Just wondering if anyone here won't be watching the Beijing Olympics next year? If people are unaware of the reason I ask, basically a lot of people are boycotting it due to culling of dogs that has occurred this year to 'clean up' China for the games. More information here, but I do warn you it's incredibly graphic and very upsetting- Chinese Olympics - Culling And some more here, not so graphic- Chinese county slaughters 50,000 dogs - Pet health - MSNBC.com
That is disgusting beyond belief. How vulgar. Maybe if the Chinese stopped breeding like rabbits they wouldn't have such poor living conditions and there wouldn't be so many stray dogs. I don't care about their one-child policy, let them self-implode. It's about time stricter laws are put in place against animal murders in general as well. This is one of the many reasons I'll never visit Asia.
It's not just stray dogs either, they're actually taking dogs away from their owners if they own more than one. It's so appalling, so many people over there have no concept of humanity. A lot of its human population isn't treated much better. It's a gorgeous country, but their morals and beliefs are in a totally different league to ours.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I turn into an animal rights activist someday soon ... as well as a greenie.
As long as you don't join PETA If you did I might have to kill you I believe in animal welfare, not animal rights.
Oh but dearest ILTBY, PETA is at the centre of attacking the fur industry. The video on their site (to the right on their homepage) is perhaps the most disturbing I have ever seen. Maybe I shall go sign up now then. And besides, killing me would be a tad hypocritical don't you think? And then most of the fun would be lost from the world. So really it's a loss-loss situation.
Don't they eat dogs in China? I don't think they should be taking peoples dogs, but as for cleaning up the streets from stray dogs, I think that's ok. Here in the States dogs aren't allowed to roam around freely either. You know that if they didn't clean up the dogs, everyone that attends the Olympics would be complaining about the dogs. What's that old saying - Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Aah, but it's also run by a bunch of lunatics I will admit, they do some good things for the animal world, but on the whole, they have a negative impact. They're also a bunch of hypocrites themselves and can't distinguish between animal rights and animal welfare. I'm very strongly opposed to them, we'll probably wind up in a massive argument if we continue talking about them Also, I like animals more than I like most humans Yes, they eat and serve dog in some places in China. They're not simply 'cleaning up the streets', they're beating and slaughtering these dogs while they're still alive. They torture them for ages before they kill them. Dogs aren't allowed to roam freely here - our solution is getting rangers to pick them up or getting a shelter to help them, not beating them to death. It's just such unnecessary cruelty.
You know, when I first saw this this thread, I thought that you were saying culling was going to be part of the Chinese Olympics.
Don't worry I really know nothing about them. I'm just stirring. However, the video was quite disgusting. Haha, agreed. You make such compelling arguments. Agreed. Well, time for me to get some beauty sleep. Bonsoir, which is french for 'good evening' (I think).
Yeah, I agree. I didn't watch it, but I've seen a couple of their videos before and they made me physically sick. Haha, thanks. I am, too, it's so late.
PETA is the lunatic fringe of the animal rights movement. In my opinion, they do more damage than good to the cause with their outrageous antics.
I can't say I approve, but as was said, they have different morals and values. Dogs may or may not have the same connotations in their society. And yes, PETA is an embarassment. I've looked around on their site and they take the smallest damned thing and overstate it to the point of worthlessness. If you go "OMG OMG THIS IS SO BAD OMG" for every single argument you have, very few people take you seriously. They had one person make a video about PetSmart, a pet store chain in the USA. They went around crying over every feeder mouse that died. They argued there should be quarantines and more vets - which would have been so uneconomical they either couldn't afford it or it would make the animals cost so much that a lot less people could buy them regularly. Everything needs to be in moderation - you can only do so much for the animals before it ceases to be a viable business and those with even more inconsiderate procedures are the only ones remaining.
Aah, thank God I'm not the only one who feels like this I think the most laughable thing about them is that their leader, Ingrid whatshername, uses Insulin. Screw everyone else who uses it to stay alive, they're all animal abusers, but it's okay for her to because the animals need her. That's what makes it so difficult. I'm sure they don't understand why we think it's cruel or inhumane to treat the dogs that way, we view animals in a completely different light. PETA are terrorists and a lot of the members just contribute to animal abuse. What's worse is that so many celebrities promote them and I'll bet that half of them don't even understand what they're promoting.
I wasn't going to watch the Olypics anyways, it blags head like mad. And that is a little wierd, killing lots of dogs. I guess different countires have different ways with dealing with problems. We host the Olympics next time, aye?
Isn't it PETA who do all the crazy stuff like digging up dead relatives of scientists who work at medical labs where drugs are tested on animals? Or is that some other crazy animal rights group?
If its population isn't treated well, then surely the governments decision doesn't represent them or their concept of humanity? Also, a lot of our clothes etc have been made over there by virtual slave labour, so how can we claim to have superior morals? I think most people who were going to boycott the games were going to do it anyway before this.
You make a good point, but I think it shows their lack of humanity in general (in Western terms, anyway.) I do my best to avoid Chinese products, but they feel forced upon our society. You can't go anywhere without seeing them, they're just taking over.
And they're taking over our jobs at the same time. Australia will soon have a second national language, and that scares me.
The Chinese people are alright. The government needs work. And its probably a good thing that they culled a lot of the dogs. At least the strays. Just wish it was done humanely. The streets are crowded enough already, with several tens of thousands of dogs running wild, there wouldn't be enough room for people on the sidewalk.
I agree with a lot of what you've said, Dom. I think they simply have a different set of ideals and morals to Western societies which I personally think are wrong, but that's not my call. But still, I do wish their treatment of animals (and humans, I guess) was much, much more humane. There is honestly no call for the way they're treating and killing these dogs. I've just done a Society and Culture assignment on China and it was very interesting to research, though also quite distressing. The Tiananmen Square Massacare in particular was very hideous, but also the Cultural Revolution which was just so destructive. China has surely had some disgusting leaders in its time. All the decent ones got run out before they could make some changes, maybe barring Deng Xiaoping.
Agreed. Which is why I'm just here for the experience and money. I have no love for the government. And if China was still in the midst of the Cultural Revolution I wouldn't come over here for a million dollars and the ten most beautiful women in the world. But China is changing. It has to. The people are getting too much money, to many new ideas, and simply too many to continue on as they have been. The people in the cities see a lot of things they don't have, and want more. Most importantly the people in the countryside who are virtually third world peasants, sometimes slave labour, are seeing the riches of the city and demanding the same. If they don't get it things could get bloody. I give China 10 years to make serious changes, before things start getting ugly. Then they have anywhere from another 10 to 20 years to deal with a steadily worsening situation if they haven't done enough major reforms by that time before they risk widespread urban unrest and possible revolution. If the economy turns sour they have about 2 to 3 years if they're lucky.
I had no idea how bad the Cultural Revolution was until I read about it. What was really interesting is that a lot of the sites I looked at made people like Mao Zedong out to be great leaders, but many of them were basically mass murderers. I honestly can't see China improving without better government. They just seem to be so misguided in how to run and look after a country and its people. What's more of a shame is that many countries choose to ignore it because they want nothing to do with China or its history. The only reason I would travel there, as you said, would be for the experience.
