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Eating Dog Meat in China
For some the prospect of eating dog meat turns the stomach, however for some it's a treat worth shelling out for. This is what it's like to eat dog meat in China...
It was our last day in Yangshou, a popular Chinese tourist destination renowned throughout the world for its countless eerie rock formations, which dot the foggy landscape like apparitions. After a breakfast of pig brain soup (to fortify our mental health, the menu said), Christina and I decided to have a peek at the local meat and vegetable market, which was tucked away in a warehouse-like building off the main road. There is something about watching a Chinese butcher in action — a cigarette hanging from his expressionless lips as he slams his square blade down on a giant ham hock or side of beef — that really makes me feel alive. I’d been in China less than a month, and so far wandering the marketplaces was my favourite part of the experience. It was grisly and mundane all at once and almost comical in its sheer Chinese-ness. I kept thinking to myself, “No, this isn’t a movie or quite like the stereotypes I imagined, and yet somehow it’s exactly like that.”
Inside the warehouse, we made a beeline for the meat market first — no matter how large and absurdly phallic a vegetable is, it’s always trumped by the spectre of death. We saw all the familiar sights: In one direction, nets full of squirming turtles, buckets of live scorpions, enormous bloody fish heads still twitching as their bodies were being fileted a few feet away. In the other, rows of chickens in various stages of disassembly—ones that looked like safe American chickens with their heads and feet removed, others that were dead and plucked but still had their appendages intact, and of course live chickens waiting ignorantly for their death. And next to those, cages of rabbits, all cute and floppy eared, like they’d been snatched from the pages of a children’s book.
There was hardly any ventilation, and Christina remarked that the stench was overwhelming, so thick that she felt like she was eating the putrid air. Only then did I realise just how rank it was. But it hardly bothered me. I was too overwhelmed by the chaotic visual delights.
“Oh my god,” Christina said suddenly: “Are those dogs?”
A few feet away, hanging from the ceiling by hooks, were the carcasses of what could only be, yes, dogs. What breed, I couldn’t tell. Brown ones, average size — the Platonic ideal of “dog,” you might say. They had been sliced vertically down the middle and had their organs removed, so the white ribs and dark red edges of the chasm running the length of each body were the main colours I saw. Hanging there like that, they almost didn’t even look real. I had a weird thought: Perhaps they were some kind simulacrum, put there for my benefit, to create a more perfect image of China as I’d hoped it would be. I’d come here eager to see some dead dogs, wondering whether that little piece of cultural trivia was true. And now, suddenly, here it was, exactly as I had imagined. And yet … why did it look so strange?
On a small table off to the side was a carcass that seemed to have been discarded for some reason, although it was fully intact. Like the hanging dogs, it too looked oddly fake, like it was made out of plastic, the Chinese dog equivalent of a reindeer lawn-ornament. Perhaps, I thought, this was because it had been shaved: Without its hair, it didn’t look like a real dog anymore. But more than that, I realised, it was because it was dead, so incredibly dead that it had been transformed into something else entirely. It struck me how palpable — how visible — life is, and therefore death as well. Even though it was still in total dog form, no one would mistake this piece of meat and bones for anything but a dead dog. It was obviously not sleeping, and obviously never coming back to life.
Christina had been flitting around the scene, materialising by my side from time to time to squeeze my hand. But this time when she reappeared, she yanked my whole arm.
“And cats too!” she said.
On the floor near where the dog carcasses were hanging, I saw a large cage of cats — fluffy orange-and-white house cats — that somehow we had both overlooked. Now my mind was really reeling. Before coming to China, when a friend (and avowed cat lover) had made me promise not to eat any cat meat, I was skeptical about how much opportunity I would even have. They just didn’t seem meaty enough. On the other hand, there were also cages of pigeons and rats here, and there’s more meat on a cat’s bones than either of those unsavory animals.
“Oh no, that one looks just like Odessa!” Christina said. She buried her face in my arm. Odessa was her cat back home in Florida.
Christina and I are both cat people. Dog people … not so much. In fact, back in New York, where I live, I’d been recklessly cultivating a reputation as a dog hater for some time. Mostly I’d been doing this to amuse myself. I take an odd sort of pleasure in offending people, and I’m always surprised by how deeply upset dog lovers are by the idea that everyone doesn’t love dogs, as if there’s something objectively wonderful about this animal, something that we as members of the human species must agree upon.
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But what did we think about this grim spectacle we’d stumbled upon in Yangshuo? These cages of cats, animals we loved, and carcasses of dogs, animals we despised. Did we feel upset, reviled, as “civilised” Americans — as citizens of a country of absurd pet lovers, a nation of softies that dote on our pets like they’re more important than people? No, Christina and I are strong, we are adventurous … we felt excited, giddy with the rush that comes with seeing something new, something unexpected, something horrible — something we weren’t even sure existed until we saw it with our own eyes, since how could we believe it otherwise.
We watched the Chinese butchers go about their work, cigarettes hanging from their lips as they carved up the animals and burned their bodies with blowtorches, while children raced around in the melee, unfazed and still utterly innocent.
I looked down at my feet. The floor was streaked with blood and bits of gristle and organs of all kinds, mingling with the water and mud that also ran in rivulets in every direction. I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures, until one of the butchers waved at me to put it away. The legality of eating dogs and cats in China seems to be a matter of debate, something the country is trying to move away from as it becomes more modernised, although obviously it’s still practiced in some places.
We’d searched for a similar scene in Guangzhou, but when we’d located the area of the famous Qingping Market that was notorious for killing cats and dogs, we found that in a supreme display of calculated irony it had been remade as a pet market. Cats and dogs were still for sale, but now they were sold with collars and toys — a clever repackaging of the “live animal market,” no doubt meant to show curious tourists how far China had come in just a few short years. And now, in Yangshuo, we’d stumbled quite by accident on the grisly version of the live animal market we’d hoped to find in Guangzhou.
I put my camera away and we moved off in the direction of the vegetable market, where things were much less bloody and smelly and where we could catch our breath and collect our thoughts, if we had any. Christina and I are essentially voyeurs, people who are interested in watching life, with few moral qualms about the things we see — and anyway, sometimes it’s better to save reflection for later, if you must indulge it at all. Ethical handwringing is not something that interests us, and mainly we just kept laughing and staring at each other saying, “Oh fudge muffins, I can’t believe what we just saw!” (Christina’s idiosyncratic vocabulary was rubbing off on me.)
The rest of the day passed pleasantly. We played cards in the park, sat in McDonald’s for hours drinking coffee and eating Pineapple and Sweet Taro Pies. I bought a souvenir Chinese characters T-shirt for a friend back home and even successfully haggled the price in half. We sat at a bar and talked to some other Americans, trying to impress them with our tale of the dog market, but likely offending them instead. Soon it was dinnertime.
Since it was our last night in Yangshuo, I wanted to try some river snails — a local specialty. As we flipped through the menu, once again it was Christina who spotted the thing we’d been hoping to find without even realising it. Right there on the menu in English: “dog meat.” We stared at each other, wondering if we were really that bold.
I can’t remember which of us had mentioned it first, but an obsession with eating dog had been running through our conversations for weeks. It was probably me that brought it up, as I’d been telling friends in New York that I would definitely eat a dog in China if I had the opportunity. This was partially to amuse myself, a way of really cementing my status as a dog hater, which was an aspect of my personality I’d been playing up a lot lately, but it was also something of a conversational gambit. Eating dog is such a taboo in America that I just wanted to see my friends’ reactions. I wasn’t even sure if people really did that in China. In fact, until that moment, I had kind of doubted I would actually have the opportunity.
“We can’t let those dogs we saw this morning go to waste,” I said, feeling very practical and noble all at once.
“Oh shucks, we have to try it!” Christina agreed. Her only hesitation was the price — 60 yuan for the dish seemed a bit steep. “What if it doesn’t taste good?” she worried. Then we’d have wasted a whole 10 dollars — about five meals at the Muslim restaurant near her apartment in Guangzhou.
“We’ll have the river snails too,” I said, somewhat insensibly, as there was no guarantee a plate of slimy river snails would be any tastier. In fact, that seemed like the riskier of the two dishes, taste-wise. “But it doesn’t matter,” I insisted. “It’s about the experience.” We flagged the waitress down and pointed at the dog meat picture on the menu.
It was served in a flaming pot with peppers and a few other vegetables. We dug in and were pleasantly surprised. Some of the pieces were too fatty and stuck to the bone, but many were tender and tasty — most comparable to beef, we decided, with perhaps a hint of mutton flavor as well. Stirred together with some rice and pepper sauce, it was quite a treat. Christina insisted it was “delicious.” I was having a bit of trouble suppressing the thought that “This is a dog I’m eating,” which was thrilling on one level but also slightly sickening. That surprised me. Considering how much I hate dogs, it should have been nothing but a joy to eat one. I was annoyed at myself for feeling even slightly conflicted.
But soon enough that small bout of cognitive dissonance passed, and I kept eating until the last scrap was gone from the pot. Between the dog meat and the heaping pile of river snails, we were stuffed — our stomachs bloated and our fingers and faces greasy. We kissed afterward and Christina said she could taste the dog meat on my lips, which made us laugh maniacally. Such romance! We poured water over our fingers and wiped them clean with some tissues I had stashed in my bag, then concluded with a triumphant cigarette, proud of our debauchery.
An hour later, after another trip to McDonald’s for a McFlurry, we settled into our bunks on the sleeper bus back to Guangzhou and catalogued the contents of our stomachs: pig brain for breakfast, McDonald’s for lunch, dog meat and river snails for dinner, and more McDonald’s for dessert. Quite the successful day! I even had a small chunk of dog meat still lodged in my back teeth, a keepsake for the journey home. As the bus pulled out of the parking lot, we took our sleeping pills, Christina slipped on her sleep mask, I inserted my earplugs, and we fell asleep holding hands — or trying to anyway, as the bus lurched along the highway back to Guangzhou, the engine roaring under our tired heads, another small piece of reality confirmed.
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COMMENTS
I had dog (among other delicacies) in Shenzhen and would totally agree it was delicious the only thing I didn't like whilst there was the turtle soup though it was more the texture and not the flavour. . . . .
I do hope some animals devours you & Christina someday. I'm sure you'd be mighty tasty after years of that fattening & preservatives laced diet.
How many times do you need to go to McDonald's? Must have been some other food apart McDonald's and Dog.
A really well written article. Tell Christina she still has to eat Cat though!
Have you any idea what he'll these dogs go through to titillate your stupid taste buds???? Dogs arnt meant to be food, they enrich the lives of millions......guide dogs, hearing dogs, search & rescue not to mention a loved, loyal family member.......you dumb bitch......karma WILL find you!!!!!!
lame you didn't also eat cat.
Americans
I live in Korea, where dog is also a delicacy. I don't have a problem with the consumption of the meat. It's the preparation of the animal that sickens me. They are beaten to death while still alive to ensure the meat is tender. 'Food' for thought.
The beating to death thing is disgusting but you have to say that the factory farming of animals going on everywhere is just as disgusting
Dögöljetek meg kultúra ide vagy oda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would love to beat to death any Korean who beats dogs to death. Filthy vermin and not fit to call themselves human.
Well written but obviously Rob and Christina are more concerned with the shock value of it all.....it worked for me, anyone with an once of common decency would leave dog meat and McDonald's where they belong...you can decide for yourselves where that is.I know where I stand.
Any animal is fair game to an omnivore, surely? Why should dogs be any different? It is easier to raise dogs in slum conditions than a cow I reckon. Could be a solution to famine
Is it just me, or are Americans better when they stay in the Country of their birth. What a vile article crowing about how they ate Dog, and McDonald's. I'm not sure which is worse.
You guys are so fucking cool. What a couple of douchebags. rob, if you told me this story in person, id make you eat dog shit.
And I also live in nyc.
Rick, you're a dick.
that bit about going to McDonalds is gross.
Rob , I read your article and I can only say it sickened me to the core . I hear all the arguments about differing culture and respecting tradition yadee yah , but seriously Dogs , one of mans best friends - gaurding people , saving lives on sea and land , helping the disabled lead a normal life , even recently and throughout history dogs have decorated for saving lives of soldiers in combat zones by detecting IED's message carrying etc etc . As for myleft boot coments about any animal is fair game what are humans , you one line muppet ? and No im not talking from a philisophical , religious or societal perspective. Where do we draw the line ? Rob if your intention was to promote Chinese cuisine , underline the differing stds between China and other regions of the world or merely evoke an emotive response who knows.I would be disgusted to put my name to such an article - I can only hope a dogs bites you in the Ass - its the very least you deserve . An Appalled Mr Pink !
I am Chinese and I never eat dog meat..and I believe the majority of people don't eat them....so horrible..
While I don't agree with what you have done. It was interesting. Had you not been so proud and bragging the article would have been better. Instead of just stating what happened you embellished on your joy and then made sure it was on the internet to hurt others. I wonder if humans were treated the same way in another part of the world would you become cannibal to try? Where would your morals stop you. At what point does your moral compass say stop? In other countries women can be stoned to death for defying a man. In that country would you help stone a woman to death? The whole crowd gets involved. Why should your morals change because you are in another country. It speaks to your character.
I have never eaten dog nor want to but I must say that what Christy Jordan said, that Koreans beat their dogs to death to tenderize it is a lie - totally untrue. Do we beat cows to death? Beating causes bruises which darkens the meat -- it changes the flavor. In all societies, you bleed the animal soon after knocking it unconcious. Please don't spread lies unless you have proof. I am mostly vegetarian by choice. But I do not harbour hatred for those who choose cows, pigs, sheep, dogs or whales for food (even though I wished they would not).
You're the scum of the earth you POS. Any idea what torture those dogs go through on their way to your plate asshole? How would you feel if I tied up and carved up your female companion, someone near and dear to you, in front of your face? As sick as it is, that's what you deserve. You should be ashamed..
Everything about you is disgusting! I can't believe this was allowed to be published. you two are totally sick people.
Fact - Humans are at the top of the food chain... Like it or not. You guys are so cool... Try everything at least once... Experience of a lifetime...
You and your tramp female hood rat are punks. I hope your cat gets eaten, and for u to go to that filthy immoral country that are responsible for the extinction of a huge majority of life that once walked is telling me what kind of liwlife pieces of shxt you and your bimbo are. They have no respect for any God created creature like you and your karma will hit you hard n lucky i wasnt in person when u told that story i would be doing 5 yrs but happy 4 smashhing both of u
How much does the term being civilised justify when a man calls himself an "Omnivorous Animal"? How much value does the term morality hold for trying a gourmet dish that is being offered legally as a delicacy? How much significance does it hold to imprison cannibals of Northern Korea who are eating their own children out of dire Starvation? Sometimes lines cant be drawn or certain situations be judged upon. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" very aptly describes this article.
An arresting and well-written article. It, and some of the responses here, really shine a light on what lies beneath our daily social mores. Pigs are believed to be equally as intelligent as dogs; and cows, sheep, horses etc are all intelligent to some degree, and capable of suffering. But many dog-lovers would have no qualms about eating them, or care about how they were reared and slaughtered. I see this as double standards. I also see threatening a dog-eater with violence and death hypocritical and extremely morally reprehensible. I do buy and eat farm-reared meat, and have to trust that it was reared and slaughtered humanely, as described by the seller. (It is expensive so my family and I eat less meat than the average family as a consequence.) I do this as I don't want to support unethical practices, such as factory farming, but would rather put my money where my mouth is and support more humane methods. I think this may be more effective for animal welfare than outright vegetarianism. However, I am always open to new experiences. If dog-meat were offered to me with no supply and demand consequences (ie, a hypothetical scenario in which eating a dog would not lead to the deaths of more dogs through demand), then yes, I would try it, purely for the experience. Therefore, I can understand the writer's motives, but disagree with his role in perpetuating a market for dog-meat. And if he really is as morally neutral, and open to experience as he believes, he would have eaten cat meat. Dishonest, in my humble opinion.
ST just lost a subscriber.
'We kissed afterward and Christina said she could taste the dog meat on my lips, which made us laugh maniacally. Such romance!' ...erm, such bullshit. This article cannot be real or true, almost like it was (badly) written by a 14 year old that wants us to hate Americans, more than we already do.... I'm unsubscribing too, the low number of decent, readable articles is far outweighed by all the shit like this.
"I take an odd sort of pleasure in offending people". Congratulations. Job done. I do hope in your search for chaotic visual delights you stumble upon a remote village that likes to butcher humans and that they will write an article commenting with a similar lack of humanity about eating your entrails. Ps. My dog says if he ever meets you he will bite you on your bollocks.
I'm amazed at the narrow minded opinions of some people. Rob I apologise on behalf of these idiots. Your article was one of the best I've read on ST and I found it to be honest, enlightening and at times hilarious. I can't believe people are even arguing about "the line" What line??!! You need a line. Ok here it is: Dont eat people? Really? Does that need to be outlined here. And for that idiot comparing eating dog to stoning a woman? Are you fucking serious? Humans are the top of the food chain, we dont eat other people because its socially unacceptable, but everything else is fair game. To vegetarians, cool, you do that, its not my lifestyle but I support you wanting to lead the one you want. Those of you trying to shove your agenda down everyones throats need to fuck off, seriously.
Also, this article may do even more good at the amount of "un-subscriptions" from sanctimonious idiots. I can't wait for the next one.
I demand that this article be removed.
On what basis Morrissey?
"DOGS ARE BETTER THAN COWS!" perhaps?
"simulacrum"? I know it's a real word, but seriously...."simulacrum"!!!!!!!!
Dogs were not always pets They like many creatures were reduced to captivity for man,s titillation over a period of time so actually we have been cruel to the species for ages. like it or not man is a selfish git .It all depends on your view point
It's not a matter of the animal of choice that's being eaten. Its a manner of how the animal is killed to be eaten. Next time anyone wants to try dogs watch this first: http://goo.gl/RMdsu
Thats so disgusting on so many levels, get a grip
Aaron. On the basis that I find it offensive.
What about the article about the *cunt* mug. Should we remove all offensive articles from the site? YOU deem it offensive. So? Don't read it, don't come back to check on the comments. Should we not serve pork in any restaurant to avoid offending muslims? Should we ban papers on evolution and scientific discovery for fear of offending christian fundamentalists? If it is offensive, avoid it. YOU chose to click on it (an article that was clearly labelled) and YOU chose to come back to reply to my comment. The problem is with you and your closed minded draconian approach to the world, not the article.
Americans would eat shit just so they could write an "arresting" blog piece on it - also kinda racist to paint all Chinese as dog eaters - however, your liking of McDonalds gives away your true tastes - you stay classy! WANKERS!
Sorry, but I thought that the writing could be improved to a more adult level.
Aaron, Draco would have approved of the slaughter of innocent animals, for being innocent animals, and would surely have enjoyed reading this article. Hoist by your own petard, young man.
Well researched Morrissey, no doubt. It would have been better of me to write "absolutist", or "outdated", potentially even "closed-minded" would have done. For me draconian was a stop gap for oppressive and absolute ideas. Thanks for the educating me further. However, you arguing on semantics is just a distraction from the main point, which still stands. One animal is not greater than another. A wild dog would be quite happy eating you, and wouldnt show the slightest bit of remorse for it. Actually, even a domestic dog, while it might not kill you for it (not that they don't sometimes), would quite happily eat your meat at any time of the day. What is it to you that is so offensive about this article, I just don't understand. Give me an answer without acting so aloof and superior.
'One animal is not greater than another'. You're running out of petards to be hoist by.
mmm.. I don't believe every word written in this article, of the feelings and behaviour of the protagonists, is true. I believe, as others have commented, it has been embelished purely to shock. And Aaron - get a clue - animal lovers commenting are not suggesting any animal is better than any other. The issue here is the way the chinese find, treat and kill ALL the animals they eat. Its barbaric, far more so than anything done on farms here or in other countries who are bound by welfare laws. Also as others have commented - it was ok for them to decline cat meat - because they like cats - yet ok for them to eat dog because they dont like dogs?? Now that is offensive. And for gods sake dont say 'a hungry dog would eat you if it had the chance' animals can't think and choose like humans - they just use instinct. We do not need to eat dog, cat or arguably any meat at all - yet we still do - what does this say about humans.
Being the talking animal that has the ability to express oneself via a keyboard I would say that the "line" I mentioned before doesnt REALLY need defining...don't you think? Your clutching at straws now buddy. Instead of responding with any ounce of intelligence, your resorting to semantics...come on now.
Saffron when did you become the authority on how the chinese find treat and kill ALL their animals exactly? I love animals by the way. I've had dogs, cats and rabbits in the house since I was born, been horseback riding a bunch of times too when I was younger. I'd say 70 percent of TV i watch or online are animal based documentaries cause their bloody amazing things. But really, aside from blatantly endandgered creatures or the inedible ones, I wouldn't balk at a plate of any of them. I love animals, still eat them though.
Aaron - you can see for yourself from the pics in this article and the details of the conditions, what we are dealing with. I have also had the misfortune of seeing it and reading about it on numerous other occasions. You have answered your own question about peoples attitude towards this, by saying you love animals but still see no issue in eating them. This is the bottom line and the reason animals are suffering daily. If every person in the world truly loved animals there would be no meat industry at all. However, the unfortunate truth is people see animals as a lower species and thus will always use them to fulfil their every requirement. It makes me sad because I don't understand why we think we have that right.
Rob Williams, you are a complete douche bag, go fuck yourself with a rhino horn.
Dear Rob Williams, grow some testicles you fucking asshole.
'I'd say 70 percent of TV i watch or online are animal based documentaries'. More ridiculous by the minute. For someone who is so staunchly humanist, you seem to be paying little attention to the complexities of the human mind or human behavior. You prefer, 70% of the time to observe instinct in other animals, (that which we left behind through evolution), instead of the civilised beings we've become. And then, you defend the brutal slaughter of those animals you claim to be so fascinated with. You know if it hadn't been for Walt Disney, we might have had a greater appreciation of animals (no animal has the white of an eye), to leave them in their natural habitats to kill and eat each other as nature intended. But instead, we have anthropomorphists such as yourself, claiming to have some pseudo-scientific interest in documentaries, having 'owned' pets, and also revelling in hearing stories of their torture and slaughter. YOU HAVE ALL THE HALLMARKS OF A SERIAL KILLER.
Oh Morrissey...I think your taking this all a bit seriously. Yes, it's lovely that animals exist in the wild, they also rip eachother apart limb from limb. So would you say potentially hunting and eating one of these creatures is more cruel than that? I'm not "revelling" in it, I just found it interesting. Its an interesting and humourous article, and intolerant people like you, forcing their views on other people as "truth" is just irritating. I dont really care if you beleive in unicorns and pray to the sun-god ra, just don't tell me i'm wrong for what I beleive is right for me. And serial killer? Really? Come on now, thats just bait surely? Take a subsistance farmer for example, having raised animals from birth (lets say a lamb). He bottle feeds it, cares for it, even lets his kids play with it. Then when the time comes to feed his family, slaughters and eats it. Is that a serial killers behavious to? THAT's my mentality my friend, and if it's too "extreme" for you well thats just embarrassing. And saffron, I saw photo's of meat hanging up, much as I would in all the butcher's shops on a walk down my local high street, get a grip. We (as animals, so astuteley pointed out by some others in this comments thread), have just as much right to eat them, as they do eachother, what don't you understand about that? I think eating an animal for food (preferably free range, organic, humanely killed) is far less cruel than lets say, a bear eating it while it's still alive in the wild? I don't like pointless killing, I don't like torture, and I don't like animals being treated poorly. The issue is not eating meat at all (any kind), the issue is making sure its done safely and humanely, thats all.
Also...in fear of indulging in your level of semanticism, I will say that what I am doing is quite the opposite of anthropomorphisim. It would be a little crude to say "de-humanise", but it's fairly obvious i'm not attritbuting human characteristics to animals here, or did you misread my previous statements? Take your time before you rush to brow beat me next time please. It was a good argument until you started sacrificing good reason for a more a complex use of vocabulary.
Dogs.... Why the hell do they have to eat dogs? The way they are beating them to death is merciless.Such people still exist.We are buddhist and more than half of our population are vegetarian and some without choice have to eat just one kind of meat due to health issues.We would never do such cruelty even to our enemies.I still remember the man's face in the video ,i can assure him for his death to be more cruel than he has done to the dogs.Yes, some people do hate dogs but they won't go to this extend.Thank god,my country is strictly against such cruelty.
Aaron for gods sake man! If you have read the article you will note it states 'live animals sit in cages, there is hardly any ventilation, the air is putrid with stench..' Also I wonder if you have seen the videos doing the rounds of how the chinese kill these animals? The reason I am upset by this, more so than the meat industry in this country for example, is that the Chinese - specifically - are very cruel. They DO threat the animals poorly - as you state above you do not like. I'm not saying you can't eat meat if you want to, but there is no reason for the Chinese to eat so many different types of meat or to treat the animals with such complete and utter contempt. Take note from Caren - her comment above is fantastic and she makes great points. To be fair I could argue eating meat at all is pointless killing (which you also state you don't like) but I won't. This article is about the Chinese and they don't do it safely or humanely, also the country has no real welfare laws. This is why the article has upset so many people. I think if we all had to go out and catch and kill our own meat (like wild animal carnivores have NO CHOICE but to do) there'd be a lot more vegetarians in the world!
Oh and a bear can't go to Tesco and buy his meat, he has to kill and eat those around him. If he eats it while its still alive, then thats nature HE CAN'T CHOOSE. However a Chinese man getting a puppy out of a cage with a noose attached to a stick, while it cries in terror, then clubbing it around 6 times and still not killing it, is not natural. We have bred dogs to be needy and have almost human feelings so they make 'devoted' pets - so it is all the more barbaric that it's dogs, as they adore humans and trust them implicitly.
@Saffron, if you wan't to get that picky then surely we shouldnt have domesticated these poor creatures in the first place right? They should all just be wild and free and eat eachother instead. You can't argue that eating meat is pointless killing, your personal preferences are clouding an otherwise fairly rational arguement here. The whole ventilation and stench thing aswell? Making a point about "the chinese" is more than a little prejudiced, when we in the west do exactly the same with battery farming. Your going on about animals choices too...really? Do you think if you gave a carnivore a choice it wouldnt kill something to eat it? Your giving human traits to animals here and its just childish.
Aaron - this is the last time i'm responding to you because you are not listening to what i'm saying. 1) The Chinese are world renowned for their terrible cruel attitude to animals. There are specific charities just to help animals in China. You are talking about people who have driven tigers to the point of extinction to eat their testicles and penis believing it heightens their sexual prowess! (p.s i'm not saying every single chinese person is the same). 2) Yes western farming methods are far from ldeal, but by and large they adhere to welfare laws and the animals are killed as quickly as possible. You clearly have not watched the videos I speak of. 3) I said animals CAN'T choose - they only use instinct to survive. That is what makes us diferent to animals - we can talk, think and choose our actions, from where we shop to buy our meat to whether we even eat meat. Wild animal carnivores kill and eat whatever they can find purely to survive - they don't have any choice - if they didn't they would starve. Also they still need to eat meat, their bodies can only survive if meat is included in their diets. 4) Yes I can argue us eating meat is pointless killing because in todays western society we humans are fortunate enough not to need to eat meat to live. Neither for health purposes nor to survive. 5) And finally I did not give human traits to animals and I agree we were cruel to have domesticated dogs. But the truth is as soon as humans believed they were better than animals, they set about doing whatever the heck they liked with them and we still do because we can. Its too late for dogs now, they've already been domesticated - what I said was that they have been specifically bred to be in tune with humans and then we go and eat them! Nice! I'm sorry to go on at you but I do agree with Morrissey - the article is offensive as it is biased in favour of eating dogs and has been written to offend, by including an exaggerated (and in my opinion) untruthful version of the feelings and behaviour of Rob and Christina.
While your 5 point piece WAS compelling...you still make next to no sense. Your points essentially boil down to "im right because i'm right". I've seen the videos, and the ones of what we do in the UK and they are both pretty damn gross. I'm sad you won't be replying anymore, I was enjoying the argument to be honest. You werent being nearly as pompous as morrissey which i appreciate. And I completely and utterly refute the whole "we don't need meat" nonsense. It's my final point and i'll illustrate it. My aunt was a vegan for the majority of her life. She's had to now incorporate chicken into her diet because its one of the only proteins her body can digest. And its a very common issue. Yes their are exceptions, but by and large vegans are generally pretty unhealthy people, very prone to illness. If we were meant to be purely vegetarian, our appendix would also still work...The point of the article is completely missed on you. The point was that they were trying something different and unusual. It could have been morris dancing, or facial tattooing with a south american tribe, anything. It was written to intrigue. The problem is people like YOU colour things like this with their own opinions, proported as fact. And how on earth you could possibly know the "truth" of Rob and Christina's feelings is beyong me. Here's a genuine fact for you: We're not better than animals, but we are naturally and completely the top of the food chain, and we can eat whatever we like. If you don't want to, don't. But that doesnt make YOU right. It's been a pleasure.
Unethical tourism such as this is a disgrace. Many Chinese citizens are working tirelessly to end the practice of dog meat consumption. Uneducated, thrill-seeking tourists such as yourselves should be ashamed of your irresponsible behaviour. Many of the dogs used in the dog meat trade are stolen pets, i've heard so many testimonies of Chinese pet owners whose dogs have been stolen for this trade and some have even discovered their beloved pet at slaughterhouses. There have been Chinese news reports only last week detailing how pet owners stopped trucks in Cheongqing and Shenyang and recovered their stolen dogs from amongst the hundreds stuffed into cages on their way to slaughter. Do you know how these animals are actually slaughtered? It is not humanely i can assure you. Dogs are hung, beaten, bled out, tortured or boiled alive. The torture is quite intentional as there is a prevailing belief that the more pain and fear the dog endures the more adrenaline is released into the bloodstream and the greater the 'medicinal' properties of the dog meat. There is widespead documentation of this avaiable for anyone who can't believe such cruelty would take place. The dog meat industry is inherantly cruel and revolts many Chinese citizens. People should educate themselves before indulging in such practices.
not all americans are like this!!!! I would never think about hurting any of these innocent creatures. I know not all chinese people support or engage in these practices, and it was awesome to read the people against it are rallying together to end it!! all I can pray for, is there comes a time (soon) that the inhumane way of killing ALL animals across the globe stops. I know that will never happen, but if one more warehouse (as this asshole described it), shuts down, that's how many lives saved (then another warehouse, and another, and another). staring at my dogs as I write this makes my heart heavy, but I, myself, can't change how many countries on how they view animals no matter how badly I wish I could. all animals have feelings and a soul and to think that they don't is unreal. the people who think cruelty and abuse is ok, they're the ones who will get theirs in the end... all animals are beautiful and deserve to be respected and it's so sad not all humans feel the same way. I, personally, think how it's being done is cold and cruel. lastly, I don't think any kind of animal hater should be published while making a mockery of the innocent lives lost. such arrogance and two pompous jackasses. you both sicken me.
fucking twisted bastards
Eating dog, cat or horse is no different than eating cows, veal, chickens, turkeys, etc...Even fish...Americans are such hypocrites!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHEEZH!
When I was in Hong Kong, I ate cat eyes...very tasty and good. Also, when in Subic, ate lots of monkey meat...taste like chicken.
I'd eat dog. The list of things dogs can be to humans is a long one, and historically its always included food.
Mike you twisted fucker
ich hasse diese schlitzaugen folgt
Thank you for this well written hilarious article! I'm still sitting here giggling. I'm heading to China in August and hope to try it for myself. You guys remind me of me.
Wow, glad to see the comments have still been going strong on this one. Thanks to everyone who read it and took the time to comment (or vent)--even you haters!
DO NOT EAT DOG MEAT OVER THERE. NORMALLY I WOULDN'T MIND, but they badly misstreat the poor babies before killing them for food. Most of them are beaten, skinned and boiled alive. yes, alive. I hope people that do this to them are boiled alive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_qCbZVdUhY I know that meat is meat and i will eat meat as long as the animal is not misstreated or suffered.
SABOTAGE
