Rein in the urge to eat cats and dogs
- Source: Global Times
- [01:50 January 27 2010]
- Comments
By Chen Chenchen
A war of words is on among China's netizens over the yet-to-be released draft of a new law against animal cruelty.
Chang Jiwen, head of the animal protection law project and professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, disclosed Sunday that, under the draft provisions, it would be illegal to eat and sell dog and cat meat.
Anyone eating or selling dog and cat meat can be fined up to 5,000 yuan ($732) and detained for as long as 15 days. Organizations breaking the law shall be fined of 10,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan.
Many netizens strongly support the new provisions whereas some view the ban as discrimination against Chinese eating practices.
There's an old Chinese saying "No immortal can purify his mind when the fragrance of dog meat lingers." A lot of people believe that dog meat is most nourishing in winter for feeble folks.
Therefore each year, when the icy winds arrive, some restaurants, especially in Southwest China's Guizhou Province and in northeastern China, rush to enrich the menu with braised dog meat and dog meat soup to lure customers. Cats, on the other hand, are only eaten in a few regions. For example, cat meat is a delicious specialty in Guangdong Province.
The daintiness of dog meat, however, does not justify eating it. Put differently, dogs and cats, as human being's most loyal companions and close friends, should not end up as food in people's dishes.
Wei Xinru, chairman of Guizhou Society for the Study of Folk Literature and Art, holds that ethnic groups that eat dogs are often those ended hunting lifestyle early. They do not rely heavily on dogs and thus don't feel gratitude to dogs any more.
Wei's point may partially explain why some ethnic groups in Guizhou, like Buyis and Shuis, tend to eat dog meat, whereas others like Miaos and Yaos do not.
Actually, across China most people are neither grateful to dogs nor dependent on cats. Due to the dense population and crowded living environment, many cannot keep a dog or cat as a pet.
In rural China, dogs and cats are often sent by relatives or picked up in the street, and not treated as a family member.
Only in well-to-do families where dogs and cats are kept as pets and as companions do the masters deeply care and cherish them.
In a country where people are more concerned about their own food and clothing, animal rights are often neglected.
Along with better living standards and awareness, China is gradually breaking with bad practices and customs. Foot binding, which was "compulsory" a century ago, sounds outrageous nowadays. So it is natural that sympathy and awareness has spread to animal rights and animal protection.
The ban against eating dog and cat meat is a clear sign of a new awareness.
