Saving China’s Dogs
Nola
Harming dogs seems cruel and inhumane, how could you hurt our cute furry friends? The alarming truth is that in Asia 16 million dogs are eaten each year (Unknown, 2015), many of them tortured to death. In Chinese lore it is believed that dog meat will stimulate internal heat, fending off the cold of the winter. In the summer however, they are eaten on the pure superstition that they will bring good luck. Both of these are, of course, false, and fail to recognize how cruel and barbaric the practice truly is. Many dogs are raised purely for their fur and skin. If this is such an awful act, why is it still going on today?
To start off, animal cruelty is treated different from human cruelty. An animal is alive just the same as a human, and if a human deserves the chance to live a good life, why shouldn’t an animal? If you were to farm humans for their meat everybody would protest against it immediately, but just because it’s dogs not people, society will turn a blind eye. A life is a life no matter what. Many of the dogs are tortured because people believe that fear will make the meat taste better, which is false, obviously. The dogs are subjected to extreme fear and torture, and are killed in extremely painful ways (bludgeoning, hanging, electrocution, etc.). They are killed and their necks are broken, sometimes on the street in front of passerby and other dogs (Unknown, N/D). If this was happening to a human they would be appalled by the mere thought of it. But because it was only a dog, it’s deem perfectly acceptable. To quote Dr. Seuss, “A person's a person, no matter now small”. Although dogs aren’t technically people, they’re still lives worth saving. How come nobody's doing anything?
Truth is, people are trying, but it’s hard when dog meat is still fairly common in supermarkets. Although the government has banned it from restaurants, it hasn’t stopped people from partaking in a heartless meal of man's best friend. Thankfully, we’ve seen a decrease in dog eaters, and an increase in dog lovers over the years. Now many dogs are being kept as pets, dissuading their owner from eating their kind. Many protest are also being held against the consumption of dogs (Charlie Campbell, 2016). Despite the ruthless protesting, many dogeaters will not be discouraged, and continue to indulge in canine. Thankfully, more laws are being put in place (although they are not being upheld quite as much as you would hope), and the number of hounds devoured is dropping. Dog meat is only legal in mainland China, as it is illegal in both Hong Kong and Thailand (Unknown, 2015). Why hasn’t the mothership caught on? Are they really holding old traditions so dear? Haven’t they heard, it’s tasteless, cold-blooded, and, what’s that? Unhygienic?
There is a yearly festival called the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, where participants join together to dine on some fine mutt. Roughly 10,000 dogs are brought and tortured to death in horrific ways, while onlookers watch in delight. They may be (too) accepting of the abuse of the poor pooches, but they don’t know about the unsanitary conditions they were brought in, and the diseases they may carry. Dogs often travel in dirty, crowded atmospheres, and many arrive sick or dying. They are not allowed to sell food in this condition. The dogs are also not vaccinated. Prolonged exposure to sick unvaccinated meat can increase your chances of contracting rabies. To nobody's surprise, Yulin’s incidence of human rabies cases is among the top ten of Chinese cities (Jack Linshi, 2016).
The process of getting dog meat is vicious, unauthorized, and filthy. Is it really worth all that effort just to eat one measly dog? If it’s not about ethics think about the law. If it’s not about the law think about your health. The steps are messy and, frankly, not worth it. Why afflict misery on millions of dogs when you could, oh I don't know, not? It’s awful, but I’m glad we’re seeing a change. This has gone on long enough. It’s time to end the undeserved suffering of innocent pups.
References
Jack Linshi (2016), 6 Things You Need to Know About China's Dog-Eating Yulin Festival, retrieved from:
Charlie Campbell (2016), Millions of Chinese Are Calling for an End to the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, retrieved from:
Unknown (N/D), The Dog Meat Trade, retrieved from:
Unknown (2015), 20 Facts About Dogs & Dog-Eating in China, retrieved from: