FWD: A Walk In The Animals Journey Of Death...

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

We have just had translated 3 articles that appeared in the very

influential Mainland Chinese magazine " Windows of the South " ....very

interesting and inspiring reading!

 

They were in the 1st December 2003 edition, before the recent return of

SARS and emergence of Chicken Flu.

 

Best wishes,

Annie,

Animals Asia Foundation.

 

A Walk In The Animals Journey Of Death...

A Civilised Country Should Not Be A Hell For The Animals

3 articles that appeared in " Windows of the South "

1/12/03

Many wild animals meet their end in the wild animal market where they are

slaughtered. In the countryside west of Guangzhou we witness the following

in a wild

animal market:

There are some animals' bodies in an ordinary area for trash and as we walk

further

into an alley we see animal excrement, fur, blood and pieces of broken legs

under our

already trembling feet.

A wild pig was lying in a cage, with a chain that had grown into its front

legs. A few

kittens were crawling around and a dog, which ran out from nowhere, ate one

of the

kittens. Our ancestors said " gentlemen always keep themselves away from the

kitchen " but we stubbornly step into the back stage of a banquet - we simply

can't

ignore the cruel slaughter that occurs, before these animals become our

delicious

cuisine.

Journey of death

Countless animals are transported everyday to this market (West of

Guangzhou),

before being sold to restaurants all over the city. There are not only cats

and dogs, but

also civet cats, wild pigs, frogs and bats. Even snakes, now banned from

being bred or

sold by the state forestry department, are sold in bags.

A seller who mainly imports foxes told us he re-fills his supply every 7

days by train.

He said it's not the best season yet; the colder it gets, the greater the

demand is. On

good days he can sell up to 100 foxes a day.

According to the US state law, animals can only be transported by train for

up to 28

hours, any time over that period, the animals need to be released from the

compartment for exercise , food and water. Under this law animals are

entitled to a 5

hour break before they recommence the journey. Animals in China clearly do

not

have the same right - a truck from Luoyang arrives with hundreds of cats and

dogs.

They have been stuffed into tiny metal cages for 3 days without food and

water and

many do not have enough room to breathe. On arrival at the market they are

thrown to

the ground in their cages from very high up.

Death is very common during transportation. Animals either freeze to death

in the

winter, die of dehydration and heat exhaustion in the summer or are crushed

to death

as the workers cram as many animals into one cage as possible.

The seller's 200 foxes arrived with 4 dead, as a result of being forced into

one train

compartment. Death is even more common among birds, because their situation

in the

cages is even worse. In one mini truck we see cages of wild chickens, around

20 of

them in one cage and there are at least 1 or 2 dead in each cage.

 

Fatigue caused by hunger also causes death - and it's not just for the sake

of

convenience that these animals are not fed. We understand that most of the

" ye wei "

eaters like to pick thinner animals for fear that there will be too much fat

if they pick

larger ones. Even after the animals are sold to restaurants they will not be

fed until

just before slaughter. A wild fox that naturally weighs 3.5-4kg would only

weigh 2-

2.5kg on arrival at the market, which is considered the ideal body weight to

be sold.

Animals' mental asylum

In the market, animals can take a break from the horrible journey but they

are still

caged. In this market, most of the stores extend out to the road but there

is still not

enough space. Animals are piled up with bats living above wild cats, wild

cats above

civet cats and civet cats above wild pigs. The cages are all rusty and

filled with faeces

and dirt at the bottom. The only hygiene procedures we saw was the dogs'

faeces

being periodically washed away from the sides of the cages. Over 100 dogs

are kept

in a 20 square foot pen and to clean the area the worker has to force the

dogs to one

side with a pressure hose. Dogs are forced to pile up into a dog mountain

where they

woof because of the pain. A few minutes later, a dead dog, soaked with water

was

pulled out from the crowd.

The sizes of cages are random, about 80% of them are around 20-30cm tall,

which

barely allows the smaller birds and mammals to stand up. Animals that are

slightly

bigger, such as civet cats, could hardly stand up straight in the cage so

they could only

lie there. In order to put bigger animals into smaller cages, workers break

their legs

and push them inside, sometimes one leg, sometimes both - we can see the

bone of

one animal's front paw and it's rotting. In clearly unhygienic conditions,

these wounds

easily cause serious infection.

Animals have even less space horizontally than they do vertically. For easy

transport,

poultry sellers usually use cage sizes around 100x50x15cm, which can carry

up to 30

pigeons and 50 smaller birds. Inside they have no opportunity to stretch

their wings.

The situation is even worse for wild ducks, whilst they are not forced to

sit down, the

narrowness of the cages is even worse. Another seller said she could fill

one cage

with 100 ducks and the base area of the cage is only 200x100cm, which means

on

average a duck is standing on a space smaller than a piece of A3 paper.

Mammals

weigh more than most birds and the consequences of forcing them into small

cages is

even worse. Animals which are naturally aggressive, such as minks, fight

easily when

put together and it is even worse when they're in a crowded environment.

Most caged animals are dull and they sit in only one pose, some don't move

as if

they're dying. Owners yell at them for being lazy and shake the cage for

some

stimulation. Animals in the cage sometimes fall over or twitch a little and

those with

legs that are deliberately broken just lie there.

The crowded and dirty environment contributes to poor ventilation, which is

harmful

to animals. Research shows that dust and germs causes lung disease in

chicken.

Melbourne University in Australia conducted experiments for poultry farmers

to

monitor the effects poor air has on the chickens. 70% of them experience eye

pain,

close to 30% cough frequently and around 15% had asthma or a related

disease. When

animals are lying and standing in these dirty and rotten places, their

bodies are easily

infected.

According to a research from animal observers, in crowded environments, it

is

common for birds to bite and chew each other's bodies. Stuffy and crowded

cages

irritate the birds and cause them to peck each other. Some wounds on these

caged

animals are bites from other animals, rather than injuries from the iron

wire. Another

consequence of over crowding is that the animals are piled up and can

suffocate,

which leads to a number of deaths.

A foreign scholar once stated that these kinds of bird cages are like a

" poultry mental

asylum " , where birds' instincts, such as walking around, bathing in soil or

extending

their wings, are suppressed. There is an inevitable confrontation between

different

species and the weak ones will be attacked. Animal farms in the West once

used these

small cages but faced great opposition from animal protection campaigns. The

Forestry department in Britain set up a committee and a report published in

1965,

suggested that there should be basic freedom for animals, including turning

around,

licking their body, standing up, lying down and stretching their legs. This

is the " five

basic freedoms " of animals. Switzerland has given up using these cages now

and the

new chicken farms allow chickens to run around, bathe in soil and rest on

trees.

Protective nests are also made for the chickens to lay eggs.

These rough cages in the market cost 20 dollars per cage and sellers don't

sell the

cage with the chicken, which means these cages are reused and will not be

cleaned,

they just keep stuffing different animals in.

Pain to death

Buyers sometimes purchase the animal alive, whilst others request their pick

to be

killed on site. So all markets provide a slaughtering service. Animals are

slaughtered

in the open in full view of the public. Other animals still caged can also

see the

massacre. The slaughter takes place without inspection and the tools are

primitive:

knives and sticks, water, plastic container and a bowl. If there are too

many animals to

be slaughtered, dead bodies are put on the roadside to wait their turn to be

cleaned.

Their blood is mixed together with sewage water and hundreds of flies feast

on the

bodies.

We understand that in Britain animal slaughter is strictly controlled by

law. In 1958,

the US also passed a state law for humane slaughter, banning the ancient and

cruel

slaughter of cows by axe. According to the humane slaughter laws in

developed

countries, animals should first be rendered unconscious by electrocution and

their

throat slit before they regain consciousness. The law also requires

professional

workers to handle the job and ensure that death is quick and painless.

In reality electrocution cannot eliminate the pain. Research by an American

university

shows that people who receive an electric shock or are undergoing

electrotherapy can

still feel extreme pain. Nowadays people receive an anesthetic before their

electrotherapy session.

 

Animals in the market do not receive anything that helps lessen their pain

before

death. They are picked by clients, then dragged right out for slaughter

totally aware

that they are about to be killed.

This is the process of dog slaughtering in a market in Guangzhou: You choose

a dog,

they hold and drag it out with tongs, whilst the dog is trying to escape,

another worker

hits its head as hard as possible, once, twice, until the dog is dead and

then their throat

is slit. Some dogs will twitch until their blood is all gone and they are

then thrown

into boiling water.

About 60% of slaughter in the country is manual and less than 40% of meat

consumed

is slaughtered by machine. Even within slaughter factories, the animals that

are

slaughtered by machine receive no pain alleviation, according to a vet who

has been

to one of these factories. An insider told us the use of electrocution in

some factories

is just to make the throat cutting more convenient. He is also the chairman

of the

Guangzhou Pet Association. He said because animals such as pigs, cows and

lambs

are production animals, their function is different from cats, dogs and some

other pets.

The most important factor of machine slaughter is to keep the meat clean and

safe for

human consumption and to avoid the transmission of disease. Whether or not

the

animals are killed in a humane way is not important.

Our country does not have any laws regarding animal slaughter and there is

only " raw

pig slaughter management " countrywide. But this is only about the quality of

pork

and not the slaughtering process itself. In rule no. 10 it states slaughter

has to meet the

country standards and skills, which might relate to the pain that pigs

suffer when

being killed. However, a clear guide on the standards and skills is absent.

In recent years, we see the peoples' representative advocating a

comprehensive

slaughter regulation. They are, however, only pinpointing matters such as

private

slaughter, the sale of dead animals and animals that are filled up with

water before

being sold to the market. In the tenth national committee meeting there was

a motion

to hasten the introduction of slaughter regulations and meet international

standards.

The reason behind this move is to avoid a ban on their agricultural

products, but not to

lessen animals' pain.

Some people may think that alleviating animals' pain is just meaningless

compassion,

if so, then he should visit the animal market where we have been and felt

their pain -

in reality even the suffering we witnessed might only be the tip of the

iceberg. A

civilised country should never be the animals' hell.

 

Live peacefully with animals

An interview with Animals Asia Foundation Founder and CEO,

Jill Robinson MBE

W = Windows of the south

J = Jill Robinson

W: Can you explain about international animal protection. Such as breeding,

management and trading? What is the usual practice?

J: All developed countries have regulations regarding animal breeding,

slaughter,

transport and exhibition, to ensure that animals are treated in humane ways.

In the late

19th century and early 20th century, most developed countries passed laws to

forbid

any actions that can cause pain and tiredness in animals, regardless of

whether they

are endangered species or domestic animals. These laws are expanding as our

minds

are becoming more sophisticated and our society more developed.

There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive law for animal protection in China.

Some

wildlife protection ordinance forbids the hunting of endangered animals,

such as the

panda, but it doesn't protect their habitat, nor does it protect other cruel

behavior

against animals. Corruption also complicates the problem, even though there

are laws

that prevent the sale and consumption of certain wild species, someone can

still

manage to get them by bribing the government officials to get a license.

W: Can you tell us your impression on the animals experience in the wild

animal

markets?

J: A new disease affects 30 countries in the world, 8000 people in the world

are

infected and over 800 were killed. Now we know it was SARS. SARS is related

to

three wild animals, civet cats is one of them and they can be found in

Chinese wild

animals markets which are widely considered to be evil. We've been following

up on

these markets for over 18 years and I wish they would be closed down.

One good thing about SARS is that when the Chinese government saw the

relationship between the disease and eating wild animals, they quickly

banned all the

transport, trade and consumption of these animals. To do so they also

confiscated

hundreds of thousands of animals.

Animal welfare organisations are very supportive of this. In May, 45

Mainland

organisations signed a resolution calling for the end of wild animal eating.

7 HK

based organisations, including AAF, advocated not only the above, but also

expanded

the resolution calling for the protection of cats and dogs, with the support

of Dr.

David Chu.

We are doing our best to set up public education projects in china and to

emphasise

the danger of eating wild animals. We have also pledged to establish a

compensation

negotiation project to solve the problems after these markets are closed

down.

Can the central government hear this? No wonder the restaurant owners and

traders

are protesting against these campaigns, they're making as high as 1 million

US dollars

a year from this business.

 

W: Why are people so attracted by ye wei? What's the value behind animal

protection?

J: A richer generation and the idea of choice has pushed these animals to

extinction.

Their pursuit of these rare species not only lowers the amount of animals

left in the

world, but also degrades our own ethical values. Marine life and forests are

disappearing and people are still eating these endangered species, our next

generation

will no longer be able to enjoy the fun of watching animals in the wild.

W: In developing countries they have concerns about economic development and

poverty to solve. To protect animals we have to sacrifice some goods. What

do you

think about animal protection and human survival?

J: Many projects in a lot of countries are mutually beneficial to human and

animals.

Hunters are hired to be forest rangers; seal hunters are now tour guides on

ice. There

are successful cases: animal welfare organisations have subsidised Tibetan

farmers to

take precautions to protect their animals from being hurt, but at the same

time keeping

predator animals away from human traps.

AAF offers fair and generous financial compensation to farmers that give up

their

bears and close down their farms. We also work along with the Traditional

Chinese

Medicine community to make bile users recognise that there are many

alternatives

that are harmless to wildlife, as well as being safe and effective at the

same time.

J: Animal as individuals and as a whole have always been viewed as a

sustainable

resource, we have to change that prejudice. For too long we have ignored

their

personality and exploited animals for entertainment, food, prizes and

medicine. We

are playing a role as peaceful reformers in Asia, to end the ancient concept

of using

animals as products. For example we construct an image for dogs that they

can be

good watchers or rescuers in disasters, but not what they are now-like cats,

they're

just another dish on the dinner table.

We are spreading a message: change for all animals, inspired by empathy for

the few.

Gandhi once said " you can tell the moral standard of people by seeing how

they treat

animals. "

W: From your experience, what's the major obstacle in animal protection?

J: There are basically three. Some people are ignorant to our help, but we

have to act

fast and precisely. We have to consider both the animals and humans. To make

them

realise that animal protection is for their own good. Second is getting

donations and

volunteers, and to overcome ours and our supporters' tiredness and

disappointment in

this slow progress of animal protection.

W: What do you think of vegetarianism?

J: I agree that being a vegetarian is healthier and it benefits the

environment. Even if it

is not possible for you to go totally vegetarian, at least consider doing

this 2-3 days a

week. To give up meat starting on earth day is the best thing you can do for

the earth.

 

Editorial

To love animals on behalf of.

There is no need to consider animal protection if there is no economic

concern?

What are the reasons behind animal protection?

The oldest saying is we have to maintain the balance of the ecosystem and

food chain

and care for our own future. The most powerful saying is that we have to

care for our

own health and be careful of what we eat. The most trendy saying is that to

care about

animal protection is an international trend and to follow this trend we can

be in

contact with the developed world.

These all are reasons behind animal protection, but this is not our stand,

because they

are far from the real reason that animals need to be protected. These

reasons do not

respect animals as a form of life. If eating wild animals does not cause

harm to our

body; if animal welfare does not cause economic problems, can we then excuse

ourselves from animal protection?

We have to understand this rationale. The true concept of animal protection

is to end

the world where humans are the center of all species and other living forms

are

inferior to us. To criticise this belief and misconception is highly

important, because

when prejudice exists, some species will always be abandoned and suppressed.

Not

only for animals, this prejudice also exists in the human world. Till now,

inequality

and discrimination is all generated from prejudice. For example, race

discrimination,

sex discrimination, child discrimination all comes from this. When we see

human

bombs so frequently in the modern world, we can tell that these matters,

prejudice in

animal and human, are all related.

The modern world pursues equality and freedom. How can we make that happen,

if

we humans cannot recognise that animals, like us, are all life forms (but

not a value

which you can price), if deep down we still think that there are classes

between

human and animals, then the concept of equality can never be concrete. For

example,

if humans are categorised into classes and the inferior ones, such as people

who are

disabled or have less contribution, should not enjoy as much freedom as the

others,

then the world can never be truly equal to everyone. To free animals is to

free human

beings.

If we protect animals because of health concerns, ecosystem, or easier

export, we're

only caring about us and there is no change in discriminating against

animals. To

safeguard human health, why not kill all the " harmful " animals?

To protect animals from the point of benefiting our own selves is hiding the

prejudice

we have towards animals. It is of course beneficial to mankind to protect

animals, but

this should be the result and not the reason for our actions. We should have

a better

point of view, like a saying " we don't have to state the fact that cruelty

to animals

would extend to cruelty to humans, we just need to recognise that cruelty to

animals is

wrong. "