Animals Rights Protestors Shut Cat-Meat Restaurant

[johnsmith45678]

BEIJING (Reuters) - Banner-wielding animal rights protesters swarmed into a restaurant serving cat meat in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and forced it to shut, Xinhua news agency said Sunday.

Interesting counterpoint to the US, where protestors are up in arms about foie gras and lobsters! Was cat meat sampled on No Reservations - China? ;P

Link

Edited June 19, 2006 by johnsmith45678 (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

I understand that on occasion, the Chinese eat almost anything, but generally speaking, they prefer relatively ordinary foods such as pork, beef, chicken and fish. Perhaps, one of the truly exotic foods that they eat with any great frequency is squid, which is not really particularly exotic in many European countries ... a fluffy cat isn't any more bizarre than those precious little ducks with their soft feathers and down ...

[RodneyCk]

I understand that on occasion, the Chinese eat almost anything, but generally speaking, they prefer relatively ordinary foods such as pork, beef, chicken and fish. Perhaps, one of the truly exotic foods that they eat with any great frequency is squid, which is not really particularly exotic in many European countries ... a fluffy cat isn't any more bizarre than those precious little ducks with their soft feathers and down ...

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I think it is all about no waste, using the entire animal. There is also the ritualistic and spiritual aspect of eating certain foods at certain times, for example the eating of cow and tiger penis to increase sexual power is in their culture.

I was with my friend who is Chinese and she ordered duck's tongue. I never tried it but did try the chicken feet, not bad, a little fatty.

Cat and dog, they eat those too, I could never do. I have a cat and I can not disassociate a pet from food, nope.

[Grub]

A local beauty queen, Miss Shenzhen 2005, also took part, calling on people to "stop eating cats and dogs and become civilized," Xinhua said.

Chicken McNugget = Civilization?

[sheetz]

Perhaps, one of the truly exotic foods that they eat with any great frequency is squid, which is not really particularly exotic in many European countries ...

I wouldn't think squid was all that exotic even in most of the US. You can find it in the seafood section in my supermarket and I live in a smaller midwestern city.

[Kent Wang]

Is there really a universal definition of humanity, specifically whether it proscribes the eating of cats, or is it just the imposition of Western standards?

[Daniel]

I think its interesting that this story would be allowed to leave China.. A Country that has such a strangle hold on its media, why let this story out? Perhaps they are trying to attack the "myth" and make tourists feel better.. Either way, one needs to take any story coming from The Chinese Government as calculated..

[sheetz]

I think its interesting that this story would be allowed to leave China.. A Country that has such a strangle hold on its media, why let this story out?  Perhaps they are trying  to attack the "myth" and make tourists feel better.. Either way, one needs to take any story coming from The Chinese Government as calculated..

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Don't forget that the Beijing Olympics are just around the corner.

[johnsmith45678]

Is there really a universal definition of humanity, specifically whether it proscribes the eating of cats, or is it just the imposition of Western standards?

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I know many Westerners that think rather lowly of cats - akin to vermin.

[canucklehead]

My understanding is that cats are killed by drowning - clearly not a humane way to get protein on the table regardless of your cultural POV.

[nakji]

I remember there was a similar controversy over Korean dog-meat restaurants just before they hosted the World Cup in 2002. There was also a campaign by the government to remove toilet paper rolls from tables, which served as napkins at a lot of cheaper restaurants around Seoul!

[Pan]

I think its interesting that this story would be allowed to leave China.. A Country that has such a strangle hold on its media, why let this story out?[...]

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Shenzhen borders on the Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region, so the story would have been reported one way or the other, anyway. Don't forget that Hong Kong has a pretty free press.

[Grub]

If the Chinese are trying to remove cats from the menus due to the Bejing Olympics, and the Koreans did the same with dogs for the World Cup, I think it would only be fair of us to should show the same cultural, culinary sensitivity next time we're hosting something, and burn down every McDonalds in the country. Well, that and have someone garotte most of the FoodNetwork's "personalities."

[mudbug]

My understanding is that cats are killed by drowning - clearly not a humane way to get protein on the table regardless of your cultural POV.

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canucklehead,

You obviously did not catch the HBO show on the topic. They are killed by emersing them in boiling water. I won't tell you the rest. I'm sure if I saw pigs and chickens slaughtered I'd be just as horrified. I doubt I would ever become vegetarian but I can definitely appreciate many of their viewpoints in regards to principles and animals. Eating an animal that was allowed to live freely and have a life in their natural habitat makes more sense to me than raising them specifically for eating and not ever having a chance to live a normal life.

Sir Paul McCartney has boycotted China for the inhumane treatment of dogs and cats. I don't want people thinking all Asians are like that or that all Chinese are like that. There are plenty of us who are animal lovers and treat them better than most humans are treated.

[Ben Hong]

Eating an animal that was allowed to live freely and have a life in their natural habitat makes more sense to me than raising them specifically for eating and not ever having a chance to live a normal life.

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So, mudbug, you are telling us that you get all your meat by hunting?

[mudbug]

Ben Hong,

No, I'm just saying that it makes more sense to me.

[jgm]

As a certified cat lover (I have 4, and have had as many as 7), part of me is really horrified to learn of this. However, as has been pointed out above, the way we kill animals that our society has decided are acceptable to eat, probably isn't much more humane.

Last summer, I made friends with a duck who lived in a fenced-in natural area near our house. Twice a day, "Lonesome Duck" would stand at the fence near my house, and wag his tail enthusiastically as I approached with a small bowl of cracked corn. He was a Muscovy, and easily the ugliest living thing I have ever seen. He had a huge amount of knobby wattling across his beak and surrounding his eyes, and at first I assumed it was some sort of cancerous growth. A little research indicated that's characteristic of the breed. Although I tried not to get attached to him, I did, knowing my heart was going to get broken. And at the end of July, Lonesome Duck came no more. We didn't have binoculars, but I'm pretty sure the white mound I saw about 75 feet inside the fence, was whatever was left of Lonesome Duck. We've seen various predators in the area from time to time, and since he was apparently unable to fly, he seems to have met an end very typical of the way nature works. And even though Lonesome's end was entirely natural, I haven't been able to eat duck since.

I can't help but wonder if my own horror (not pointing any fingers at anyone else, here) over reading about dogs and cats being eaten, isn't a bit hypocritical. Just because we've chosen them to domesticate, does that make them any more worthy of not dying in pain, than pigs, cattle, and fowl?

Or do I really want to start this conversation....?

[Grub]

...

I can't help but wonder if my own horror (not pointing any fingers at anyone else, here) over reading about dogs and cats being eaten, isn't a bit hypocritical.

...

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I don't think it's hypocritical in itself -- just as long as you recognize that this reaction is essentially illogical, and based on the cultural environment we live in. If you grew up in a culture where dogs are eaten, you would have no problem eating dogs. If you grew up in a culture where dogs are considered unclean, you would be disgusted by the idea of eating dog -- but also be equally disgusted by the idea of having a dog for a pet. We happened to grow up in a culture where dogs are considered our best friends -- hence our reaction.

[ecr]

A similar thread appeared in, I think, this section a couple years ago. Can't remember if I posted then ... but, I must say I have a real problem with the *culture* argument.

Culture is malleable, and culture changes. Bound feet in China anyone? There are many Chinese, in China, who 'grew up in a culture where dogs are eaten' who would no sooner eat a dog or cat than they would a clod of dirt .. and think poorly of anyone who does. (Re: the 'heaty-ness' of dog meat, which is why it's a winter specialty - lots of locals don't buy that either.) There are Sumatrans who 'grew up in a culture where dogs are considered unclean' who raise them to hunt wild boar ... if you saw the emotional ties of these men to their dogs (and the amount of physical handling) you'd doubt that they are Muslims (as I did). But they are.

Fewer and fewer Japanese eat whale meat, many Koreans disdain dog meat. Some Chinese avoid shark fin, Japanese women are marrying later, fewer adult married Asians live with their parents, lots of Muslims drink alcohol (some even eat pork) .... And plenty of adventurous American tourists from dog-loving countries seek out dog meat in Vietnam or China or wherever.

My longwinded point is that all over the world folks pick and choose which of their society's cultural norms to abide by, and which to ignore. Those norms are constantly in flux and evolve over time. Behavior might be conditioned by culture but it's not *determined* by it. To justify whaling or eating dog or cat meat with the culture argument is a bit questionable if the justifiers aren't also working to preserve every other part of their country's/society's 'tradtional' culture.

The most honest response to the dog/cat meat protestors would be: I eat dog/cat meat because I WANT to, and because I want to, I should be able to. Period.

[johnsmith45678]

Muslims are disgusted that we eat pigs. Hindus won't eat rats nor cows. I once worked with an guy from India who turned green at the sight of cow meat. I never did understand why Hindus hold rats and cows in high regard (I think they believe that rats are reincarnated humans) and would rather starve in the streets than slaughter a cow wandering by.

[hzrt8w]

I am a true animal lover.

They all taste good.

[Dejah]

I am a true animal lover.

They all taste good.

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[Ben Hong]

P.E.T.A. = People Eating Tasty Animals

[canucklehead]

My understanding is that cats are killed by drowning - clearly not a humane way to get protein on the table regardless of your cultural POV.

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canucklehead,

You obviously did not catch the HBO show on the topic. They are killed by emersing them in boiling water. I won't tell you the rest. I'm sure if I saw pigs and chickens slaughtered I'd be just as horrified. I doubt I would ever become vegetarian but I can definitely appreciate many of their viewpoints in regards to principles and animals.

I am not sure if we are on opposite sides of an arguement.

I have no problem with people eating all sorts of animals (I have eaten more than my share of Noah's Ark). But I feel they deserve to be treated with respect when the are being raised, killed, and eaten. Pigs, cows, chicken are killed quickly. They are not drowned in boiling water. As the world grows smaller - we all must learn to appreciate cultural differences - but it also okay to learn from other cultures.

Edited June 22, 2006 by canucklehead (log)

[jokhm]

There was a big big stink made in China about 3-4 months ago when a guy with a quick business idea (??) hired a relatively imbalanced 'divorcee (as described in the papers)' and gave her a crate of little kittens and puppies which she was then instructed to step on with stillettos to death on camera. Was insanely sickening.. and the internet across the country was quite heated up on animal cruelty, and I think the effects can still be felt. People wanted to run out and kill this woman -literally.

In another story some useless turd at fudan was raising kittens to torture and kill and the whole university and internet community did a few backflips in disgust. Policies have changed a lot in response to some of these sicks stories posted all over China.

So I think it is important to realize how much of a non-story this all is. Hardly anywhere in China is it considered normal to eat cats. Nowhere I've been at least. And in many parts the same goes for dogs. But in the rural areas (and lesser known cities) dogs are still very frequently raised for food. I was given some two weeks ago... air-dried...stewed... yikes.

Oh and I wouldn't give much credence to the thought of stories like this not 'making it out of China'. Please.... The problem is that the news in China and HK revels in nonsense like this as if it IS in fact real news. The real issue isn't what gets out and what doesnt. The truth is that we'd need to all read Chinese if we wanted all the news to get out. And vice versa.