Cruelty to animals blights many countries, not just China
The drafting of an animal protection law that is unlikely to be enacted by the central government ('False hope as report barks up wrong tree', June 16) has disappointed animal-lovers the world over.
Media coverage of cruelty to animals on the mainland shocks both foreigners and Chinese nationals. In one county in the country's southwest, officials indiscriminately massacred some 50,000 dogs, including 4,000 that were immunised, in order to prevent the spread of rabies. Some dogs, stray or not, were beaten to death, while others suffered gruesome deaths by poison or electrocution.
The sight of live animals being thrown to hungry lions and black bears being confined in small cages for their bile is heart-rending. Such proof of hideous cruelty has stirred uproar around the world. Such atrocities, however, are not practised only in China. Spectators of cockfights witness birds struggling desperately to kill their rivals, cheered on by the gambling audience. Bullfighting often ends in bloodshed for both the matador and the bull.
Seal hunting is another human act that is harmful to animals. The killing and skinning of conscious animals for their skins tramples on their right to live.
It would be unfair to single out China as the only culprit in animal torture. In China's long history, Buddhism has always preached that all living creatures should be protected and not harmed. This doctrine has taken root in many Buddhist disciples, who release creatures such as livestock, fish and tortoises from captivity. Some go as far as adopting a vegetarian diet just to avoid cruelty to animals.
Violence is a primordial dark side of human nature. It is hard to eradicate by persuasion and education. In many countries, laws to protect animals stipulate heavy fines and even life imprisonment as a deterrent to ignorant and wrongful torture. Behind the call to end the suffering of animals, especially that of man's best friend, is a significant message - that to exercise power over the vulnerable and to let tradition override world trends will be to allow barbarism to reign over modernisation. Ultimately, a civilised, developed nation should try to prohibit cruelty to animals.