: 10,000 Dogs Tortured as Part of Annual Yulin Dog-Eating Festival
“Daniel Silvan Jun 23, 2015 at 3:01 am
Nothing has changed. They are still the sick people of Asia as they were always called.
Rich Godinez Jun 23, 2015 at 3:43 am
I would love to line up everyone of these assholes and put a bullet in them..they are lower than monkeys and look stupid as shit..those poor beautiful puppies need us God fearing dog lovers to kick ass.
Mary Ann Sromoski Jun 23, 2015 at 7:37 pm
Yet another reason i prefer animals over people. Do the Chinese have souls or are they walking demons. I think both. Disgusting, immoral, inferior bastards. I don’t like the word hate, but in this case, i have no problem saying i despise those low life freaks.
sherab chimi Jun 24, 2015 at 3:32 pm
I don’t think that Chinese are human as they don’t have that compassion like we do n I think in next life when Chinese are d one like that,then they will know hows the pain n i think that god also will never forgive them n it will be difficult for them to get human life in next generation
Edward Smail Jun 24, 2015 at 7:06 pm
This is so wrong ,and to think i used to like the Chinese because of Bruce Lee. Not now we need to wipe them off the face of this earth and i hope and pray to God that he takes them out. They dont deserve to live and kill animals like that.
Karen Rosa Jun 24, 2015 at 10:40 pm
I agree. These people are satanic heathens and they are going straight to hell. Then they’ll be able to feel the pain that they put these animals through.”
However, have any of those who voiced outrage ever even boycotted the US for killing innocent women and children in its misguided “war on terror”? I know it is comparing apples and oranges, except in the latter case it involved killing of women and children, not animals. What about the killing in Syria? Yes, the US and EU has sanctioned the recognized government of Syria but give a free reign to countries supplying arms to keep up the killing. Should those who spoke the loudest have sympathy for their fellow human?
I am not saying one shouldn’t be an animal right activist, but when you ignore the suffering of human and prefer to selectively champion a misguided cause based on skewed information and racism, that’s a serious problem. Prioritizing animals over human is akin to rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship. This worthless action hurts people who needed help the most, as resources and efforts that could be used to help save human lives are wasted.
Many argued that China is a country that has no animal abuse law, and as such is not a civilized country. Actually, the Chinese Congress has debated on whether to enact such law. In the end, they chose not to, because unless the killing of animals is considered cruel and be banned, it is a meaningless enactment.
Is killing of animals for food cruel? If so, why do so many countries allow raising farm animals or hunting? Which country kills and consume the most animals on a per capita basis? I must apologize before hand as I did not have the latest figure available and has to use the 2009 figure. World average meat consumption is 41.90 kg per person per year in 2009. The top ten countries are:
Meat Consumption per capita in 2009 (kg)
United States of America: 120.2
Kuwait: 119.2
Australia: 111.5
Bahamas: 109.5
Luxembourg: 107.9
New Zealand: 106.4
Austria: 102
French Polynesia: 101.9
Bermuda: 101.7
Argentina: 98.3
http://chartsbin.com/view/12730
China’s per capita figure for the same period is 58.2 kg, and I believe the figure has gone up for 2015. The US and all European countries consumed around 30-60 kg more meat than an average Chinese. How many more animal does one has to kill to produce 40 kg of meat? Around 50 fowls or at least a goat, or half a cow. So each year, easily over half a billion more animals were killed in US and Europe than in China despite having around half the population. If any animal lovers are to be indignant, shouldn’t they start with US and Europe?
Of course, we would never see that from happening because these people are hypocrite. Even if they are not, and they protest against the mass slaughter of animals in these regions, their voice would hardly be heard because the farming industries would rally against them to silence and reduce the impact of their activism. So when you are tempted to join in to protest the Yulin festival, pause for a moment and think weather you have been hoodwinked into a false cause? Unless, you are one of those hypocrite who relish a Cultural Revolution style attacks against another human being by standing on clay moral feet. Fight a real cause like mass killing, or the very least a tough one against multi-national food corporation.
Anyway, I think I seems heartless ignoring the killing of animals. However, I am not a vegetarian and I wear leather shoes. Those people who killed animals do so on my behalf, I am part of the system. My only defence is that I eat meat sparingly and although 6ft tall, I weight only 155lbs. I used to have pet dogs but hated them dying before me so I have stopped having any. I also come to the realization that it can be cruel and selfish to have pets. We separate a newly born cat or dog from its parents, siblings and raise it out of its natural habitat. And we patted ourselves on the back as amazing pet lovers. Some even profess more love for their pets than other fellow human. Are we so socially inept or emotional fragile that we need to have pets to find emotional solace?
In the US, approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats. Each year, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized (1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats).
https://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/pet-statistics
As requested from Mr.Unknown, article updated 26 June 2015.
Allen says
A timely post…
I have a few things to add/emphasize:
1. Overall all, China is not a dog-eating or cat-eating nation. Certain regions do have dog eating or cat eating as a tradition (even NYT notes that, see e.g. this recent article), but overall people don’t have a tradition of eating dogs or cats in China. As far as modern nations in Asia goes, dog and cat eating in S. Korea and Vietnam have enjoyed a much more prominent role in the culture of those regions than in China.
2. I still don’t get why eating dogs and cats is a big deal. Really. I mean, why is that say worse than say eating beef or pork? I mean, I know people who – because of their particular circumstances – have learned to appreciate and love cows and pigs more than dogs and cats. I know some people revere dogs and cats (aka “our best friend”), but so are many other animals revered and worshiped throughout the world … including: cows, bears, whales, dolphins, buffalo, sheep, goats, horses, elephants, rabbits, pigs, tigers, wolves, leopards, ravens, hawks, snakes, monkeys… (see e.g., this wiki entry, or this article). Would you now also fight for your notion of the humane treatment of whales, or dolphins, or monkeys, or apes … where do we stop?
3. As you ponder that, please note that if you eat meat, it’s cruel. Period, no if and buts about it, most especially if you live in the U.S. where industrialized farming is a norm. Animal cruelty has been an issue in the U.S. food processing industry for over a century, but it’s become especially bad recently in an era of corporate and industrialized farming. See, e.g. this ASPCA page, this PETA page, the recent documentary Food, Inc. and the book Fast Food Nation. It doesn’t make sense if you fight for animal rights but eat meat. Makes zero sense to me. Your sense of perspective needs to be recalibrated somewhere.
4. If you still think being a dog or cat lover is morally more defensible than dog or cat eater, think about the big picture. It’s reported in the NYT that about 10,000 dogs were reportedly slaughtered and eaten this year during China’s annual Yulin festival…” But note, that each and every year, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized (1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats) in the USA alone.
The inconvenient truth is that inherent in any culture of pet loving is the culture of pet neglect that is hidden far away from the public conscious (see also, e.g., this or this or this or this). As long as pets are not honored as human beings, and as long as you bring a huge number of pets to please human beings, the subservient creatures will be at the short end of the stick. Visit the local pounds, humane centers, or pest control centers of any American city, and you will find neglected and abandoned pets everywhere…
I have friends and relatives who have – to my pain and consternation – abandoned their pets for what I think are superficial reasons (their work got busy, they have a child now, their budget got tight, they lost interest, etc., etc.). These are not bad people. They even consider themselves pet lovers. But in the end, it’s about them. Pets exist to serve them.
Consider also the fact that so many pet lovers love pure breeds, but this is another example of how pet lovers can so easily get things ass backwards. The breeding of pure breeds is actually in itself is inherently very cruel. One in five dogs are routinely destroyed in the process. Many pure breds are destined to live lives with genetic and other inborn defects and diseases.
Is dog or cat loving really that much better than dog or cat eating. If I were an alien observing from space, I don’t think it’s that clear.
5. There are also many stereotypes in the West of Asians being barbaric animal eaters that boil dogs / cats alive. That doesn’t stand up to even the barest of scrutiny. As Black Phoenix recently noted in a personal email:
6. I also completely agree with Ray about world perspectives of certain animal rights activists. Why would anyone in the U.S. fight fervently for animal rights in China, when there are pressing domestic problems such as endemic racism, persistent inequality problems, as well as a poisonous political atmosphere that has fostered continued U.S. / Western aggression / suppression around the world – including what’s going on in Middle East and Africa? To such people, I ask: what is your take on what is really (I mean really) wrong with the world?
pug_ster says
I have worked in one of these animal rights group as a support person for a short while (that means I don’t really care about their cause) and I would like to explain the way their ways of doing things and their ideology.
1) They don’t like puppy or cat mills, and discourage people from buying pups. Rather they encourage people adopting pets from shelters.
2) People are often stupid, abusing their animals, and then bringing them to their vets. What they don’t know is that these organizations often work with vets there are several prosecutions to their owners because of this.
3) There are even dumber people who post themselves on videos harming animals. They are the worst kind. These animal rights groups will spare no expense to make sure they get arrested.
4) Many of these people who work in the “animal rights” side are outright fanatical.
Allen says
I am actually an “animal lover.” I think for a 20 year stretch I had donated to either PETA and/or our local animal shelter and/or humane societies. I had participated in countless “save the dolphins” and “save the whales” campaigns. But in the end, I learned that a pet culture can be cruel in and of itself. So much what people preach are superficial. I personally have high standards for myself, but I don’t judge others. Animal loving for me is no longer a goal, it’s an offshoot of being a humane person … being humane to myself, to the world. It’s a personal choice … a moral choice, an identity thing … not a “universal value” my way or the high way thing…
Ray says
I am not really against “animal lovers” per se, I am against hypocrisy and uncontrolled consumerism. I really am disgusted with those “my meat is holier than your meat” crowd. Even if one is a vegetarian, one has no right going around attacking meat eating non-vegetarian.
The second aspect is even harder to combat as its scale is so vast. The food and pet industries obviously want consumers to eat more meat and raise more pets. I didn’t even know so many abandoned pets are killed each year until doing some research on writing this article.
To really save and protect animals we should start with frugality, can you imagine how many million more animals would be spare if there is less food wastage. And the horror story of abandoned pets should be publicized. In my view, to really love and protect animals mean leaving them to their habitats, irresponsible people having pets is a serious problem judging by the number of euthanasia (a glorified word for killing).
Mister Unknown says
@Ray, can you post a link or reference regarding the comment “Some extremists even called for eradicating China as a nation”? Or at least a few comments of a similar nature that stand out?
I think this would further improve the credibility of your argument.
Thanks.
Ray says
I have updated it, as Allen has pointed out easily over 9/10 of Chinese people never eat dog. Here is a good article on the subject.
http://www.yulin2016.com/the-myth-and-more-importantly-the-truth-about-yulin-and-chinas-dog-eating-history.html
“In 1995, Yulin, a city in south-west China’s Guangxi province created the festival to boost the local economy. To promote the importance of the festival, they claimed that they were honoring China’s long history of eating Dog. What they never envisioned was the worldwide debate and subsequent condemnation for their money making scheme.
The local government never expecting that its commercial activities would come under such heavy pressure from dog lovers around the country, let alone the world. The officials tried to backtrack from their participation and this year they even attempted to push the slaughtering of thousands of dogs and cats into the restaurants back rooms and pleaded with management to perform their butchery under the cover of night.
Yulin and China tried to not only cover up the slaughter they went so far as to declare that the Chinese sign for Dog must be stricken from the local restaurant menus and awnings, but when local restaurants started refusing and even outright opposing these restrictions, the Yulin government officials started claiming that the whole affair was run by local business people in an attempt to avoid responsibility.”
Ray says
To be honest, although I am not amused by the unapologetic killing of the animals, or the outpouring of verbal violence, the whole event is a classic marketing lesson worthy of study. To top it off, it also gives very good insight into how people behave.
The event was started by a very sleepy town in a rather remote part of China. Its original purpose is to get more customers and tourists. In a twisted way, it “backfired” on the local government as they didn’t expect the negativity they would get for China and its people as a whole.
However, the original purpose of the festival has succeed beyond the wildest expectation. The traders got a tremendous boost in business. Their supporters find that by attending the event, they are sticking up to all the protesters and naysayers. Basically, they are telling all the naysayers including the Chinese government that I am sticking up to my rights. Yes, the right to kill and eat non-endangered animals.
The funniest part of the whole saga is we see people, mostly outside China calling on the Chinese government to restrict the rights its citizens so they can feel good about themselves.
WayneLo says
Hi there
Agree with the Western racism and hypocrisy over this. Particularly the appalling pet industry in the US, and the ‘euthanising’ of millions of stray animals. In other countries, such as Greece, stray dogs are shot, poisoned, drowned etc.
In the West they even use gas chambers to kill stray dogs, who die a far more terrible death than being quickly slaughtered for food.
“Inside the chamber, the pets claw at the walls as their lungs burn and they vomit. Killing a cat or dog this way can take up to 30 minutes (some dogs have survived even past 30 minutes).”
http://www.care2.com/causes/gas-chambers-are-the-heartless-end-for-many-cats-and-dogs.html
Nevertheless there are people in the West who see this as unacceptable and are working for change. People try to hide such cruelty because they are guilty about it and it would draw general societal condemnation. Already gas chambers are being phased out, and farming practices and slaughter methods are monitored (at least to the best extent possible), and are an improvement over the past.
So yes, no argument with your point of Western hypocrisy. But…….regardless the hypocrisy, I do think this festival is barbaric and shames China.
I am an overseas Chinese who has been a dog owner for as long as I can remember, and there is something special about these creatures. Having co-evolved with humans since the ice ages, they have a special bond with us, and are the only animal who really understand human emotions, see these emotions in our faces and in our voice and respond to them. I now own a poodle cross and she has the mentality of a small child. I could never ever imagine a circumstance in which I would abandon her (although obviously I am privileged to be able to say that). Dogs bring such joy to humans, and serve as in so many ways, including those incredible creatures who guide blind people.
Of course one could say that pigs are just as sentient as dogs, and of course pigs are also treated appallingly in factory farms and basically tortured life long in the West.
However to me the difference is this. Dogs are naturally our friends, see us and naturally want to be our friends. So to club a creature who wants to be your friend over the head or slit its throat, or subject it to terror before slaughter is something that to me beggars belief. Note that this slaughter has nothing to do with poor people getting hard to come by protein. It is the celebration of the mass slaughter of animals that is completely unneccessary in this day and age.
One simply has to look at the state of these dogs before slaughter, crammed into small cages cheek by jowl, and cowering in terror before the slaughter (and yes, dogs are more than smart enough to know what is going on).
This is completely different from slaughtering a chicken or killing a fish. The level of sentience of the creature has to be taken into account.
The fact is many many Chinese are against this barbaric practice and it is incumbent on those who are to speak up or act to end this ‘custom’.
Like most of us here, I hate Western hypocrisy towards China, and am a proud defender of historic China’s struggle against Western imperialism. I am also proud of China’s rise, and believe China will be a positive force in the world.
However as the cliched saying goes, ‘even a stopped watch gets it right twice a day’, and on this issue, I am on the other side.
Wayne
Black Pheonix says
“Dogs are naturally our friends, see us and naturally want to be our friends. So to club a creature who wants to be your friend over the head or slit its throat, or subject it to terror before slaughter is something that to me beggars belief.”
BTW, humans also bred dogs to be food. We have evidence that humans ate dogs since the beginning of Dog domestication.
Even up to early 1900’s, Europeans were eating dogs and cats. So they are food source!
Except they are not “naturally” our friends. Humans bred them to obey, and humans kill/put down dogs who are not obedient. You mistake slaves as “friends”. A common mistake among the Western cultural mentality.
If you really believe the dogs are “friends”, then you should also demand that no one be allowed to kill/put down a dog for biting/attacking a human.
Until then, Dogs are just your slaves, to be killed at the slightest sign of disobedience, or culled for being unwanted.
And genetically, dogs are not “friendly”. Scientists now know that dogs are only bond to humans because humans bred dogs to suppress their aggression. The process is akin to having wolves with the brain development stuck in the puppy stage. (or more accurately, the process is akin to breeding retarded wolves, because retarded wolves would never think for themselves and would not likely attack humans).
This is similar to humans with Williams Syndrome, where human children are over friendly with strangers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_syndrome
Bottomline: what Western society does to dogs is not “love”, it’s slavery and genetic manipulation, pure and simple. let’s not pretend that it’s any better than breeding them as food.
Charles Liu says
Wayne, if your objection to eating dog is based on human sentimentality, then may I ask if we in the West should stop eating beef, because cows are revered as deity by the Hindus?
How about horses? They are more than just our friend, they are noble creatures that historically worked alongside men. How should we shame the Europeans into not eating horse meat?
Allen says
Wayne,
Everything you say resonate with me … I can tangibly feel a substantive consciousness about animal suffering … and compassion … and empathy.
It’s a new awareness that you want to impress upon others.
For me, for the longest time, it’s been about dolphins and whales – not dogs and cats. It just pained me to see Japanese slaughtering dolphins and whales by the thousands every year. It’s not about ecology, or animal protection per se, it’s about the fact that I really feel that whales and dolphins are conscience … and not only that … but that they are friendly toward human beings and have been trying to make a connection with us for eons.
I was so frustrated why so many human beings failed to see it … and I was on a mission to change the world …
I am not so involved in the save the whales and dolphins campaign these days … partly because other life responsibilities have filled my life … but mainly because I realized that my “outlook” was not just about “saving whales”. It’s about making a sentient connection… and I realized that is beyond what I am capable of – or what most of my fellow whale and dolphin lovers are capable of. (Heck in nature, whales and dolphins … despite being smart and noble … also do die of diseases, starvation, accidents, conflicts, old age, etc. If nature intends so, why human beings dictate otherwise. It’d be nice if we humans stopped hurting these beings, but even when we do, it’s not like their life gets that much easier. Living is always a battle, as nature intends it. )
As for dogs and cats, I am not even sure if they are at the level of whales and dolphins in terms of intelligence or sentience.
Here are some lists of some of common animals by intelligence:
http://scienceray.com/biology/zoology/top-15-smartest-and-most-intelligent-animals/
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24628983/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/smartest-animals/#.VZ6oQPkep6I
http://list25.com/25-most-intelligent-animals-on-earth/
http://www.quora.com/What-is-a-good-list-of-animals-ordered-by-intelligence
As you can kind of see, there are many animals that are smarter or more sentient than dogs … and even different species of dogs can exhibit different signs of intelligence…
The point is, if we really want to make a point based on sentience … is it wrong to just focus on “dogs”?
I am ok with people saying the people should not eat their “pets” because they pets exhibit “love” for humans. But such “love” is dependent on each animal’s experience. Some wild dogs don’t like humans at all. They may manipulate them, but that’s all. Some pets also – when neglected – also “fear” humans.
Anyways, everything you say do resonate, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it… I feel I have been on the same journey with you … still traveling … but not sure where my empathy will really bring me …
WayneLo says
Yes, partly my objection to eating dog is based on human ‘sentimentality’. In fact a lot of things we deem good or bad are based on sentiment. We love our culture not because it is objectively superior than others but simply because of sentiment. We love our children and parents not because they are objectively smarter or kinder or better looking than others but simply because we have a inherent sentimental feelings about this (although sentimental may not be the right word, as it implies an over-attachment perhaps).
All I am saying is from personal experience and having raised dogs all my life, and that I believe they are special creatures, and I would like other people to feel the same way about them as I do. What is wrong with that?
Of course I do not demand it, or want to force it, and indeed even in many Western countries there are no prohibitions against killing dogs, and even eating them. But one has the right to proselytize ones own point of view, as long as it is within normal bounds of human intercourse and whatever laws prevail.
As for horses, there are numerous campaigns to shame people into not eating horse meat, which I would likely support. Animal rights is quite a big issue in the West, and while the criticism of Chinese practices are often motivated by racism, a lot is also internally focussed.
However my experience is with dogs, not horses, so I am more moved by their plight than that of other animals. That is not hypocritical. Life is short and one talks of those things that are more close to one’s heart than others.
Like most of us here, we are concentrating on Chinese issues and the rise of China and pride in that. Does not mean we are hypocrites for exposing and condemning attacks on China, more so than we are concered for attacks on other countries, say in Africa, or Russia, or Belarus.
But I don’t say that at all, although one thing the Anglo Saxon world has done well is have animal cruelty laws from very early on (first part of the 19th century I believe), and so there is the awareness there, that Chinese can learn from.
In terms of the the historical record and culture etc, Asians have a strong tradition of respect for all life forms, through Buddhism, etc and in fact meat consumption has been rare or at much lower levels throughout the East than in the West – so that is another perspective one can take.
But I think what is most important is not who is better, who has the better record or who is morally superior. The important thing is to avoid suffering on all sentient creatures wherever it occurs, or at least to relieve it where possible.
WayneLo says
I think people ate dogs during wartime or when other sources of protein was rare. I don’t think it was common practice and even it was says nothing about the way dogs should be treated today.
Its true that dogs that are intractable and dangerous are put down. But then so are humans who disposed to crime or are anti-social —we either incarcerate them, separating them from society, or in some cases even execute them.
When I say dogs are our friends I’m talking of the species as a whole and human experience with them. Not saying that dangerous dogs etc do not exist —that is a ridiculous interpretation.
Whatever the reason for the genetics of dogs, maniuplation or otherwise, or that they were deliberately bred that way or otherwise, they are what they are now. Even humans have been selected, even if not deliberately, through sexual attraction, through status, through survival of the fittest to be what the various human populations of the world are now.
There is a cold hard evolutionary theory that can explain what love and courage and altruism. Those theories are convincing and fact based, but it does not mean that those qualities in humans are not admirable and there to be appreciated. Same with dogs – regardless of the original purpose of their selective breeding they are what they are now.
As for your comments on the Western pet industry, yes, that is true, and unless you have been asleep you would realise that there is a lot of activism against puppie mills, etc and the like.
WayneLo says
I think in the end, it is wrong to cause suffering to any sentient creature that is of higher intelligence. That is any creature that has the capacity for suffering.
Instinctively we understand that. That is why people can happily boil shellfish alive, but would be aghast at the thought of the same to say, a rabbit.
We understand that shellfish very likely do not have the nervous system, the developed limbic part of the brain to suffer both physically and emotionally as a rabbit.
Same with fish—-I very much doubt that a goldfish feels empathy for their young –in fact their very evolutionary strategy is to produce massive (thousands) numbers of offspring of which only a very small number survive.
That is different from the higher mammals, that have fewer offspring but have more emotional investment in nurturing their young.
I’m not a vegetarian yet, but am probably trending that way. However at this stage I have little problem with eating seafood, and also chicken – so long as the latter are humanely raised and slaughtered.
WayneLo says
but mainly because I realized that my “outlook” was not just about “saving whales”. It’s about making a sentient connection… and I realized that is beyond what I am capable of – or what most of my fellow whale and dolphin lovers are capable of
Agree with your thoughts about dolphins and whales.
Up until recently I was disgusted by Western antics over these animals, and their cultural imperialism over this issue. Afterall the biggest killers of whales of all time, and the people who drove them to extinction were Westerners.
Howevever my brother recently went swimming with some, and they are delightful creatures, naturally friendly, and obviously highly intelligent and sentient.
So they fact is I think it is wrong to hunt and kill them, even though much of the criticisms levelled at the Japanese by Westerners is hypocritical. Western hypocrisy is simply hypocrisy. It should not influence ones views on the matter at hand.
For example, Westerners may point to the Chinese government and say they are murderers – Mao is the biggest mass murderer in history! they claim. This is obvious hypocrisy, (aside from the fact it is not true, in fact the opposite is true) particularly given their record in attacking and killing innocent people the world over. But of course regardless of this hypocrisy, does not mean murder is morally OK.
Some things actually are right, even though an asshole may also say they are right.
Charles Liu says
– If you would want others to feel the same about dogs, would you in term feel the adoration Hindus have for cows and stop eating beef?
– As to who’s better or worse at animal cruelty, I’m gonna have to disagree with you – IMHO the cruelty associated western world’s industrialized intense farming practice is far worse, both in terms of severity and scale.
– Would you consider cyberbullying and destruction of personal property normal human intercourse? Because what our media neglected to mention is the public disturbance caused by these “activists”. Here’s one protester stomping on other people’s car, that’s considered rioting in America:
http://www.guancha.cn/society/2015_05_19_320160.shtml
Guo Du says
Excellent post. I share the feelings of many who have commented on this piece. I’m “nearly” vegetarian myself, not because of conscious effort or hidden guilt, but natural preference. I do find animal slaughtering generally disgusting. However, if we have to eat meat, we have to kill them first. But the hypocrisy around the Yulin protest is much more distasteful than animal slaughter. The triple standards not only reveal a low level of intelligence, but also subconscious (or conscious?) racism and cultural exceptionalism. You’ll find folks who enjoy eating cow meat medium rare, with a glass of fine claret, sniggering about the “superstitious” Hindus not eating cows, and Muslims refusing pork because of religious reasons. But on the other hand, the “barbaric” Chinese eat everything, including dogs? Oh dear. Unthinkable!
It’ll take much more than biology to explain the difference.
Here’s an objective article in English Newspaper on this subject, believe it or not: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/protest-against-the-yulin-dog-meat-festival-but-dont-forget-the-19m-animals-who-are-brutally-slaughtered-in-the-uk-every-month-10336898.html
Black Pheonix says
Another one:
Australia indicted Johnny Depp’s wife for illegally importing her 2 dogs into Australia without the “proper paperworks” and quarantine. (with threat of 10 years in prison).
This was after the Australian government official threatened to forcibly seize the 2 pet dogs and have them killed, if the dogs are not shipped back home.
(1) it’s interesting that for violating “paperwork” laws, the dogs have to be killed. (if the dogs are guilty, then the dogs should be given proper paperwork and quarantined). It’s not like the dogs are violent criminals. Rather like threaten to kill people for expired driver’s licenses.
Shame on Australia.
(2) And it’s not even the dogs’ fault. Punishing the owners, I can understand. But punishing the owners by killing their dogs. That’s hardly the behavior of humane and civilized treatment of pets (actually acknowledged wanted pets).
Is that logic also applicable to children? Perhaps the Australian government can threaten to kill children if their parents failed to fill out proper paperwork?
Ray says
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/canines-human-supporters-protest-yulin-festival-article-1.2678108
http://nextshark.com/dog-meat-protest-critic-yulin-festival/