RE: Financial Times - China's dog slaughter raises pet lovers' hackles

[Guest guest]

>Dogs’ culinary potential has been a comfort to some victims of the Mouding

county cull. A local news-paper quoted one >resident as saying he hanged his

two dogs on government orders, but then checked them for signs of rabies.

“Inspection showed >they were very healthy, so he invited some good friends

over to eat dog meat,” it said.

 

May be true, but then again, may not. Unfortunately, a few journalists do

not let facts stand in the way of a good story and the Chinese local

newspaper which made this statement is, hopefully, one of them.

 

S. Chinny Krishna

 

 

Weintraub [weintraub]

Sunday, August 06, 2006 5:51 AM

aapn

Financial Times - China’s dog slaughter raises pet

lovers’ hackles

 

 

The killings have extra resonance in what is China’s Year of the Dog. The

reaction has highlighted changing attitudes since the animal’s last

appearance in the zodiacal cycle 12 years ago.

 

In 1994, dog-beating squads were common even in big cities and the People’s

Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Communist party, was demanding an end to the

newly popular but “uncivilised and unhealthy” practice of keeping dogs as

pets.

 

Beaters in Yunnan province alone killed 10m dogs in the three years to 1991,

state media reported then, with no hint of protest. China’s urban middle

classes have since become hugely enthusiastic pet owners and are

increasingly open to ideas of animal rights and restrained government.

 

China’s dog slaughter raises pet lovers’ hackles

By Mure Dickie in Beijing Published: August 4 2006 19:47 The

government-ordered slaughter of tens of thousands of dogs has shone a

spotlight on the changing feelings of ordinary Chinese towards their canine

companions – and exposed the officials behind the killings to unusual

criticism.

 

The “dog-beating storm” was ignited this week by newspaper reports from

south-western Yunnan province, where 54,429 dogs – 99 per cent of the

Mouding county canine population – were destroyed after three local people

died of rabies.

 

To track down hidden dogs, officials set off firecrackers and banged pots

during the night, then followed the sound of barking.

 

But human howls of complaint have proved harder to silence. Internet

discussion boards have hummed with outrage and protest has even spilled into

state newspapers usually reluctant to criticise government actions directly.

 

Indiscriminate slaughter was an uncivilised way to respond to rabies, wrote

contributor Lin Weiping in the official Beijing Youth Daily.

 

“This is a classic case of lazy government,” Mr Lin wrote. “When local

authorities set such an example of barbarity and govern so lazily, what

happiness will the common people have to speak of?”

 

Still, the scale of the current debate – fuelled on Thursday by plans for

another slaughter in eastern Shandong province – also reflects unusual

tolerance by government censors, usually quick to shut down media criticism

of authorities.

 

Not all the comment has been critical. Many columnists and internet users

have said human interests should trump those of animals.

 

And there has been little discussion of the canine role in Chinese cuisine.

 

Dogs’ culinary potential has been a comfort to some victims of the Mouding

county cull. A local news-paper quoted one resident as saying he hanged his

two dogs on government orders, but then checked them for signs of rabies.

“Inspection showed they were very healthy, so he invited some good friends

over to eat dog meat,” it said.

 

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/49871928-23e8-11db-ae89-0000779e2340.html