FWD: AR-News: (US MA) A roar from animal activists in China

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The Boston Globe

May 16, 2004

A Public outcry halts bullfighting - roar from animal activists in China

BEIJING -- ''Foreign Bulls Head for the Middle Kingdom. "

''Spanish Matadors Pack Their Bags for Beijing. "

''Local Promoters Salivate Over the Prospect of Bloodthirsty Crowds. "

The headlines said it all: Bullfighting was coming to China.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the bullring. In a country known

for

its often-brutal treatment of animals and its anything-goes capitalism, a

public outcry halted the project in its tracks. Chagrined promoters are not

talking, while emboldened activists voice hope that their win will help spur

new

laws to strengthen animal rights.

''This is a very significant victory, " said Zhang Luping, head of the

Beijing

Human and Animal Environmental Education Center. ''It shows that ordinary

people's voices can be heard in China and that policies can be changed. "

The treatment of animals in China still leaves much to be desired.

For-profit

zoos often mistreat them, selling unwanted ones as exotic restaurant fare

and

feeding live animals to other beasts for visitors' amusement

There are thriving markets in ivory, fur, and various endangered-species

parts for virility treatments. And live bears are ''milked " of their bile,

used

for medicine, with implanted catheters puncturing their gallbladders.

But animal rights groups say the attitudes of average Chinese are quickly

changing.

Driving the shift, animal rights groups say, are economic, social, and

cultural factors that suggest how quickly China is adapting to global

sensibilities.

''As people's lifestyles have improved, they've become more and more

sensitive toward animals, " said Wang Shi, secretary general of the Chinese

Culture

Promotion Society, a government-linked civic group.

New social structures also have heightened respect for the birds and the

beasts. As growing numbers of people move from the countryside into urban

apartments, the average family size is declining and the number of people

living alone

is rising.

This has spurred pet ownership as animals take on the role of companions.

Beijing officials got a taste of the new attitude when they sought to

discourage

pet ownership through high license fees in 1995, a policy that was largely

reversed under pressure from outspoken residents.

Activists and sociologists point out that harsh treatment of animals is not

a

Chinese tradition, at least not an old one. Rural culture has for centuries

respected animals, which are seen as an important part of local life, the

economy, and people's hopes for success.

 

full story:

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2004/05/16/a_roar_from_animal_a

ctivists_in_china