Photo: Getty Images.
The draft going to Parliament in April would be the first law against animal abuse by a new, increasingly animal-loving Chinese society that no longer has the taste for canine and feline meat.
Dog meat appeared in Chinese cuisine as early as the third century B.C. and is long believed to provide warmth to those who eat it. Restaurants offering dog -- or "fragrant meat" as it's often poetically referred to -- appear throughout the entire nation. Its "warming" property makes it particularly popular in winter stews and the frigid northeastern region of China.
Cat meat, however, is primarily consumed by the people of the southern Guangdong province. Cat is not as popular because of an old superstition that the feline will come back at night to retaliate.
Waking up to a vengeful minx? No thanks. We'll leave the tail-wagging eating to Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain.
1-26-2010 @2:32PM John McCollum said... This is quite sad to me. Dog meat is delicious, nutritious and just another part of China's cultural and culinary heritage that will be unknown to future generations.
Pity, too, because Chinese dog dishes are, in my opinion, more delicious than Korean and Cambodian. I guess I'll have to try Vietnam.
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1-27-2010 @10:41AM Staccy said... Culture or not, eating dogs and cats is completey stupid. The Asian countries ALWAYS think in these ridiculous "superstitious" ways, that eating a Tiger's penis will give some great benefit. It's obvious there is NO scientific proof of this, but they continue to do this. Every country is entitled to their own "culture" as long as it doesn't HURT the animal involved...that includes the U.S. But the one thing we don't do is to take a beautiful animal, like the Tiger, that the whole world LOVES, and bring it to the table for our own needs. Not to mention that we don't want them to become extinct. This, along with other animals and fish are included in the Asian "menu". I say this, too, because I lived in South Korea and know how the dogs are beaten "to make their meat tender", can you imagine? For ANY living thing?? How horribly ridiculous and stupid that is. I hope, all of the Asian peoples can do away with the dog, cat mentality.
1-27-2010 @10:44AM John McCollum said... Staccy, let me break down your argument as I understand it:
1) All Asian cultures ALWAYS think in terms of superstition.
2) The consumption of dogs and cats is related to this superstition, and therefore stupid.
3) Every culture is entitled to their own (admittedly stupid) traditions.
4) It isn't morally wrong to eat an animal, unless you hurt it. Or unless it's beautiful.
5) Tigers are endangered, therefore we should not eat dogs and cats.
6) Some Koreans utilize cruel methods of killing dogs for food.
7) Asian cultures operate under a "completely stupid" "dog and cat mentality."
Nope. Not racist or ignorant at all...
1-27-2010 @1:37PM sherry said... John McCollum Dont be sad, do you have depression? or are you just a totally heartless, disgusting sub-human?
THANK YOU PETA AND ALL THE ANIMALS ORGANIZATIONS FOR HELPING ANIMALS AND STOPPING THE BRUTAL TORTURE FORCED UPON THEM. LIKE SLAVERY, ANIMAL ABUSE IS EVIL
1-27-2010 @1:46PM John McCollum said... Sherry, I think it's morally reprehensible to equate the value of human life to the value of animal life. Call me a 'speciest' if you like, but it would be morally wrong in any situation to eat my son. It would not be morally wrong to eat a cow.
Or, in my opinion, a dog. Following the moral equivalence argument, a firefighter should really have a moral dilemma upon encountering a house in flames: "Should I save the kitty, or should I save the little girl?"
For me, there's no dilemma. People are more valuable than animals. I won't apologize for that for an instant.
1-29-2010 @1:44PM Chas said... The anti animal cruelty law is an “expert advisory draft” from China Academy of Social Science and Law, and must be reviewed by the legislative body. How much of it will become legislative propposal remains to be seen.
Also, it does not ban dog/cat meat consumption, only regulation for cruelty and sanitation. The academy did consider regional culture and tradition when drafting this proposal.
BTW, if some Hindus think cows are God, should we not eat beef? Dog and cat are considered food animal in many culture around the world. Rabbit is pet in our society, yet we eat rabbits. If intelligence is the criteria pigs are smarter than cat, but pork chops are okay?
2-11-2010 @7:10PM Jim said... First, instead of a speciest, I think I'll just call you a douche.
Second, I'm sure your son tastes like chicken and would go well with Jack Daniels barbecue sauce. What doesn't really?
Third, it's likely the majority of people will be vegetarian at some point in the next century or so, which will make most of us now douches.
Fourth, dogs and cats are actually very different than pigs and cows. The latter is prey, the former are predators.
Fifth, you're a douche.
Sixth, you're a douche.
Ad infinum.
1-26-2010 @2:37PM jcurtis said... It is sad. I love animals, both as pets and eating them. China has so many people that it makes sense to me that they eat dogs and cats to cater to the huge population. It seems odd not to eat dogs and cats when pigs can be just as lovable... This is a weird innitiative they are taking. I think that WE are the weird ones for judging them.
Mcdonalds is behind this somehow. I know it...
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1-27-2010 @11:10AM bait said... No one is judgeing them. This was just a report of news. Get over it. Don't over analyze.
2-12-2010 @12:47PM Jim said... Actual no turkey on Thanksgiving would be like no turkey on Thanksgiving. Maybe I'm unaware, but I don't believe there is a major Chinese holiday in which the dog or cat is the centerpiece meal.
People change, if the Chinese people as a whole are completely against this then it will fail and they will continue to eat dogs and cats. Not really complicated.
It is likely that more "civilized" cultures will become more and more vegetarian as time passes. I'm a meat eater myself, but in a way it's like smoking, it's a habit we'd be better off (as a whole) without. The inefficiencies of meat production vs. crop growing is enormous. One cow must be fed its whole life the food we could just be eating, vegetarianism is sorta like cutting out the middle man.
Don't worry though, it won't happen in our lifetime, I just anticipate higher percentages of the new generations being vegetarian.
1-26-2010 @6:53PM cathy said... Seems barbaric to me. Culture aside, I feel if you have an animal as a pet, you should not eat it. I'm not talking animals bred for slaughter and eating but domestic animals. Just because it was in their culture for years doesn't make it right. We had slavery, obviously barbaric as well. http://newsy1.wordpress.com
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1-27-2010 @5:40PM Helen said... Do you want fries with that?
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1-27-2010 @10:22AM MrDoughnut said... I am glad they finally passed a law to save the cats and dogs.
They have an over population of men who will now have same relations so they should cook up all their excess men!
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1-27-2010 @3:25PM Steven Ruza said... Hince the reason I never eat chinese food...ew... - Steven Ruza
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1-27-2010 @11:35AM Louis said... With a population of one billion people, it will be interesting now to a see billions of dogs and cats running around instead of being served with fried rice.
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1-27-2010 @2:38PM Sammy said... Obviously the Chinese are trying to change their image to the world. Change the culture, make them stop doing something they have been doing for thousands of years, just so the world will see them in a different, better light. What a shame.
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2-12-2010 @12:53PM Jim said... Is there another, better reason to change your culture?
1-27-2010 @11:55AM Sara said... It's interesting how people feel that eating a cat or dog is different than eating a pig or cow. The way animals are raised and slaughtered in this world is creating more problems for this earth than just about anything else. It would be so much better if people raised their own animals and killed and ate them if they wanted to eat meat. I bet if this was the way people lived, there would be many more vegetarians. For the people that still ate meat, there would be more thankfulness and appreciation for the meat/mammal/feeling being, that died and was on their dinner table. There sure would be a lot less obesity in the U.S.
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1-27-2010 @12:28PM Gary said... There are two points. 1) The controllers of the Chinese government want Americans and Europeans to think they are "civilized" and are banning practices that are unacceptable to Westerners. No different than when they stopped binding the feet of young girls. They don't believe a word of the "concern for animals" stuff. It's just meant as a PR move. 2) The Chinese people have no choice in this, even though the traditional use of dog and cat have been part of their culture for a couple thousand years. These are the same people who have no problem arranging a matching organ donor for wealthy international recipients on a particular day of the week. They always seem to have someone available at a particular time. Meaning, they kill people to create donors. They claim they are "criminals." You realize, as of today, eating a dog would make you a "criminal." See any connection? Chinese communists still send people to reeducation camps. They still kill people who don't agree with them. Ask yourself this - if they would kill a human being for disagreeing with them, why would they care about killing a dog or a cat? Answer? They don't.
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1-27-2010 @12:36PM Heather said... 8-10 years ago I was watching TV and flipping through the chanels. I saw an asian family picking out a Chow puppy. It was pure black, and plump, and fluffy. The daughter was on the floor playing with the puppy, the daughter played with the puppy the whole ride home and than they cut the puppy open while it was alive and skinned it and cooked it. I was horrified. I could not believe what I was watching and that a cable network would show it. I had nightmares for months. I have never seen the show on TV since. I wish I could remember what chanel it was on, I do not want to give any stations a bad rep, but it seems that it was TLC or the Discovery chanel. Did anybody else see that show?
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