Org. wants to ban dog / cat meat in China

This story has been popping up in the press here recently, the Chinese Animal Protection Network (CAPN) is lobbying to outlaw dog and cat meat in mainland China.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a very strong argument from them about exactly why dog and cat meat should be banned. They fail to answer why these animals shouldn't be eaten, while pigs and cows can, etc. etc. I know I've beaten down this topic a bit much, but these people are sure going to a lot of effort -- for what reason? -- and I'm still hoping to see a good argument.

This comes at the same time that PETA is making moves to voice their views in China. I should add, I'm completely in favor of the fundamentals -- ethical treatment of animals -- but don't always understand their tactics or philosophical inconsistencies.

Alas, bring on the hate mail...

Guangdong Girl Saves Cats

We meant to post this a while back, it's from December 2008, but we were busy eating placenta, and durian.

There's a saying in Chinese, that Guangdong people (Cantonese) eat everything with legs except the table. You see, people in Guangdong have a reputation for eating weird animals. Like dogs and cats and monkeys and snakes and lizards. A lot of northern Chinese people believe southerners eat aborted fetuses -- yes, I've heard it many times -- it's a hoax people! (If you're curious about this, there's a discussion here about how the Christian media went bonkers reporting about Chinese eating human fetuses. Oh Lordy!...)

So there's this girl in Guangdong Province, southern China, who is trying to save cats. She thinks her own people "lose face" by eating cute kittens. The photos and comments on the China Smack post are pretty interesting, you don't see this kind of action in China often.

She's not the only one, there seems to be a cat-saving movement.

We have to hand it to this girl for stepping up as a leader like this, quite impressive considering what she's up against. But the question begs to be answered, again -- why cats?

UPDATE: June 29, 2009 -- More cat saving action...
300 cats rescued from menus in Guangdong

Would someone please explain the logic behind this? The cages that hold chickens, ducks, pigs, etc. are no more pleasant, and the treatment of the animals no better. The restaurant across the street from my home has snakes in cages, right out on public display, but I don't see anyone protesting and letting the snakes free.
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China Cat Lovers Rescue Kittens Meant for Dinner

Oh here's a fun story... over the weekend in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province (a few hours south of Shanghai), a bunch of cat lovers rescued 800 kittens that were going to be sent down to Guangdong (where they eat all that weird stuff). Supposedly these cats were meant to be eaten too.

Shanghai Animal Protection Association President Zhang Yi appealed to society to cultivate better dining habits. [source]

These cat lovers are speciesists!

Now, my spell check is telling me speciesist and speciesism is not a word. (it's recommending "spacesuit" hah). But the word is in the dictionary:

discrimination in favor of one species, usually the human species, over another, esp. in the exploitation or mistreatment of animals by humans.

Maybe you didn't know, there's a whole debate about this stuff. This guy thinks animal rights activists are misguided - The Speciesist's Corner. This guy asks, Is Christianity Irredeemably Speciesist?.

Part of the whole issue is concerned with humans thinking they are better than animals. But another part of the debate asks why one animal is regarded higher than another.

All that aside, the question begs to be answered -- why are these guys saving cats? What about the pigs, the chickens, the cows, the ducks. Ducks are cute too.

If all that's too heavy for you, watch this woman train her cat to eat with a fork. Hey is that reverse speciesism?

China Bans Dog Meat During Olympics

[Photo from TrekEarth]

During the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, the government banned some restaurants from serving dog meat and encouraged Koreans to not eat dog when around foreign visitors. There was a lot of hoopla surrounding this, with anti-dog meat organizations rallying and "Korean culture" supporters defending their right to eat dog meat. It's important to note that there were Korean natives and foreigners on both sides of the argument, and I'm sure there always will be.

Looks like China has done the same for the Beijing 2008 Olympic summer games. "Restaurant workers are advised to 'patiently' suggest other options to diners who order dog." [source]

That goes along with a list of all sorts of things they've covered up from foreign eyes for the Olympics.

We've eaten dog meat in many places around China, and other countries, and we've even seen in on the menu at some luxury hotels and airport lounges. The shocking, gruesome pictures of dog meat you might find on the internet are often taken in rural villages, where the butchering and cooking of animals is usually out in the open, for public viewing. It's the same for most slaughtered animals there. You can hand-pick your fish or chicken or goat, and have it slaughtered, butchered, bled, and cooked right before your eyes. How is this different from what happens every day in the modern, urban, Western world? We do our slaughter behind closed doors. But we still do it, and you eat it and you pay for it to be done again (vegetarians excluded, of course).

More about eating dog meat.

And more about anti-weird meat propaganda.