Page 17 - DoggieRescue E-Magazine September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019 DOGGIERESCUE.COM MAGAZINE 17

But before the outrage remember this: (Source: Jesse Mechanic, The Overgrown.com)
There is the whole familiarity via domestication argument. Dogs are often family members in Australia, not food,
so when we see them in slaughterhouse-like situations it disturbs us. The mere idea of eating dog meat gets our
national empathy antennae buzzing. It makes sense, but it is not a valid excuse. This is a prime example of lazy
and convenient activism; it is the easiest way to make a statement on animal rights while not actually sacrificing
or changing in any way.

We turn a collective blind eye to the killing of pigs,
cows, chickens, turkeys, sheep, lamb, goats
and others. We convince ourselves, either
consciously or unconsciously, that these animals
are biologically inferior creatures to the ones we
choose not to consume. Of course, in nearly
every instance there is no evidence to support
this theory, but it sure makes things easier.

This is Yang Xiaoyun, a 65-year-old At the Yulin Festival, around 10,000 dogs and cats are
retired teacher who wants to stop dog reportedly consumed each year. Many of these dogs are
allegedly stolen pets, and the treatment of the animals
slaughter in China
is as barbaric as anyone could imagine. It is truly vile,
and the awareness raised led to a reported ban on the
sale of dog meat in 2017. The degree to which this ban
will be upheld is unknown, but it is a step in the right
direction. However, in terms of animal death for the
purposes of human consumption, the Yulin Festival is
only a drop in the bucket.

It is far more inconvenient to change one’s dietary
practices, than it is to sign a petition and feign outrage on
social media. However, narrow, surface-level activism is
better than no activism at all. But we do this all the time,
we practice selective empathy. When we see a big-game
hunter standing next to an elephant, giraffe, lion, rhino
Xiaoyun Yang, is a 65 year old Chinese woman who et.al. s/he just killed; we are deeply disturbed by the
has saved more than 3,500 dogs until now. Her image. But most of us eat meat and never step foot in a
story is influencing the whole China. slaughterhouse to see where that meat came from. Most
of us cannot even be bothered to watch documentaries
A poll taken by Horizon (by China Animal Welfare or read about the processes that turn, living, breathing,
Association) shows that and loving animals into mouth-watering preparations
• 70% Chinese have never eaten dog meat. plated to arouse our masticating mandibles.

• 30% who have eaten dog are mostly more than
40 years old. So the message here is; be horrified by the Yulin Dog
Meat Festival and by all means oppose it, but we
• 62% Chinese people think Yulin damages China's should always strive to be less hypocritical and more
reputation, although it's not the fault of Yulin city, self-reflective of the stoicism of our routines and the
for most Yulin people also hate this festival. narrowed nature of our activism. Yulin runs for one week
a year and we seem to care much more about what
https://www.change.org/p/xi-jinping-let-s-put-a-final happens there (and rightly so) than what is happening
-stop-to-the-yulin-dog-eating-festival-for-2019 right here, every day. Just maybe the average dog is
indeed better than the average person!!