Boycott China, Including the Olympics
I thought my list of what I’m going to do in 2008 was okay until the comments started rolling in and I realized I forgot something very, very important.
First, Deb reminded me that I want to hold a screening (or get someone else to!) of Peaceable Kingdom as soon as it’s released. Her list also includes helping our with TNR work, and I’d like to do that, too. Several areas in Palm Beach County have large feral cat colonies, including the island of Palm Beach itself (where, of course, most residents simply want them "taken care of").
Then this morning, when I read the most nauseating "Animals torn to pieces by lions in front of baying crowds: the spectator sport China DOESN’T want you to see," by Danny Penman, I experienced a renewed passion for boycotting China. I wrote a lot about boycotting China since I started Animal Person, and this might sound harsh, but I’m forever astounded by what seems like an entire country that doesn’t have a shred of conscience–not a shred of moral obligation–toward anyone nonhuman.
I know, I know, how can you expect a country that doesn’t respect human rights to care about animals. But that doesn’t make it any less disturbing.
I think of the children being raised to, as you’ll read in the article, pick out a goat, have their father drag her from her pen and then toss her over a roof into a lion enclosure to be torn apart. This happens at a zoo, by the way. People pay to do this–pay to see this. This, my friends, is entertainment.
I think that human beings are evolving morally, and there’s clear evidence of that in some places. But not in China.
What I find most disgusting is that the world didn’t take a stand against China for the many reasons it could have, and refuse to allow them to hold the Olympics. And the policies of the United States (pick a recent administration) are in such contradiction to the values those running the country constantly espouse. If there’s money in it for us, we’ll do business with anyone, all while telling the world about our superior morals.
The article referenced is difficult to read and the photos are horrifying. Please read it, though, and if you’re as enraged as I am, do what you can to spread the word and boycott China. You’ll pay a little more for the products you buy, but as we’ve seen, they’ll be safer if they don’t come from China. (I’ve made it 41 years without stepping into a Wal-Mart, and I plan to make it to my grave without giving them a dime.) Oh, and you’ll feel a lot better about yourself for not participating in China’s atrocities.
I participated in an animal protest when the Chinese President was visiting the White House last year. It was just a few of us animal activists in a sea of human rights protesters. Many of the comments from other protesters were "Animals? What about what they are doing to humans?" and I kept responding "I know, China is just a horrible place for any living thing."
It amazes me that we've sold our country to China. As you said, they represent everything we supposedly don't stand for. But money clearly trumps morals. The lack of outrage by the public over our participation in the Olympics speaks volumes about our priorities, and the Wal-Martization of America (I too have never shopped there). God forbid we should be without cheap Chinese consumables.
There are so many levels of what's wrong with China, and our relationship with them, I could go on for pages. We've pretty much created the monster, and the planet has suffered irreparable damage for it.
Yet another way China abuses animals: bear bile farming. I had no idea about this horrific practice until I saw a presentation from Animals Asia this past fall: http://www.animalsasia.org/index.php?module=2&menupos=7&lg=en
Since I became a vegan about 2 years ago I've made a concerted effort to educate myself as much as possible regarding our treatment of animals. I've found much of what I have read terribly depressing. I did not think I would ever come across someting so difficult to read since I read Gail Eisnitzs' Slaughterhouse but I was wrong. This was truly the most horrific thing I've come across. China is like a horror movie come to life.
It's not all bad news for the animals in China. Apparently, there is a small animal advocacy movement starting over there. Take a look at this encouraging news story from early last year:
Animal lovers win extra life for 400 Chinese cats
http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2011569,00.html
We have gotten a lot of requests for our films to be translated into Chinese, and there is a Chinese version of "The Witness" being worked on right now, to be released sometime later this year. We're excited to see what the Chinese animal activists do with it over there. There's a lot of fur trade happening in China, so the film will hopefully touch a nerve.
I know a lot of us feel like such a tiny minority working for the abolition of animal exploitation, but can you imagine what it's like to be an animal advocate in China?! These brave people deserve whatever support we can give them.
I'm going to ask Chris, who lives in Beijing and whom I mention frequently, to comment on this. I'm sure he has a lot to say. He started (I believe) the Vegan Social Club of Beijing (http://vegansocialclub.com/) and is also involved with an organization that rescues strays and adopts them out. Chris is a gem, and very active for animals, and he's always able to make me feel like there's hope in China.
I think you are tarrying an astoundingly large and culturally diverse nation with a very broad brush–from the land of rodeo, industrial farming, fox pens and crushing fetish videos.
I hear you Emily. The US is hardly a shining example of appropriate animal treatment, but the Chinese government, and the culture in general, lacks even the standard consideration of welfare or care that we demand for even companion animals. Cats and dogs, for instance, are killed for fur and the US is doing little to stop the import of it. And the overfishing being done is obscene. On the basis of these things alone, we as a nation should be boycotting the Olympics. And I'm not even going into the human rights violations as reasons for a boycott, but considering Guantanamo and Abu Graib, I guess those reasons wouldn't hold water.
Mary, I definitely plan for the BVA to screen the re-cut Peaceable Kingdom as soon as we can after it becomes available.
The Chinese government does a lot of things I disagree with, but then again–so does the American government. As a third party national I would be hard pressed to give either the advantage. One could argue based on their agrarian and decentralised food raising that the US really is the worse country and thus a boycott is pot calling the kettle black. How does this atrocity really differ from fox and coyote penning and coursing other than the 'race' of the animals and people?
I cannot possibly consider the US as comparable to China on several important levels. I have three words, and they are the three (actually four) words my friends who teach English in China are not allowed to utter are under penalty of immediate improsonment: Taiwan, Tiananmen Square and Tibet. Also, we don't come close to allowing (in our borders) the kind of worker abuses that are common in China. And their government rounds up pet dogs and brutally slaughters them. And slaughters nuns and monks on the street. And what they consider entertainment is barbaric. Our rodeos are the closest thing to mainstream, legal forms of entertainment that are horrifyingly cruel. But on the spectrum of hideous inhumanity that is mainstream and accepted, they win hands down. Now, that's not to say we don't do horrifying things behind closed doors that most people aren't aware of or that are illegal (e.g., dog fighting and cock fighting). This one, for me, is a matter of degree. We are not without blame with our institutionalized cruelty. But it's hidden for a reason–because most people would find it unacceptable. What consistently amazes me is how much inhumanity and cruelty occurs in China that appears to not raise a brow among the masses (not the small welfare movement). I agree with the person in the article who said it's child abuse. And as guilty as the US can be for cruel practices or practices that seemingly are without conscience, I maintain that China is far, far worse. Would you want to live there?
Chris might perhaps give us all reason to want to move to China, and he is currently crafting a post. However, Michael and my four other friends who lived there will never, ever go back.
Please everyone lets not forget CHINA is allso TORTURING cats and dogs they are taking their time killing them Because they believe the more they suffer the more the meat taste better . Please everyone must come together and BOYCOTT CHINA!!!! You can see the video on this under "YOU TUBE" you have to scroll and look for MASSACRE OF DOGS AND CATS IN CHINA" I warn you this is a very GRAPHIC video and i myself could only watch 2 seconds of it before i broke down . If you are too sensitive like me this one is not for you! Thank you anatesia.
Another reason to BOYCOTT CHINA the dog and cat fur trade EXCUSE ME I AM GOING TO BE SICK!!!! Anatesia
Yes, oppression takes place in China. But, as has been pointed out here, oppression also takes place in the United States. What's problematic is the subtle way oppression gets perpetuated with these anti-China rants and the related animal welfare campaigning.
The rhetorical and political attacks on the nation and people of the People's Republic of China that are made by folks in the Europe and North America cannot be divorced form the context of white supremacy. I believe it is only under this context that we can fully understand the meaning and ramifications of comments like, "I'm forever astounded by what seems like an entire country that doesn't have a shred of conscience – not a shred of moral obligation – toward anyone nonhuman."
China is a nation of more than 1.3 billion people. It has a long history and tradition of compassion towards all beings dating back more than 5000 years. If anything, China has help promote compassion in the West as people of European decent have adopted traditions, religions, philosophies and practices from China that directly encourage vegetarianism. In fact, many of the food and dishes that are the staple of the vegetarian diet in the United States and other Western nations come directly from China. Most notably being tofu, which comes from the Mandarin term "doufu," and soy milk. Often the only place a vegan can get a decent vegetarian meal – that is, one free of eggs and dairy – is at the local Chinese restaurant.
As someone else said, China is a nation of diverse people. It seems hardly reasonable to write-off the conscience and morality of an entire nation based on a few spares news articles. How much do you really know about this diverse nation and it's people? If, as you say, it seems the entire country doesn't have a shred of conscience or morality, have you every thought to question the sources from which you have based your preconceptions about that nation and it's people?
It's no secret that the media in the United States has a racist, nationalist slant strongly biased against people of color and non-Western nations. Whether it's West Asian nations like Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan, or East Asian nations like China and Korea we really hear anything positive about these peoples, nations or culture. What we do hear, and on a regular basis, is that these people are a barbarous threat.
Building on Edward Said ground breaking work, Andrea Smith refers to this as Orientalism, which she lists as one of three pillars of white supremacy. Smith writes, "The logic of Orientalism marks certain peoples or nations as inferior and as posing a constant threat to the well-being of empire. These people are seen as 'civilizations' … however, they will always be imaged as permanent foreign threats to empire."
To separate the people of China out from the rest of humanity – as you did by claiming that all humans except those in China are evolving morally – is obnoxious. And let me be clear that by obnoxious I don't mean that it is simply annoying. What I mean is the root of the word meaning "exposed to harm." Because harm is exactly the effect of saying the people of China are an morally inferior people. It's statements like yours the promote white supremacy and further existing oppression.
How can an argument be made for universal animal equality at the same time that an argument is being made that a nation of people is morally inferior? It can't, because it defies logic and is therefore absurd.
Earlier I said these rants are related to animal welfare campaigns, and I mean that, because this is not in anyway about animal rights. Neither your post, nor the article, question the fundamental problem: the zoo. It's all about how the zoo is ran, not that the zoo exists. The whole outrage revolves around the method of feeding goats to lions, therefore the solution being suggested is to reform the method of feeding goats to lions. Nothing here suggests the abolition of the zoo. On the contrary, it suggest that China should do as the Western zoos do and slaughter the goat out of sight, which presumably would be more "humane."
Yes, it's happening at a zoo. A place where animals are held captive and exploited for human use. Yes, for entertainment. Even if live goats weren't thrown to the lions the zoo would be morally objectionable. Your post suggest that if China was running the zoo the way Western zoos are run then you'd consider them a more moral people. But how can you consider Western zoos in anyway moral? They're not, and the complaint about HOW they use of the goat sis essentially about the welfare of the goat, not the rights of the goat or the lions. Not about the system that keeps lions captive in the first place. If lions weren't kept in zoos, then there would be no need to feed them goat – thus making the method of feeding goats to lions a moot point.
Worse, you uncritically cite an the article proclaiming the introduction of another form of captivity and exploitation as "glimmers of hope." That being pet ownership, which is a growing exploitive industry being promoted by the "morally evolved" West. What is pet ownership, if not the same concept of the zoo on a much smaller scale. Love for the pet is love for a slave, love of property. The United States is a nation that kill hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of cats, dogs and other pets annually. In the U.S., these animals are bred as commercially agricultural "crop." Few of these animals live more than a couple years. Even with the proliferation of pets, the U.S. has no shortage of nonhuman exploitation and oppression. There is no substantial difference in the way people in the United States treat pets and other exploited animals. It's all institutionalized use. The fact is, many people in China think it's wrong to keep other animals as pets; thus showing a state of conscience that escapes most people in the West, including most people who consider themselves advocates for nonhuman animals.
Instead of the objectifying demonization the people and nation of China as degenerate, it would be nice to see some attempt at empathy and understanding. Is it too much to ask that we treat others with same basic level of moral respect we'd expect for ourselves?
Dani,
I understand your anger, as I did make quite a sweeping generalization, but allow me to clarify a couple of things:
1. At no point did I say oppression does not occur in the US.
2. I am not at all campaigning for animal welfare and I don't know why you would think that.
3. What I am consistently astounded by is what is now considered entertaining (horse fighting, feeding live goats to lions) and, like a person quoted in the article, I do consider that a form of child abuse.
4. I get scores of "tips" from animal person readers each week, the vast majority are about China. They are all from newspapers and other periodicals. The information about what the Chinese government has been doing to Tibetan monks and nuns for decades is all well-documented.
5. Perhaps China is an easy target because it is in the news more than any other country, it seems, for egregious acts toward animals. Particularly acts sanctioned by the government.
6. In my town, the only place for a decent vegan meal is always a Japanese restaurant.
7. I don't see the PEOPLE of China as a threat at all to me or the US. This has nothing to do with our "empire." This is purely about the many ways the Chinese (government, usually) disrespect animals and people.
8. I do see some of humanity as evolving morally, and I'm not alone in that. Granted, animals always seem to be the last to be considered, but even there, there is progress. Many countries have outlawed nearly all bloodsports, for example. Of course there isn't enough progress, but it is there. Animal cruelty laws, whether or not they work, are a form of progress in that some governments are considering the harm we do to animals, when they didn't before.
9. You criticize what I chose to write about, but that's simply because I didn't take take the approach you would have. What I do at Animal Person is deconstruct a story, but not necessarily the way that is most obvious or popular. Of course no zoos shouldn't exist. I write about that frequently.
10. It is you, not me, who is connecting pet ownership to an East versus West conflict. I write about the dilemma of pet ownership frequently. I understand that some animal rights activist think we owe nothing to cats and dogs, even after we've created a crisis for them, but I'm not one of them. I think it's great that Chris and others in Beijing are trying to help cats and dogs and they have my full support.
11. I began with, "this might sound harsh," however it's not as if I have manufactured any story I have written about regarding China's treatment of people or animals.
12. To be sure, the government of China is the main target of my anger in this post, however, for me, there are some barbaric acts that individuals and businesses perpetrate that are in a special category of heinous, along with what the government does. My friends who are or were in China do nothing but confirm everything we've heard and read here in the US. Now, that doesn't mean there aren't people working tirelessly–and against their culture (just like we are)–for animals. One friend who is in China is writing a post for Animal Person about why we shouldn't boycott China, and I look forward to reading it.
13. Most of my posts are indeed about the institutionalized use and abuse of animals in the US.
14. I was raised by a Buddhist and educated about China and its pivotal place in the development of other cultures and traditions since I was a young girl. And I have worked with people tortured for their beliefs in China. And teachers who were deported. I know enough about what happens in China, for me, to be enraged. Which doesn't mean I'm not enraged about what happens in the US, as you can read about nearly every day on this blog.
It's long, but offers a very detailed account of some of China's bizarre treatment of animals:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=506153&in_page_id=1811
Animals torn to pieces by lions in front of baying crowds: the spectator sport China DOESN'T want you to see
By DANNY PENMAN
The smiling children giggled as they patted the young goat on its head and tickled it behind the ears. Some of the more boisterous ones tried to clamber onto the animal's back but were soon shaken off with a quick wiggle of its bottom.
It could have been a happy scene from a family zoo anywhere in the world but for what happened next.
A man hoisted up the goat and nonchalantly threw it over a wall into a pit full of hungry lions. The poor goat tried to run for its life, but it didn't stand a chance. The lions quickly surrounded it and started tearing at its flesh.
"Oohs" and "aahs" filled the air as the children watched the goat being ripped limb from limb. Some started to clap silently with a look of wonder in their eyes.
The scenes witnessed at Badaltearing Safari Park in China are rapidly becoming a normal day out for many Chinese families.
Baying crowds now gather in zoos across the country to watch animals being torn to pieces by lions and tigers.
Just an hour's drive from the main Olympic attractions in Beijing, Badaling is in many ways a typical Chinese zoo.
Next to the main slaughter arena is a restaurant where families can dine on braised dog while watching cows and goats being disembowelled by lions.
The zoo also encourages visitors to "fish" for lions using live chickens as bait. For just £2, giggling visitors tie terrified chickens onto bamboo rods and dangle them in front of the lions, just as a cat owner might tease their pet with a toy.
It's almost a form of child abuse," says Carol McKenna of the OneVoice animal welfare group. "The cruelty of Chinese zoos is disgusting, but think of the impact on the children watching it. What kind of future is there for China if its children think this kind of cruelty is normal?
"In China, if you love animals you want to kill yourself every day out of despair."
But the cruelty of Badaling doesn't stop with animals apart. For those who can still stomach it, the zoo has numerous traumatised animals to gawp at.
A pair of endangered moon bears with rusting steel nose rings are chained up in cages so small that they cannot even turn around.
One has clearly gone mad and spends most of its time shaking its head and bashing into the walls of its prison.
There are numerous other creatures, including tigers, which also appear to have been driven insane by captivity. Predictably, they are kept in cramped, filthy conditions.
!Zoos like this make me want to boycott everything Chinese," says Emma Milne, star of the BBC's Vets In Practice.
"I'd like to rip out everything in my house that's made in China. I have big problems with their culture.
"If you enjoy watching an animal die then that's a sad and disgusting reflection on you.
"Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by their behaviour towards animals, as the value of human life is so low in China."
East of Badaling lies the equally horrific Qingdao zoo. Here, visitors can take part in China's latest craze — tortoise baiting.
Simply put, Chinese families now gather in zoos to hurl coins at tortoises.
Legend has it that if you hit a tortoise on the head with a coin and make a wish, then your heart's desire will come true. It's the Chinese equivalent of a village wishing well.
To feed this craze, tortoises are kept in barbaric conditions inside small bare rooms.
When giggling tourists begin hurling coins at them, they desperately try to protect themselves by withdrawing into their shells.
But Chinese zoo keepers have discovered a way round this: they wrap elastic bands around the animals' necks to stop them retracting their heads.
"Tortoises aren't exactly fleet of foot and can't run away," says Carol McKenna.
"It's monstrous that people hurl coins at the tortoises, but strapping their heads down with elastic bands so they can't hide is even more disgusting.
"Because tortoises can't scream, people assume they don't suffer. But they do. I can't bear to think what it must be like to live in a tiny cell and have people hurl coins at you all day long."
Even worse is in store for the animals of Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Mountain Village near Guilin in south-east China.
Here, live cows are fed to tigers to amuse cheering crowds. During a recent visit, I watched in horror as a young cow was stalked and caught. Its screams and cries filled the air as it struggled to escape.
A wild tiger would dispatch its prey within moments, but these beasts' natural killing skills have been blunted by years of living in tiny cages.
The tiger tried to kill — tearing and biting at the cow's body in a pathetic looking frenzy — but it simply didn't know how.
Eventually, the keepers broke up the contest and slaughtered the cow themselves, much to the disappointment of the crowd.
Although the live killing exhibition was undoubtedly depressing, an equally disturbing sight lay around the corner: the "animal parade".
Judging by the rest of the operation, the unseen training methods are unlikely to be humane, but what visitors view is bad enough.
Tigers, bears and monkeys perform in a degrading "entertainment". Bears wear dresses, balance on balls and not only ride bicycles but mount horses too.
The showpiece is a bear riding a bike on a high wire above a parade of tigers, monkeys and trumpet-playing bears.
Astonishingly, the zoo also sells tiger meat and wine produced from big cats kept in battery-style cages.
Tiger meat is eaten widely in China and the wine, made from the crushed bones of the animals, is a popular drink.
Although it is illegal, the zoo is quite open about its activities. In fact, it boasts of having 140 dead tigers in freezers ready for the plate.
In the restaurant, visitors can dine on strips of stir-fried tiger with ginger and Chinese vegetables. Also on the menu are tiger soup and a spicy red curry made with tenderised strips of big cat.
And if all that isn't enough, you can dine on lion steaks, bear's paw, crocodile and several different species of snake.
"Discerning" visitors can wash it all down with a glass or two of vintage wine made from the bones of Siberian tigers.
The wine is made from the 1,300 or so tigers reared on the premises. The restaurant is a favourite with Chinese Communist Party officials who often pop down from Beijing for the weekend.
China's zoos claim to be centres for education and conservation. Without them, they say, many species would become extinct.
This is clearly a fig leaf and some would call it a simple lie. Many are no better than "freak shows" from the middle ages and some are no different to the bloody tournaments of ancient Rome.
"It's farcical to claim that these zoos are educational," says Emma Milne.
"How can you learn anything about wild animals by watching them pace up and down inside a cage? You could learn far more from a David Attenborough documentary."
However pitiful the conditions might be in China's zoos, there are a few glimmers of hope.
It is now becoming fashionable to own pets in China. The hope is that a love for pets will translate into a desire to help animals in general. This does appear to be happening, albeit slowly.
One recent MORI opinion poll discovered that 90 per cent of Chinese people thought they had "a moral duty to minimise animal suffering". Around 75 per cent felt that the law should be changed to minimise animal suffering as much as possible.
In 2004, Beijing proposed animal welfare legislation which stipulated that "no one should harass, mistreat or hurt animals". It would also have banned animal fights and live feeding shows.
The laws would have been a huge step forward. But the proposals were scrapped following stiff opposition from vested interests and those who felt China had more pressing concerns.
And this is the central problem for animal welfare in China: its ruling elite is brutally repressive and cares little for animals.
Centuries of rule by tyrannical emperors and bloody dictators have all but eradicated the Buddhist and Confucian respect for life and nature.
As a result, welfare groups are urging people not to go to Chinese zoos if they should visit the Olympics, as virtually every single one inflicts terrible suffering on its animals
"They should tell the Chinese Embassy why they are refusing to visit these zoos,' says Carol McKenna of OneVoice.
"If a nation is great enough to host the Olympic Games then it is great enough to be able to protect its animals."
I have always loved the Olympics but I plan to boycott them this year because they are in China.
This country needs a wake-up call. Our world is
shrinking and they are accountable; they do need to learn compassion and mercy for all living creatures. The unspeakable things they do is barbaric. NOT ACCEPTABLE- I too would like to see more people speak out on this issue. Stand up people and speak.