Dogs Delisted As “Livestock” According To Chinese Agricultural Ministry

Dogs Delisted As “Livestock” According To Chinese Agricultural Ministry

Dogs Delisted As “Livestock” According To Chinese Agricultural Ministry

Many theories have swirled about in speculation of how COVID-19 has become a global pandemic. One of the theories is that the virus originated in a wet market in Wuhan that features bats, cats and dogs for human consumption.

While strolling through some of these wet markets, one may find barbecued dogs. Yes, Fido is strung up for all to see-along with freshly slaughtered chickens, rats, bats and cats. It seems barbaric to think of eating what most of us here in the United States would think of as a best friend, a lifetime companion. Heck, our animals are family members. Some of our loyal four-legged friends have been better to us than some people in our lives.

The Chinese have supposedly figured this one out. In a document released by China’s agricultural ministry, dogs are now deemed as “pets”. If one reads between the lines, dogs are only taken off this list temporarily, this is, until sneaky China figures out a way to incorporate dogs back into their bizarre mix of “livestock”.

Included on the latest list of livestock animals are 13 types of ‘traditional livestock’ such as pigs, cows, chickens, and turkeys, and 18 types of “special livestock” such as various kinds of deer, all of which could be raised for the purpose of eating, according to the ministry. The list is ‘dynamic’ and could be widened to include other animals, according to the February decision banning eating of wild animals in China. The ministry is gathering public opinions on the draft document until May 8.

Although Beijing has said that the consumption of wild land animals not included in this list will be banned it is unclear whether dogs, which traditionally are not counted as wild animals, would also be protected from this fate after the “upgrade” of its status by the ministry. Calls to the ministry went unanswered, while it did not immediately reply to a request for comment.”-Jane Li and Mary Hui, Quartz

Stay with me here while I wax a little granola here. Forgive me for sounding a bit nutty but this makes me nuts. I’m not a fan of animals having to die so I can eat. Actually, I prefer not to think about it. But realistically, I also know that my diet needs a certain amount of animal protein derived from chicken and cows. I also cannot resist a good BLT, to be completely honest. I know, realistically, that not all of these creatures are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve and that does make me sad. But in order to survive, humans need to eat. We just do not need to eat dogs and cats. I mean, I look at my two 15-pound kitties who love to snuggle and get their daily treats. My girls look up at me with their loving, green eyes and could not imagine any one wanting to hurt them. I would seriously hurt anyone who did. I mean, I would straight up go to prison if someone laid a hand on one of my pets!

Many fingers are pointing to the wet market of Wuhan being Ground Zero for COVID-19. Jane Goodall, went a little bananas recently but she does have a point citing crowded, unsanitary conditions:

It’s also the animals who are hunted for food, sold in markets in Africa or in the meat market for wild animals in Asia, especially China, and our intensive farms where we cruelly crowd together billions of animals around the world. These are the conditions that create an opportunity for the viruses to jump from animals across the species barrier to humans.”-Jane Goodall

The city of Yulin in China hosts an annual dog meat-eating festival. The practices seen at these festivals are barbaric to say the very least. We’re talking dogs are cooked on a hot pit while still alive. Dogs are crammed into crowded cages. The scene, too gruesome to imagine, begs the question: “What sorts of people are completely okay with this type of practice?”

And this is the question we need to ask. Do we want to economically support a country that condones these savage practices of char-grilling live dogs economically? Do we want to be dependent on China for our supply of antibiotics and Ibuprofen? Or do we want to take a hint from our allies like Japan and start bringing production back to our nation? Japan is pissed at China and we should be, too. China says they are going to place restrictions on their wet market practices. They also said this back in 2003 after the SARS outbreak:

The government banned wild animals from meat markets in April of 2003, only to lift the ban several months later to ‘standardize and support the development of the industry of domesticating and breeding wild animals,’China’s forestry administration said at the time.”-The Wall Street Journal

We’ve been here before, folks. China has walked back on their promises to cook live dogs and bats before only to return to dog meat festivals. China has been dishonest. China has flat-out LIED before and they will do it again. Jane Goodall may be bat-guano crazy by stating that the “disrespect of animals” was the sole cause of this pandemic. This goes deeper. This is the Chinese government’s utter disrespect for the world.

Photo Credit: FlickR/Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

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1 Comment
  • Kim Hirsch says:

    Many years ago we hosted an exchange student from Hong Kong. She very adamantly told us that “we do not eat dogs!” Along with a desire for free thought and western values, the British instilled in Hong Kongers an appreciation for Man’s Best Friend.

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