Vice: dog meat festival in Yulin, China

[politicqxs 358]

Can't get enough of Vice documentaries although they got acquired by Murdoch ..

 

 

[politicqxs 358]

http://atimes.com/2016/05/lifestyle-yulin-dog-meat-festival-must-the-world-interfere/

Lifestyle: Yulin Dog Meat Festival—Must the world interfere? 

BY CAROLINE DIANA on MAY 10, 2016 inLIFESTYLE

The squabbling continues on social media. The good, the bad, and the ugly of Yulin Dog Meat Festival is much debated by animal activists across the world. But nobody seems to have reached a consensus.

The long and short of it: Every year, China plays host to Yulin Dog Meat Festival, in which tens and thousands of dogs are butchered and eaten. This has invoked the wrath of mutt lovers across the world, who evidently see this as a parade of cruelty.

“The Chinese are heartless. They are slaughtering and eating man’s best friend,” the activists thundered. But this is only a half-truth. As sarcastic as it may sound, the Chinese do love their dogs— but they prefer them salted and sauted.

The cultural perception is pretty blatant here.

While the rest of the world shares an emotional bonding with dogs—making them a part of the family—China doesn’t.

To the Chinese, the four-legged furry creature is just another scrumptious dish to savor—like frog thighs or snake fries.

To them, the ten-day Yulin Dog Festival is a proud tradition, spanning over 400 years. The festival in June is a part of summer solstice. The ancient Chinese believed that the dog meat stimulates body heat and wards off winters’ cold. The meat is also believed to bring good luck.

Brought up among such folklores, is it right to blame the Chinese and ban their festival?

 

Rana Jen, a Chinese American, born and raised in the US, said: “Somehow, I cannot get myself to 100% unequivocally support the ban on dog meat and on the Yulin Festival. While I’m a dog lover who volunteers with the SPCA, I still feel that Chinese and others who eat dog meat have the right to do so. It’s a civil liberty.”

Keith Budd, who has spent more time in China, pointed out that the Western social media portrayal of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival is not accurate. “The breeds of dog people usually eat are not pet dogs, They are bred for eating just like a pig or a chicken. Please distinguish this from the festival in question, where many reports indicate that stolen pets end up on plates,” he said on Quora.

Budd added that eating dog is a rural practice in China, and is generally shunned by people who live in urban areas as a little backwards. “In fact, there are as many protests on Chinese social media about the dog eating festival as there are on Facebook, and they will likely be a lot more effective in changing attitudes towards it because they are in Chinese, and Facebook is banned in China anyway. As China develops, eating dog meat will likely be left behind like so many other ‘rural’ practices in modern China,” he said. 

Charlie Li from China emphasized that the dogs are not tortured. “They put down dogs just as they put down sheep and cattle. Besides, when it comes to torture, the geese have a lot to complain. Pigs are  more intelligent than dogs, but that didn’t stop us from eating them but no one said a word. Cows are considered gods in India but the rest of the world had no trouble killing them and eating them. Most of my Chinese friends don’t eat dogs, but we respect the tradition of celebrating Yulin Dog Meat Festival. I have a dog now, my precious little baby Yorkie, but I wouldn’t go crazy on dog eaters,” he said.

[Serendipity 7,821]

If people can eats cows and pigs, so can dogs and cats be eaten, I guess.

[Dayman 6,252]

I eat meat - a lot of it too. But, I still to this day have no concept of how someone can bring themselves to eat dog meat. Dogs and humans have an amazing natural connection. They naturally love us and we naturally love them. They recognize we are not dogs and even know how to read human emotional cues not present between dogs. A good example is eye movement, dogs do not communicate with each other through eye movement, but they do communicate with humans through eye movement and they know how to read our eye movement as well.

In comparison a cat doesn't even recognize a human as being a different species - they just think we are really big dumb cats who don't know how to do anything. I'm not saying eating cats is okay, my point is that eating an animal that has such a natural bond and connection to humans is disgusting.

There is no animal outside of our species that understands us as much as dogs do and this "festival" is a disgusting act that serves no true purpose.

[Serendipity 7,821]

7 minutes ago, Dayman said:

I eat meat - a lot of it too. But, I still to this day have no concept of how someone can bring themselves to eat dog meat. Dogs and humans have an amazing natural connection. They naturally love us and we naturally love them. They recognize we are not dogs and even know how to read human emotional cues not present between dogs. A good example is eye movement, dogs do not communicate with each other through eye movement, but they do communicate with humans through eye movement and they know how to read our eye movement as well.

In comparison a cat doesn't even recognize a human as being a different species - they just think we are really big dumb cats who don't know how to do anything. I'm not saying eating cats is okay, my point is that eating an animal that has such a natural bond and connection to humans is disgusting.

There is no animal outside of our species that understands us as much as dogs do and this "festival" is a disgusting act that serves no true purpose.

not really  

it just depends on the particular pet and a person.

not every dog is good, some can be very ferocious.

[politicqxs 358]

26 minutes ago, Dayman said:

I eat meat - a lot of it too. But, I still to this day have no concept of how someone can bring themselves to eat dog meat. Dogs and humans have an amazing natural connection. They naturally love us and we naturally love them. They recognize we are not dogs and even know how to read human emotional cues not present between dogs. A good example is eye movement, dogs do not communicate with each other through eye movement, but they do communicate with humans through eye movement and they know how to read our eye movement as well.

In comparison a cat doesn't even recognize a human as being a different species - they just think we are really big dumb cats who don't know how to do anything. I'm not saying eating cats is okay, my point is that eating an animal that has such a natural bond and connection to humans is disgusting.

There is no animal outside of our species that understands us as much as dogs do and this "festival" is a disgusting act that serves no true purpose.

Dog Bites

They may be our best friends, but dogs are still animals and they can bite. In fact, dogs bite about 4.5 million Americans every year, half of them children between ages 5 and 9. One out of every five of those bites causes an injury that requires medical attention, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Children are also more likely than adults to be injured by a dog bite.

Although strays or other strange dogs can bite, most of the time people are actually bitten by a dog they know, which could be a friend's dog or even the family pet.

To prevent dog bites:

When choosing a dog for a family pet, pick one with a good temperament.

Stay away from any dogs you don't know.

Never leave young children alone with a dog -- especially an unfamiliar one.

Don't try to play with any dog that is eating or feeding her puppies.

Whenever you approach a dog, do so slowly, and give the dog the chance to approach you.

If a dog becomes aggressive, do not run away or scream. Stay calm, move slowly, and don't make eye contact with the dog.

http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/dog-bites

[Lona Delery 7,227]

Who cares. They can eat what they want. Just cuz the western world has an emotional connection to dogs and cats doesn't mean everyone else has.

[Katharine Hepburn 4,607]

The conditions the dogs were kept in was very poor but I'd imagine it would be the same for all the animals for food. I think we shouldn't eat any meat but it would be hypocritical to say it's wrong to eat dogs when I do eat beef sometimes and cows are intelligent. It was hard to watch because I've been brought up to view dogs as pets.

[PartySick 174,218]

1 hour ago, Dayman said:

I eat meat - a lot of it too. But, I still to this day have no concept of how someone can bring themselves to eat dog meat. Dogs and humans have an amazing natural connection. They naturally love us and we naturally love them. They recognize we are not dogs and even know how to read human emotional cues not present between dogs. A good example is eye movement, dogs do not communicate with each other through eye movement, but they do communicate with humans through eye movement and they know how to read our eye movement as well.

In comparison a cat doesn't even recognize a human as being a different species - they just think we are really big dumb cats who don't know how to do anything. I'm not saying eating cats is okay, my point is that eating an animal that has such a natural bond and connection to humans is disgusting.

There is no animal outside of our species that understands us as much as dogs do and this "festival" is a disgusting act that serves no true purpose.

Something tells me you'd like this article

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenna-woginrich/do-not-compare-my-dogs-to_b_1174617.html

"Dogs chose us. Unlike cats, horses, or other domestic animals, they became a part of our lives by their own volition. They didn’t do it because of some cosmic wanderlust to serve man, but because we kept some mighty tasty scrap piles at the edge of our camp. So they became comfortable with our campfires and voices. and over the centuries have co-habituated with man in a pact of mutual benefit and success. Dogs, like man, are predators that live in groups and hunt by daylight. Their skills in running down prey far exceed our own. When the spoils were shared, pups raised with humans, and generations of selective breeding and adaptation were put in effect, we were gifted the company of an amazing and multi-talented animal. We now have dogs to aid people in every civilization in the world. No other domesticated species has become so useful in so many ways. So adaptable, varietal, and integral to our own civilization.

I refuse to see all animals as equals. Call me a speciesist all you like. Livestock raised for our plate are not on the same emotional, societal, or cultural plane as dogs. Certainly not to me, or to our history as co-dependent species. If you have the audacity to compare my working dogs to my edible livestock, I have already stopped listening to you. Dogs are not dinner, they are home. And even if some dogs are raised as food by other cultures, it doesn’t diminish the story of Dog, or negate the work they have done and continue to do with us humans. They have been watching over us, protecting us, hunting with us, carrying us, and sharing our lives since the story of modern man began. Don’t you dare compare them to a pig."

Spoiler

Though I'd be hard pressed to say at this point in our societies development, it's stupid to even eat any animal  but dogs are definitely different. I 100% agree with this^.

 

[iCpro 14,846]

1 hour ago, Baby Blue said:

If people can eats cows and pigs, so can dogs and cats be eaten, I guess.

 

28 minutes ago, Versus said:

people who think this is disgusting but still eat meat are the ultimate hypocrites 

 

1 hour ago, Plantzombie said:

Who cares. They can eat what they want. Just cuz the western world has an emotional connection to dogs and cats doesn't mean everyone else has.

Except that's not all that happens there. The dogs are literally skinned alive, boiled alive, burned alive, pretty much tortured to death. It is ****ing disgusting. Dogs are one of the most advanced species on the planet, and thus deserve our respect, not this.

[iCpro 14,846]

1 hour ago, Baby Blue said:

not really  

it just depends on the particular pet and a person.

not every dog is good, some can be very ferocious.

Dogs are only aggressive if they are raised that way. Their behaviour depends on their owner.

[iCpro 14,846]

1 minute ago, Versus said:

so are all animals that are killed by human industries

No they aren't. Think about how inefficient it would be to boil 10 million chickens to death. Animals in in the food industries are for the most part killed in the quickest method possible, not burnt alive on a public street for entertainment. And most developed countries have laws regulating the culling of animals that prevent that **** anyway. 

[RAMROD 117,982]

Hmm, I guess it's about taste.

I'd choose crocodile and pork than cats and dogs. 

[Serendipity 7,821]

27 minutes ago, cpro said:

No they aren't. Think about how inefficient it would be to boil 10 million chickens to death. Animals in in the food industries are for the most part killed in the quickest method possible, not burnt alive on a public street for entertainment. And most developed countries have laws regulating the culling of animals that prevent that **** anyway. 

it doesn't matter,they all die in the end.

whether or not it's fast, it doesn't alter the fact that HUMANS kills other being to feed themselves.

[Lona Delery 7,227]

1 hour ago, cpro said:

 

 

Except that's not all that happens there. The dogs are literally skinned alive, boiled alive, burned alive, pretty much tortured to death. It is ****ing disgusting. Dogs are one of the most advanced species on the planet, and thus deserve our respect, not this.

Yeah, thats wrong. But if you think that any other animal gets a better treatment there, thats pure delusion.

I would agree though that we have to do smth against the torture in general. But as long as we eat lobsters which get boiled alive as well, it'd be pure hypocrisy.