Animal rights issues qualify as environmental issues, don’t they? It may be a bit of a stretch considering all the studying we’ve done this week on the environmental impact of the Mao era, rapid economic development under Deng, and the current big works projects. Still, though, the issues raised by an article in this week’s The Economist infer that the same attitude toward the environment, namely a total disregard, also exists for animal rights.
Animals are treated terribly in the United States, but apparently the situation is worse in China. Some of the specifics the author discusses are factories where bears are kept in tiny cages so that their bile can be harvested for medicine and “safari parks” where live animals are fed to lions for the entertainment of spectators. Of course the factory farms are also inhumane.
What I found the most surprising, though, was the official reaction to the issue. It seems that the call for change is a top-down affair with Congresswoman Zhou Ping leading the charge. She has so far been unable to get any legislation passed, but the fact that a Western magazine is publishing an article on her plight says something. Another point of interest is PETA’s involvement in China, which the article characterizes as “more playful than shocking.” I am actually surprised that PETA is working in China. I would have thought that they were way too in-your-face for the CCP. Apparently they tone down the rhetoric, but with all we read in Shapiro about how hard it is to register and operate an NGO in China, I’m actually kind of proud of PETA’s ability to adapt, even though I normally dislike the organization’s methods.
PETA is also working with local officials, advising them on how to deal with the issue of stray dogs, which are becoming a problem now that people are starting to own pets. We all know that the true measure of economic prosperity is the ability to feed an animal who doesn’t feed you back. China must really be on the move…
Saturday, March 1, 2008
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2 comments:
John-before I got to the bottom of your post I was thinking along the same lines-where's PETA? Shapiro noted that registering as an NGO is difficult and that many find it easier to register as for profit and pay the taxes- any mention of how PETA is designated?
Animals absolutely are victims of China's environmental degradation. After all, the ecosphere is a symbiotic system of mutual dependence among plants, animals and other natural elements. The NYT article, "China's Turtles, Emblems of Crisis," that we read for class said that so many animals habitats had been destroyed that 40% of mammals in China were endangered. I was glad to see that Yao Ming is working with WildAid on a Chinese public education program to raise people's sensitivity to the problem.
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