Fw: Jill's letter to the Asian Wall Street Journal re. dog eating in Hanoi

[Guest guest]

Jill's letter to the Asian Wall Street Journal re dog eating in

Hanoi

 

 

> Hi Everybody,

>

> Please see a letter that was printed in the Asian Wall Street Journal

> today from Jill. It was in response to an article that appeared a

> week ago, encouraging those travelling to Hanoi to try dog meat.

>

> For those of you who live in Hong Kong, please keep an eye out for

> the Sunday Morning Post on 17 December - there will be lots of news

> on Animals Asia's work to end dog eating on the Mainland.

>

> Best wishes for a Happy Christmas!

> Annie

>

>

> Asian Wall Street Journal

> December 17 - 19, 2004

> Letters

>

> I was saddened to see the article advocating the consumption of dog

> meat in Vietnam as a praiseworthy cultural experience, whilst

> ignoring the horrendous suffering caused to the species concerned

> ( " Adventurous Eating, " Personal Journal, Dec. 3-5).

>

> In the search for a truly authentic travel experience, it appears

> that you are prepared to promote practices that are morally repugnant

> and viewed as abhorrent by many. Would you so joyously drink the bile

> siphoned from the infected abdomen of a bear incarcerated on a bear

> farm for 20 years? (This cultural practice is in existence today.)

>

> Having documented the whole process of dog eating (from cage to

> consumption in China, Vietnam and South Korea) whilst living in Asia

> for over 20 years, there are compelling reasons, in my own opinion

> and that of many, many local people in this continent, why this

> species now deserves better.

>

> Across the world, including Asia, dogs are our heroes. They help us

> in times of war and disaster, they protect us in our own backyards.

> Their incredible ability to " sniff out " a whole range of substances

> that would do us harm, including explosives and narcotics, is well

> documented by customs officials across the world who work side by

> side with this enthusiastic, intelligent and beneficial species.

>

> In markets, in cages, in misery, millions and millions of dogs are

> confined and slaughtered in the most barbaric and cruel ways. In many

> cases these dogs are deliberately treated cruelly in the belief that

> torture equals taste and, regardless of this belief, always routinely

> in methods that cause unimaginable suffering and pain.

>

> In Hong Kong where dogs have long been legally protected against

> consumptive use, the Agriculture and Fisheries Department have

> maintained that, as carnivores and differing from herbivores more

> generally raised for human consumption, dogs cannot be humanely

> reared and slaughtered for food. More recently, in line with several

> other countries of Asia, Taiwan has also not only banned the practice

> of dog eating, but is now levying significant penalties on those who

> choose to ignore the law.

>

> Culture can no longer be an excuse for cruelty. The argument that a

> practice has occurred for millennia is unacceptable today. Our

> campaign " Friends...or Food " tackles the problem of dog and cat

> eating by showing first hand the love and friendship that companion

> animals can give to society. (More information can be found at

> www.animalsasia.org.)

>

> Jill Robinson MBE

> CEO, Animals Asia Foundation

> Hong Kong

> --

> Annie Mather

> Executive Director, Head of Media

> Animals Asia Foundation

> Hong Kong

>

> ANIMALS ASIA HAS A BRAND NEW WEBSITE!

> Find out more about the " China Bear Rescue " and " Friends....or Food? "

> http://www.animalsasia.org

>