letter to Boston Globe - SARS and dog and cat eating

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

 

Boston Globe has Health|Science section and recently

did an article about SARS, speculating possible

causes. I believe that it is good time to draw

attention to the consumption of dogs in China.

 

I have drafted a sample letter to the editor of the

newspaper. Please use it if you don't have time to

write your own letter. Please send a letter asking

that they expose the killing and torture of dogs in

China and the health myth behind it. The email address

of Boston Globe is

letter

Please send a copy to one of the reporter,

stsmith

 

The number of letters received means a lot to editors.

Please send a letter and before SARS becomes an

outdated news.

 

If you can think of any other newspapers which may be

useful to contact, please contact them and also let me

know. Thanks. Yoon

 

Below is the sample letter.

 

Dear Editor

 

Due to the epidemic of SARS, many people in the world

now came to learn the appalling cruelty to animals in

Chinese market places. The obsession of Chinese people

with fresh meat together with lack of concern for the

animals have created disturbing scenes which have been

hugely ignored till Guangzhou had become the centre of

the attention of the world. Despite the fact that the

incredible suffering of animals have been due to the

belief that eating animals as fresh as possible is

good for health, the market was full of extremely sick

animals and a breeding ground for viruses and germs.

The market was full of furry mammals as it is believe

that eating furry animals (including dogs) warms a

person up in the winter and wards off disease,

particularly pneumonia. It is indeed an irony that

SARS has been started in the very place where people

were seeking the animals with health belief.

 

It has been also noted that exotic live animals have

been butchered and served as food in the market along

with dogs and cats. Now the suspicion that SARS may

have come from exotic live animals finally pushed the

Chinese government into an action. Worried about its

image, the Chinese government is finally raiding

markets, restaurants, and kitchens to crack down on

the trade and consumption of protected animal species.

Yet nothing is being done for the dogs and cats that

suffer cruel slaughter for the misguided health

benefit belief. The consumption of dogs and cats in

Guangzhou has not attracted much of media attention

and yet these animals suffer for the exactly same

reason for which the protected wild life have been

suffering. The misguided belief of health benefit lies

at the heart of the problem in both cases.

 

In January 2003, an investigation by the Ministry of

Health in New Zealand revealed that one imported

Chinese remedy called Wei Ge Wang that was supposed to

cure impotency contained powdered dogs penis amongst

other things. The remedy was found to contain Viagra

in large quantities. The powdered dogs pennies was

listed as ingredient in the packaging but not the

Viagra. Dogs are often killed with deliberate cruelty

because it is believed that such method of killing

improves aphrodisiac quality of the meat.

 

I would like to see Boston Globe tackles such a

misguided belief which brings so much misery to the

animals in China and deeply hurts the image of Chinese

people. Please bring the horror that is happening to

dogs and cats in China to the attention of people

around the world. It is only through the international

pressure that the Chinese government will pay

attention to the need to make serious efforts to

animal protection. When people are misguided by a

false health benefit claims to the extent that the

consumption of companion animals (dogs and cats are

pets to many Chinese people and they are the means of

helping the Chinese people to be more sympathetic to

all animals) is on the increase, a protected wild life

will not be safe either and many farm animals' welfare

will be also likely ignored. It is time for China to

re-examine their age-old superstitions for the sake of

both its people and its animals.

 

Sincerely,

 

Your name and address

 

 

 

=====

Friends of dogs

http://www.friendsofdogs.net

Dogs brighten our life with their gift to love and bond. It is our turn to help

our dogs. Please help organisations who are fighting to get dogs out of food

chain.

 

http://www.koreananimals.org/

http://sirius.2kat.net

http://www.animalsasia.org/ http://www.linisgobyerno.org/special_projects.htm

 

 

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