dog meat festival canceled in eastern china
Amy Heckerling (writer & director of Clueless and the upcoming Vamps among many other films) sent me this story.
The New York Times reports that officials in eastern China have canceled a 600-year-old tradition: an autumn festival featuring (and glorifying) dog meat. Online activists fueled outrage among citizens by circulating gruesome photos from past festivals on popular Chinese blogs - ultimately shaming officials into canceling the festival. When the announcement was made, people across China cheered.
Why this turn of events? According to the Times, pet ownership among the Chinese has grown in recent years, along with a greater consciousness of animal rights. One expert quoted by the Times says this is evidence of a growing animal liberation movement in China. Amazing news! This is a perfect example of online activism winning the day. We all have a voice when we come together to share what we know with others. What we say online can spark real change!
How do you feel about this turn of events? Do you see any parallels with animal rights issues in the U.S.?
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17 comments
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As someone who is Chinese and has visited family there many times, I am so happy to hear that they have started to become more aware of animal rights. I am an animal lover who grew up with stories of my mom's cats suddenly disappearing when she was younger, most likely taken by neighbors to use as dinner. (Horrid!) I've seen some of the conditions these animals live in and sold as 'pets'; I hope these dogs find good homes. Some traditions are worth breaking - like this one. Yay for all the protestors who succeeded in their campaign!
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I am kinda with Mary L. I am glad this is over but what is with rallying behind saving dogs and not cows or chickens? I just do not understand. Still, stepping stones right!
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Hi there I am new to the kindlife I just signed up a few weeks ago. This i my first post and I am so happy that animal activists are prevailing in China but there are many other horrendous acts against poor animals in China that need our help and support. Please feel free to friend me and read about the link I provided regarding Raccoon dogs and fake uggs. It's great to be a member of this amazing community.
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hmm...I am going to be a little eeyore and say...now they can eat other animals instead of the dog meat that they were going to eat.
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I am extremely happy to see that this event has been cancelled and happy to hear that China is becoming more conscious of animal rights. This is definitely a step in the right direction and I think each victory helps to fuel more victories and brings more attention to the issues. I'm very pleased that any community, on-line or otherwise, can lead positive changes and a brighter, more compassionate, future for all animals. The sooner the better, for positive changes, because every day that animals suffer is so awful....absolutely heartbreaking and so unncecessary.
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I love this. I see this as even more significant than animal rights issues in the USA, because China is growing really fast economically and if they get to the level of meat eating among their massive population as the USA does, then the consequences for both animals and people will be unthinkable.
I know that some countries make a leap in their progress by piggybacking on the progress of countries that got there first. I know some countries have gone to using mobiles without having a stage of predominance of landlines in between. If we can make a parallel with this economic progress and consider the progress of animal rights and similar cultural changes, we can imagine that China could jump from not being able to afford meat to choosing not to eat meat even though they could afford it. This could be the greatest hope for our planet, assuming we can also save the situation in the USA and that we can get a predominant atmosphere of animal rights in all countries before it's too late.
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This is an amazing day for animal welfare in China! I am inspired to read that animal welfare amongst Chinese people is growing and I just reinforces for me that animal cruelty and animal empathy exist in every culture. When we sign petitions and express our concern for animal welfare we add to the voices of our brothers and sisters in cultures and regimes that are oppressing those who care. We must be diligent about our own countries animal cruelty ( I am in Australia) and remember this is not about race. For those interested here is a link to a page about Islam's requirements with regard to animals according to the teachings of the prophet Mohammed. I found it really touching as a non muslim that so much of the law is afforded to the care and compassion of animals. http://singaporecats.multiply.com/journal/item/229/Prophet_Muhammad_and_kindness_to_animals_in_Islam?&show_interstitial=1&u=%2Fjournal%2Fitem
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Wonderful news!! So happy for the dogs and happy for the Chinese because the greatness of a nation can be measured on how they treat their animals! I am so happy that they are starting to see that animals have a right to live.....just like we do. I know we all have a long way to go on the animal cruelty front, but this is such a big step in the right direction:-)
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Thanks for posting this story! I am so happy to hear that Chinese activists helped to stop this 'tradition' and liberate dogs! Although, it still saddens me that most of the general public do not extend their compassion and activist efforts to farm animals in North America. The ideology in the West that the Chinese are barbaric becuase they eat dogs is hypocritical. It's culturally relative, and we in the West are equally complicit in the suffering of sentient beings that we classify as food (like cows and pigs).
That being said, I am thrilled to see that more and more people are starting to realize the inherent cruelty of our use of animals for so many cruel purposes and that animal rights activism is growing and attitudes are changing!
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I'm so happy to hear about the cancellation. I am concerned about what is going to happen to the dogs who were going to be killed for the festival. What happens them now? Does anybody know if there's a propose rescue?
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What a wonderful story to read first thing int he morning - what a great day to start my day - with a story of triumph and hope!
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This is wonderful! I am so happy to hear that the Chinese are taking action and are trying to help. It is always great to hear about anyone helping the animals. Thank you for sharing this story.
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