China to Ban Eating Cats and Dogs

Planetsave
2010-01-27

Eating dogs and cats–which is an age-old delicacy in China–could soon be against the law.

It’s the nation’s first law against such animal abuse. Currently, dog and cat meat is viewed as promoting bodily warmth. But if the law passes, people who eat either animal could face fines of up to $730 or 15 days in jail. Organizations involved the practice would face fines up to 100-times as much.

“I support this proposal. Whether you judge this as a question of food security or emotions, there is absolutely no necessity in China for people to eat dogs and cats,” said Zeng Li, the founder of the Lucky Cats shelter in Beijing. “Beijing’s dog restaurants get their meat mainly from vagrant and stolen dogs. In the suburbs, dogs are hung and slaughtered in front of buyers.”

The law has been in the draft stage for over a year and will be submitted to higher authorities come April. But draft legislation can take years to approve. Drafters at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences have been consulting for more than a year with Britain’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the US-based International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Raising cats and dogs for meat remains widespread in China. You’ll often see it advertised as “fragrant meat,” a euphemism for dog. Cat meat is more popular in southern China where activists block trucks carrying thousands of cats to meat markets.

Ending the culinary tradition is going to be difficult even it is passed in to law, as it dates back thousands of years. Dog meat was once considered a medicinal tonic.

“We are proposing that all dog and cat eating should be banned because it is causing many social problems,” said Chang Jiwen, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who heads the drafting team.

The economic impact of this law would be small as China’s affluent don’t partake in the delicacy. In fact, such traditions have received much scrutiny from affluent, pet-loving, urban middle class. And online petitions against dog and cat consumption have attracted tens of thousands of signatures.

As a vegetarian, this begs the question of why stop at just cats and dogs? What’s the real difference between eating a cow or eating your dog? I’m just saying.

www.godlikeproductions.com...

[edit on 28-1-2010 by ofhumandescent]

Meat is meat. If you're not torturing the animal or mistreating it in anyway there's no problem.

Is there really a difference between raising cats or dogs for meat and raising chickens, cows, or rabbits?

As far as I can tell it's a personal choice thing. I wouldnt butcher a dog or cat unless my life depended on it. Rabbits or chickens or deer or turkey on the other hand. But that's preference and cultural.

Let them do what they do. Cant just go changing the way people live because you dont like it or you think it's "wrong."

Best thing I have ever heard out of China.
Now how about stopping the organ vans,and oppression of falun gong...then I may begin to change my opinion of the regime.But I doubt it.

Good start anyhow.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Meat is meat. If you're not torturing the animal or mistreating it in anyway there's no problem.

Well there's the thing, they're not treated humanley AT ALL. I mean, just watch "that" few minutes that the end of the CT film "Kymatica" to see that dogs are thrown around like nothing, and skinned/de-pawed ALIVE. That's messed up on such a scale that I can't even put it into words. I actually cried when I saw that bit of the film. Even thinking about such cruelty makes me feel sick to my stomach.

And whilst i am still a meat eater (but not for long with the way I'm going, I feel guilty every time I eat meat at the moment) I would be all for humane killing and treating animals well, even if we are going to chop them up for our cullinary pleasure. But it doesn't happen very often, even in the places that supposedly do this, some peoplethat work there still like to terrorise the animals. (recent documentary showed a guy kicking and punching the sheep before they went to slaughter.

I'd love for everyone to become a vegetarian, (myself included) it's the only way we'll evolve enough to make a difference, but that's not going to happen whilst people are unnaware of what the meat trade actually includes. And if China does stop the cat/dog meat trade, then hats off to them, cos it's one of the most barbaric trades going. These animals feel fear and pain just like you and I do. Just put yourself in their position next time you think about it. It's harrowing at best.

just like previous poster said.


meat is meat, it don't matter if its cats dogs cows chicken or horse.

I find it hypocriticle that people would think eating cats and dogs is wrong but chicken and cows aint.

In some regions in India the cow is sacred yet we kill them in masses everyday, what do you think they feel like?

If you start banning animals for food then you can basicly ban all animals for food and start eating vegies.

I agree with THISGUY in that if that is their diet, that is their diet. Just because we find it unacceptable, doesn't mean they should have to change.

Here comes my but....


Whatever animal it is, it should be treated humanely up until and including slaughter.

China doesn't exactly promote tourism on its animal rights agenda.

What I think this does is maybe finally getting the Chinese to realize that the animals of nature need to be treated with a little more humanity, and a little more respect. I hope that this legislation is a push in the right direction to stop the horrible atrocities that are commited in the name of food.

Not only is the slaughtering and depawing bad. I was sobbing at watching shark finning.

Where they just slice off the fins of sharks and throw them back into the ocean so they sink to the bottom and drown.

Not a minute too soon in my opinion.

Dogs and cats have evolved over a period of time, as we have deliberately domesticated them. We have bred into them certain qualities.

Anybody who has a close, personal relationship with a dog knows this.
They have become "humanized", at our bidding.

They run the full gamit of the emotions we have. They get depressed, angry, happy, excited, and they grieve for someone they miss. They love, and they hate. They forgive, or they hold a grudge. (Horses, too).

It's hard to imagine this is only now being done, and it has indeed been a huge cultural difference. Not a very pleasant one.





[edit on 1/28/2010 by ladyinwaiting]

Interesting, however I find it very difficult to believe that such law will be passed, or if passed be effective. Here in Sth. China dog is served everywhere, the majority of locals prefer this meat in winter, as you say, it warms the blood. Sadly, without realising it, I became partial to a certain soup, having two bowls a day at times......yes, I later found out it was dog. I no longer frequent that restaurant and have since taught myself to say "beef or pork only please" in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Many laws in China are often taken as a mere suggestion by the majority, for instance one may not sound one's car horn in city traffic lest a fine of 100 RMB be imposed, it is hard to concentrate on these warning signs as you drive through town for the honking of horns is downright deafening. One may not gamble, it is against the law, however sit by nearly any side street shop in the evening and groups of men are openly playing cards on a money strewn table. Red lights and one way street signs are again, taken as a suggestion only, you may have a proceed sign on your crossing signal but you would be insane to think that it affords you any right or protection when crossing the roads here. They will quite happily sound their horns to advise you to move as they drive down the footpath!

In a country where the people themselves say that they eat anything with legs except a table or anything with wings except an airoplane it would be nigh on impossible to implement such a non dog and cat eating decree.

Originally posted by colloredbrothers
just like previous poster said.


meat is meat, it don't matter if its cats dogs cows chicken or horse.

I find it hypocriticle that people would think eating cats and dogs is wrong but chicken and cows aint.

It's not hypocritical really, for you have failed to realise that different cultures have ancient beliefs on various animals. A Hindu (due to their upbringing) would abhor the slaughter of a cow, yet we harvest them due to OUR cultural up bringing.

Also when was the last time you had a pet cow? A pet pig?

I eat meat (Lamb, pig, cow, chicken, fish etc) , I have pet cats and dogs - I do NOT want to eat these....

Due to MY cultural up bringing. There's nothing hypocritical about it - just the way we've been conditioned.

I think the real meat of discussion hear is HOW they are slaughtered?

Last time i checked most slaughter houses stun a cow into unconsciousness / death with a large jolt of electricity to the brain (or in the US i believe it's a high pressure bolt that punctures the brain) and then an artery is slit, the cow will be dead within seconds...

In China, a dog is held down, whilst its belly is slit along the fur line, then held in boiling water for a minute or so (still alive) and then dropped to the floor and literally turned inside out....

The dog now has no fur, all its nerve endings are no doubt exploding in agony, the paws are then cut off... and left to die.... This can take anything from minutes (due to pure shock) to an hour ....

The difference here is HOW....

I'm not justifying it, as i have nothing to defend... I enjoy meat. But i'd much rather know that the animal i am eating has died without suffering.

Can the Chinese say the same about the fur trade?

Also, you may be interested to hear that when I discussed the consumption of dog meat with a group of Chinese and explained that nearly all westerners find this to be rather tragic the reply I was given was "Oh don't worry, we do not eat "nice" dogs".

True.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


Chickens, rabbits and cows can't love back.
Something very wrong with eating Man's Best Friend.
Something even more wrong when you have to resort to eating a family member.

It may be a cultural difference but why can't they acknowledge our culture, instead of the other way around?

This is gonna be a bit punch in 4chans face now they cant make the "chinese people ate my cat" jokes.

reply to post by Alxandro


Cant they love back? If they come to know you as a source of food and physical comfort isnt that love? Plenty of chickens and rabbits are kept as pets.

They can acknowledge our culture by not railing against us 24/7 for not eating out dogs. They dont have to celebrate our culture or conform to it or even accept it. Just let it be.

Maybe some Chinese Schindler can buy up all the dogs and ship them here. Then our already out of control pet populations can inflate to even greater extremes filling decompression chambers all over the country.

its a small step for the cats and dogs in china.
its a huge leap for animal rights in china.

now we wait for some rights to come up for the chinese people.
i sure hope i live to see that...

Originally posted by Alxandro
Chickens, rabbits and cows can't love back.
Something very wrong with eating Man's Best Friend.
Something even more wrong when you have to resort to eating a family member.

Pigs can. They are very intelligent. I really don't see the problem here. Have you ever wondered where the term Chow or Chowhall came from?

Here's a hint:

It may be a cultural difference but why can't they acknowledge our culture, instead of the other way around?

Why should they? Even if they did why should they conform to it?

Can't we recognize each other and leave it at that?

General:

As to the way they are killed, sure the "humane" method should be used, but the standards of killing here in America would make most meat eaters vomit.

Killing animals and preparing them for eating is nasty business, and while torture is unnecessary and cruel, that has no bearing on if the animal should be eaten or not.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Meat is meat. If you're not torturing the animal or mistreating it in anyway there's no problem.

Well it's true that meat is meat ... insofar as water is also water.

But ... dogs have been bred over our history to have symbiotic relationships with humans. They are bred to bond with humans and to perform specific tasks. Imho, betraying that bond that WE bred into them is disturbingly cruel.

Of course, I'm not at the brink of starvation, thus I acknowledge that it is an relatively easy moral position to take.

Cats can piss off ... they would eat me if they had a chance. (j/k of course)

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

i know who i am going to it when i am next hungry...human flesh has such a forbidden exquisite taste......

Originally posted by colloredbrothers

I find it hypocriticle that people would think eating cats and dogs is wrong but chicken and cows aint.

I would agree with that.All animals like that are senient,and they shold not be subjected to an existence of torture purely so we can eat them IMO.(I am talking factory farming here,or cruel non factory practices)

Originally posted by colloredbrothers

If you start banning animals for food then you can basicly ban all animals for food and start eating vegies.

I did that when I was 11...35 now,never been is hospital and very rarely get a cold or anything.Not that I am militant about it-Eat what you want I say,each to their own.
However,
On the one hand I am glad China are trying to ban the practice of eating cats and dogs,but on the other I imagine many poor people in China may end up going hungry because of the change in law-which is the last thing they need.
Are the commie Gov doing this as a way to get more western popular support I wonder?That would not surprise me at all.

A Filipino guy once told me you have to marinate the dog in 7-Up to get rid of the smell.

For the curious, some dog recipes. I must say they don't sound too appetizing.