The slaughter of dogs and cats for food or other purposes
Man's best friend held captive in China!
"Dog does not eat dog, but the Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese do".
Oh, the joy and pain of
stereotyping! Pain for those to whom it does
not apply.
Why the others should resent it is
unclear. Unless they feel that there is something
wrong with it after all.
Some arguments in defense.
People are poor and hungry.
Dogs and cats are considered to be similar to vegetables there, not companions.
"None has ever been able to give me reasons WHY NOT to eat dogs or cats".
Why is eating dogs any different to eating cows, sheep, horses or rabbits?
Dog and cat eating is cultural.
Interested in some facts? (focus on dogs as
cat eating is less prevalent).
Dog meat is more expensive than beef
pork and therefore not suited to small incomes. It
is considered good against the cold in China
and good against the heat in Korea and is
also eaten in a variety of ways for "medicinal" purposes. When
the vast majority of people in this world,
particularly in Africa and India, suffer
from hunger, why do only China, Korea and
Vietnam have this practice? And consider
this: where do "compassion" and "empathy" come
in, traits humans claim as virtues
that set them apart from animals? Yet,
no animal tortures its prey to death. To
give you an idea of the reality of the fate
of millions of dogs in China and Korea, please
read the observations of eye witnesses below.
"Regarding" animals as akin
to vegetables, does not make animals vegetables. It
merely shows up the ignorance and stupidity
of those that make this argument. Animals
share much of our DNA, dogs as much as 75%,
the primates and pigs even more than that. Even
in most of the developed world, animals are classified
as "matter". The law nevertheless punishes cruelty to
dogs and cats in the same countries
and efforts are under way to gain the
rights of farm animals to lives and
deaths free from suffering.
What argument is there for not eating dogs? The
reasons why Japanese laws have protected
dogs long before any Western nation did,
should provide some clues. Not only
are dogs man's most loyal friends,
unconditionally giving trust and affection,
but there are countless examples where
dogs have saved human lives, often of their
own accord and at risk to their own lives
and they have done so for centuries. They
rescue people from collapsed buildings
and mines, sniff out drugs, arms and
land mines, guide the blind through the
densest traffic, help the old and handicapped,
speed the recovery of the sick and much
more. The benefits of touching dogs and
cats to reduce stress and other illness
in people are proven. It
is a pity that, because of their attitudes,
those that regard them as food, deprive
themselves of any such benefit. Noone
has been able to put forward an argument
for not eating humans either. There
are laws against it in most countries,
of course. Nonetheless,
the practice of cannibalism existed until
not long ago and, in isolated areas of
the world, still does. Then there
are the commandments of different religions,
but not everyone subscribes to those. The
most persuasive is that their friends or
kin are likely to kill you in return, although
they might not care to eat you. Dogs
are at a distinct disadvantage
there, of course.
Cows, sheep, goats, horses,
rabbits are not carnivores while dogs are. It
is unnatural and unusual in nature for one
red meat eater to eat another.
Sadly, there are many examples of cruelty
to animals all over the world, including
the practice of stuffing geese to fatten
their livers in countries like France. But
we must work to STOP these, not excuse one
appalling cruelty with another. Instead,
we need to allow animals, all of them, to
live free of suffering and to die free of
pain inflicted by us.
For those that would justify anything on the basis of "culture" and "tradition",
here are some cultural practices that might
give you food for thought. Most of
them no longer exist, others are disappearing,
through the efforts of civilised people around
the world.
The Roman Circus where throwing people to
the lions was considered entertainment.
Slave markets where shackled humans were
offered for sale.
Burning unwanted and uncomfortable people
at the stake.
Bull fights, which Spain has now agreed to
abolish.
Female circumcision.
Cannibalism.
Honor killing, still practiced.
Food binding is an ancient custom that has
been phased out of China for being cruel and
unnecessary. People now look back at
in with shock and disgust… why can't we relegate
dog eating to the history books too?
The list could go on at some length. Fact
is that primitive practices are not more acceptable
because they are "part of the culture".
Of course, there are people in every society
who are cruel or criminal, who steal and murder,
who are without compassion, remorse or honor. But
several wrongs do not make a right. If
we are to strive for a better world, this must
include lifting humanity from the base levels
on which many groups still exist. To quote
the author Coetzee writing about the work of "Voiceless",
which strives to improve the lives of farm animals
in Australia.
"Steadily, and not so slowly any more,
we are making progress. One day, not in our
lifetime perhaps, but in a future that is not
unforeseeable, animals of non-human species
will be born into a world in which they stand
a fair chance of living a life that is happy
by their own standards and fulfilling.
"When that day comes, they will not look
back with gratitude to the human beings who
helped to make this dispensation possible,
that is to say, who helped to restore a decent
life to them. But that does not matter. We
are a species whose nature it is to look back;
other species have what they consider to be
more important things to do with their time
than looking back".
"Voiceless acts in the most practical
of ways to fund projects across the country
whose goal is to ameliorate the lives of animals.
Voiceless is a small part of what has become
a large and I would hope irreversible movement
among human beings to make this planet a less
harsh and deadly place for all those to whom
it is the one and only home".
Observations by Annie Mather, Executive Director and Head of Media of Animals Asia
Foundation, Hong Kong. Jill Robinson MBE, the Founder of Animals
Asia, has been monitoring the live animal markets
in China for many, many years. I only began doing
so a few years ago. My reaction the first time
I stepped into a live animal market was one of
real horror. I know that animals "go
to market" all over the world, in preparation
to be sold and slaughtered…, but what shocked
me so much was that so many of the animals in
the market in Guang Zhou were really suffering
and nobody seemed to care e.g. -cage after
cage of different species (many of them endangered),
many of them with 3 legs, e.g. civet cats, leopard
cats (because they have been trapped in the wild),
dying slowly of gangrene- waiting sometimes
days or weeks in this condition until they were
sold. It's really no wonder something like
SARS incubated in such a market, I mean, the
bizarre mix of species, close to each other,
infecting each other, 3 legs, dying of infection,
the stress, their immune systems crashing - a
veritable melting pot of cruelty and disease….
Unfortunately, even though there was a panic
when the SARS outbreak occurred and the markets
became fairly quiet, they are once again heaving…the
fact is, these markets feed an insatiable appetite
for wild animals and - in winter especially,
an appetite for dog and cat meat.
As dreadful as that is, nothing is as distressing
as seeing the dogs come in…and their treatment. Lorries
pull in with anything up to 2,000 dogs on the
back, squashed in tiny wire cages that defy belief,
4 dogs literally squashed together in a cage
unable to move a muscle. It's quite unbelievably
horrific. Many of the dogs are very, very
sick, with yellow pus dripping from their eyes,
probably with parvo and distemper. We have
learnt that those trucks have driven 3 days and
3 nights from other provinces. Imagine being
a dog on that truck? surrounded by other cages
filled with 1000's of miserable crying dogs -
no food - no water - little air to breathe -
and then to be off loaded by being dragged out
of your cage by a man wielding a pair of iron "tongs" that
tries to grab you by the neck, but sometimes
misses because you are struggling to get away
and gets you in your mouth - thus penetrating
the soft palate, screaming in agony. Hoisted
through the air into a metal cage where anything
up to 30 dogs are packed tightly one on top of
each other in order to be weighed.
It is so desperately sad - these poor dogs are
then tipped out into a run with a big bowl of
water, they literally pounce on it, they are
so dehydrated - we go up to the side of the run
and call them with a gentle whisper, and even
after their ghastly ordeal, they will turn and
wag their little tails, so grateful for a little
comfort… these are dogs - dogs whose instinct
is to be our best friends, to love us, to protect
us - this treatment is an abomination!
However… worse is yet to come: we have witnessed
these same dogs being killed hideously slowly
- all by people who seem to behave as if they
were handling sacks of rice, not living, sentient
beings with feelings and the ability to experience
pain. There is such a crashing lack of
dignity in these live animal markets - you see
whole families not only working in such a place
but living there, small children running around,
sliding around in the blood, the screams of the
animals, a sort of everyday background noise…
living in a soulless hellhole, but not knowing
it. I felt as if I was in some bizarre
nightmare that I hoped I would soon wake up from
- but it was real and I felt desperately sad
and angry at the total lack of humanity and dignity
and filled with horror and disgust that this
goes on in our world.
The cats fair little better - arriving in cages,
dozens of top of each other, and some dead, wondering
in bewilderment what they have done to deserve
this treatment. They are also hoisted by
the neck with metal tongs from cage to cage -
as they are "sorted" between different
traders. For what it's worth, I've never
seen them actually tortured to death - their
dispatch is pretty fast, stunning and a slitting
of the throat - the ritual of torture, seems
to be more reserved for dogs historically. However,
it still makes you sick to your stomach that
these wonderful creatures that make such incredible
companions are subjected to this terrible treatment.
Jill and I leave the market with our hearts
breaking - all you can say in your heart is
"sorry, I'm so sorry that I can't help you - but, we are going to use
all our energy and our anger and our tears and this sickness we feel in our
hearts to help those who come after you, to do everything in our lifetimes
to put a stop to this atrocity".
It was because of seeing this ghastly treatment
of dogs and cats that Jill came up with the idea
of beginning the "Dr. Dog" animal therapy
program in 1991. She was looking
for a way to show dogs in a new light, as our
friends and helpers. Initially, it was
a battle getting a hospital to agree to let "a
dirty, smelly mutt into our nice clean, hygienic
hospital". But finally one institution,
the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital for physically
handicapped children in Hong Kong, relented. And
the visit could only take place on the grass
outside, no dogs could come into the hospital…. That
first Dr. Dog visit so many years ago was so
incredibly successful, with children and staff
enchanted by the positive impact that the dogs
had, that the whole program took off in a whirlwind. The
following day Jill was inundated with calls from
hospitals and homes, wanting visits, people wanting
to join the program - and the rest is history! Dr.
Dog now sees over 300 dogs and their Asian volunteer
owners making regular visits to orphanages, schools,
old peoples homes, hospices, homes for the mentally
handicapped in 6 countries across Asia!
I want to emphasize that cats are just as much
of a concern to us - but cats, because of their
nature, are not really as suited to be "traveling" animal
therapists as dogs are…it's easier to demonstrate
the companionship of dogs through the program,
though we are always promoting cats as our friends
and helpers, just as much as dogs.
The background of dog and cat eating and the trade today
Dog eating has gone on for centuries in China
and is really culturally ingrained. Few
people think there is anything wrong with it…
the dog protects your home and then you eat it…
it's a very practical approach, and perhaps
in times of famine that was a logical approach
of survival.
However, in this day and age where dogs are
proving themselves of intrinsic benefit to humankind
the world over, from search & rescue dogs,
police and tracker dogs, hearing dogs for the
deaf, seeing eyes for the blind, police dogs,
drugs and endangered species detection dogs,
seizure alert dogs (that can sense that their
owner is about to have an epileptic fit and head
it off). Dogs are now even being trained
to sniff out cancer from urine (before the doctors
or the patient have any awareness that the disease
is present). Scientific papers abound
showing that simply being in the company of dogs
has far reaching physical and mental benefit
to all of us, through sharing the unconditional
love of a species, which has rightly earned the
accolade of man's, best friend. Surely
this species, whose very instinct is to love,
protect, guard us, and cheer us up, who literally
lives to please us, surely in this 21st Century
of building a more compassionate world, surely
they should not be on the menu.
In China, dog meat is seen as a bit of a treat
- it's something you eat mainly in the winter;
it's strongly flavored meat, a bit like goat
and traditionally is thought to warm the body. Dried
dog penis is considered to be an aphrodisiac
and is available (by the 1,000) in the market.
Ironically, in South Korea, dog meat is eaten
in the summer to cool the body down - two conflicting
traditions in the same continent! Traditionally, the dog is beaten to death in
order to tenderize the meat. The idea is
the more adrenalin racing around the body the
better it will taste. We regularly witness
dogs being killed slowly, in front of each other:
the dog is semi-stunned, but not enough to make
it unconscious - it wakes up, completely bewildered
and tries to get up, slides around in the blood
of the abattoir, where other dogs are flailing
around, they bang it on the nose again, and it
sits up and begins to cry pitifully wondering
what's going on, with blood and mucus pouring
from its nose and mouth - we're told the idea
is that when they finally dispatch it, they want
the heart beating rapidly so that the blood will
gush out fast. It's tragic.
Unfortunately, in many supermarkets in China
now, you can buy dog meat, both vacuum packed
and also from the butchery-deli department. Sometimes
they may have a dog section, with whole carcasses
hanging up, you just order up a piece and they'll
lop it off for you. We've also seen lots
of different herbs and spice mixes available,
especially to make special "dog hot pot".
In almost any bookshop in China with a "farming" section,
there will sadly be a number of books on "how
to farm dogs". In addition, there are absolutely
no animal welfare laws in China - any treatment
of any animal is allowable.
Cat eating
Our research shows that cat eating is only prevalent
in the South - and is pretty much unheard of
outside of Guang Dung Province. Whereas dog eating
is pretty much all over the country, though most
popular in the South.
The situation in other Asian countries
Dog eating is dying out in many other Asian
countries: e.g. Taiwan, which today has very
stringent laws against it and has just raised
the fine levied on anyone charged with it. Hong
Kong and Singapore (previously both were British
colonies) outlawed it in the 1950's - but, in
Hong Kong it was still going on in the rural
areas in the 80's and early 90's - today it is
virtually non-existent, and most Hong Kong Chinese
are disgusted by it.
Korea is still a big problem, but there are
wonderful local groups speaking out on behalf
of the dogs. I'm also glad to say that the law
that they were trying to pass to make a distinction
between "pet dogs" and "meat dogs" has
just been withdrawn - so there is some hope.
Vietnam is a major dog-eating place, though
traditionally (for what it's worth) they
do not torture the dog to death.
In addition, the Philippines has outlawed dog
eating except for some tribal holidays - yes,
it still goes on…but its moving in
the right direction…I also would like to
say that the push to stop dog eating in these
Asian countries is driven by Asians, who feel
exactly the same way about it as we do!
However, it's obviously something that is growing
in China, it's very hard to know the exact number
of dogs eaten, but it definitely must be in the
many millions a year - maybe more. Still
small if you consider that it is estimated that
556 million pigs are slaughtered every year in
China.
…AND STILL SMALL ENOUGH TO REVERSE… BUT
WE NEED HELP:
Amidst all this bad news for dogs there is hope
- Animals Asia is the only group working on the
ground in China on this issue and we know there
are a growing number of Mainland China people
who abhor dog eating! - we want to help them
to find their voice, so that they are the ones
calling for it to be brought to an end. Pet
ownership is exploding in China and research
shows that pet owners disagree with dog eating. Traditionally,
entire families would live together, but today
the trend is for young Chinese to move out and
set up their own homes, and thus the older generation
are living alone - they are lonely and the trend
is to buy a dog for company. Plus with
the one child family policy on the mainland,
there are lots of lonely children and increasingly
pet dogs are bought for company.
Under communism, dog ownership was forbidden
in urban areas since it was feared as a public
health hazard and seen as a sign of a bourgeois,
capitalist society - in addition, because
of the lack of civic education towards dogs,
rabies is a big problem, in 2004 over 2,000 people
died from rabies. That's a huge number
and serves to make people afraid of dogs.
The license to keep a pet dog in the city was, until very recently, extortionate - around £1,500
per year - this was basically to discourage people
from keeping dogs. Today, the amount has
been reduced, but is still quite costly. As much
as £650 a year in Guang Zhou for initial
registration. However in Beijing the amount
has recently been cut from £350 for initial
registration of your pet to £60. The subsequent
yearly fee is about £30. But still
a lot of money when you consider that the average
workers salary is in the region of £500
per year.
But despite this, pet ownership is growing rapidly…estimates
are that there are now over half a million registered
dogs in Beijing, with many millions unregistered.
Having a dog is now a status symbol - it seems
that long term, the pet dog industry for pampered
pooches is going to be a much bigger money spinner
than the meat dog industry… from doggie salons
to pet food, collars, leashes, vets etc..
Obviously, attitudes to dogs are in transition
(pampered pet, meat dog, pet dog, street dog, rabid
mutt), and largely the growth of pets is in the
cities…whilst the situation for dogs in the country
is quite horrendous. Dogs have been seen
as something of a pest, but China is in a state
of flux, everything is changing, people are so
open to new ideas, the Olympics is around the corner
- and because of that, we believe that we have
a window of opportunity…what we need to do, and
what we have begun doing, is to raise the profile
of dogs and cats, to show them as our friends and
helpers, in need of our love and respect and protection…
we are reaching out to the new pet owner, who is
open to seeing dogs and cats in a new light.
ANIMALS ASIA'S INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS:
THE RESCUE OF MARKET DOG "EDDIE" - & HIS
FILM "Dr. Eddie: Friend…or Food?"
Some years ago, Jill rescued a little yellow
dog that was waiting to be slaughtered in the
market in Guang Zhou that I described earlier
and bought him back to Hong Kong and made him
into a Dr. Dog… his name is "Eddie" (short
for "edible") and he's famous in Hong
Kong… we have made a 16 minute film "Dr.
Eddie: Friend or Food?" (which I produced);
the film sees Eddie tell the story of his journey
from "meat dog to doctor dog" from
his perspective… flashing back to the ghastly
market where he came from… and coming across
with the message "We want to help you, will
you help us?" The film literally compels
the viewer to reconsider attitudes to dog and
cat eating. We want to inspire the viewer to
decide that he would rather not eat dogs and
cats. The film is available in 3 languages -
Mandarin for China, Cantonese for Hong Kong and
English.
CHINESE DOG AND CAT LOVERS SPEAK OUT IN "EDDIE'S" FILM!
In the film, we have enlisted the help of Chinese
dog-loving celebrities who say they are appalled
and ashamed of dog eating, Traditional Chinese
doctors (debunking the myth that dog meat has
mythical healing qualities), Chinese chefs who
say they would never cook dog. Chinese
nurses and doctors in hospitals, who express
their disgust at dog eating and instead praise
the qualities of the doctor dogs. In addition,
Eddie's Mandarin voice is done by a Chinese Superstar,
Richie Ren, who was such a pleasure to work with
and willingly speaks out from the heart against
dog eating, which disgusts him intensely.
We have kicked off with an initial free distribution
in China of 10,000 VCD copies of the film - together
with a leaflet, encouraging Chinese people to
get on board - to look at dogs in a new light
- as our friends and helpers. We also are
including a Pet Care Leaflet, since it is very
apparent that basic pet care is severely lacking.
1,000 copies of the film and the pack (which
includes: the VCD, leaflet on the film & work
of, "Don't eat us" sticker of Eddie
and a cat and the pet care leaflet) are being
given away on Christmas Day in Shenzhen in Guang
Dung Province, Southern China at a pet carnival
which is being held by a Shenzhen Pet Club.
At the same time we have launched our Dr. Dog
animal therapy program in Chengdu - the press,
who are really beginning to be a force for change
in China - went mad over it, we had over 100
articles in newspapers across China, over 20
TV spots, and we are being swamped by calls from
people all over China to begin Dr. Dog in their
city. The whole idea of animal therapy
is a totally new concept in China - the idea
(now scientifically proven) that being in the
company of dogs, lowers your stress levels, cholesterol
levels, reduces the risk of heart disease and
boosts your immune system, is totally new and
amazing!!
We also rescued a pathetic little stray dog
when we were on a field trip to the bear farms
in Yunnan Province in May - she was almost bald,
was thin as a rake and absolutely pitiful - in
fact, she crossed the road just as the van we
were in pulled out… we screamed at the driver
to stop the vehicle, and rushed over - the little
dog was fine, and had not a hint of aggression
in her as Jill scooped her up in her arms…
we named her Dali since we were in the city of
Dali - and today street dog Dali has become "Dr.
Dog Dali" and is figurehead of our Dr. Dog
animal therapy program in China - proving that
both a "meat dog" (Eddie) and a "street
dog" (Dali), can both make wonderful doctor
dogs!
Pet clubs are springing up all over China -
and we are linking up with them, reaching out
to the members to join us. Of course,
many Chinese people don't have a clue what goes
on in the markets (much the same way that most
British people have never visited an abattoir)
and we believe that the combination of Eddie's
film with the expansion of the Dr. Dog program,
will spark a new awareness and help them to find
their voice.
China is changing so fast, the Olympics is round
the corner, a new awareness of animals is just
beginning, …it's early days, but we believe
that our campaign is timely and can have real
impact! People tend to think, "but
China is such huge country - the culture is so
engrained, what can you do?"
Yes China is a massive country, and perhaps
one cannot change the mind of die-hard older
villager who has eaten dog his whole life, but
definitely with the youth, who are aspiring to
be different, we have a real window of opportunity. The
fact is, in the new
China the opinions for the whole country are
set in the big cities: Beijing, Shanghai and
Guang Zhou and to an extent, Chengdu, strategically,
we need to expand our message and reach out to
the more educated people in these cities - so
that attitudes can change and gradually a new
consensus on the goodness of dogs and cats as
our friends and helpers and not food can emerge.
The more money that we can raise, the more we
can really expand our publicity campaign in China,
speaking out for dogs and cats, injecting new
ideas and awareness, so that change can come
faster for those poor, poor dogs and cats, suffering
such atrocities right now in the markets. With
funding we can:
continue distributing the film - why not
100,000 copies or more?
with funding we can get it played widely
on TV
we can spread Dr. Dog into the key cities
in China
we have already placed a billboard in Beijing
with the message: "Dogs and cats are human
beings best friends, they need our love and
respect", and find that animal lovers
are getting in contact with us by email after
seeing the billboard. With the funds,
we can have billboards in every key city shouting
out the beauty and wonder of companion animals
we have already begun working with supportive
people at Publicis in Hong Kong who are putting
together commercials and print adds for us
on a pro bono basis… now we need the funding
to get those commercials on TV and adds in
magazines in China.
we can run commercials on TV,
we can run adds in magazines.
We need the funds to get our message out there
as widely as possible, to be a rallying call for
people to see dogs and cats in a new light. The
more help we can get, the more we can do, the sooner
that dogs and cats are seen as our best friends
and helpers and not food - and the horrendous cruelty
can be a thing of the past!
…
In Thailand stray dogs and pets are being illegally snatched, bought, or even bartered for household items, then smuggled to Vietnam, where they are sold, butchered and eaten.
With bribery at border checkpoints, apathy in the transit country of Laos, and northern Vietnam's appetite for one million dogs a year, Thai authorities are struggling to stop an estimated 200,000 dogs every year being exported alive in this international racket.
