Mongrels. Mutts. Tramps.

There’s no shortage of vile slang for strays in the English language. Vagrant dogs are shooed away like pests in all corners of the world, as we squirm at the thought of the tics and worms that might be thriving under their matted fur.

Yet Westerners show an extra special disdain for the way dogs are treated in Asia. Our superiority complex has pushed us in the past to even slander the whole region with snide dog eating jokes. Animal rights groups like The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) have helped raise the standards for most four legged creatures in the developed world, leaving it just as easy for us now to sneer down our snouts at the track records of less developed nations. So much so that it’s easy for us to miss the slowly grumbling animal protection movement in China.
Of course it’s true that China has been guilty of animal rights abominations. Dozens of articles – from both eastern and western news sources – detail those atrocities. The standard theme is the consumption of dog and cat, an apparently savoury sweet meat laced with nutrients that keep the eater warm in winter. But there’s no shortage of animal rights atrocities in any link of the Chinese food chain – from hormone addled chickens to circus bears being forced through flaming hoops. If enough visitors gather at the tiger pits in Harbin, curators will drop live cows inside the fences to fend for themselves for the sake of spectacle.    

A growing social conscience…

But the judgmental streak of Westerners like myself might not be justified. Not now, because animal rights are growing in China. This past April, an intensely aggressive battalion of activists spontaneously came to the rescue of a truck brimming with stray pooches after rallying together on Chinese social media websites. The dogs were bound for pots in China’s northern regions.

The socially conscious mob wasn’t only looking to rescue the pups—they were pushing a whole new Chinese canine paradigm. Because the middle class is growing, so too is the common man’s love of man’s best friends. In other words dogs, felines and an assortment of other cute creatures are fairing better simply because more Chinese citizens can afford to care for them.

If a Good Samaritan driver is willing to spontaneously force such a carnivorous caravan off the road, if a group of compassionate locals are eager to band together so quickly for such a cause, and if millions of followers light up their computer monitors with the story and punch in their support under the ‘Comments’ section, then surely China’s animal rights standards are bound to change.

But if that animal rights herd has indeed gathered in China, it has yet to stampede. Chinese legislator. Zhou Ping was quoted in The Economist a few years ago, after attempting to pass China’s first national animal-welfare law. Zhou said she was pushing for a ban on the selling or devouring of dog and cat meat. The penalty would be a 5000 RMB ($730 U.S.) fine or a 15 day jail sentence. But although Zhou’s congressional cohorts publicly agreed that animal protection measures were necessary, no specific action was taken.

In late June the Asia for Animals Conference 2011 was held in the south-western city of Chengdu. During the summit some of the nation’s leading animal advocates pushed for “the timely passage of China's first comprehensive animal welfare law - the China Animal Protection Law,” which had been shelved at the national legislature since the release of its draft in September 2009.

…Looking for a voice and people’s help

Zhou is far from the only Chinese animal rights champion. There’s the Chinese Animal Protection Network (http://capn-online.info/en.php), The Asian Animal Protection Network (http://www.aapn.org/links.html), along with international groups like WSPA (which has information on how you can get involved at http://www.wspa-international.org/helping/Default.aspx). More grassroots animal rights collectives working in China include the Animals Asia Foundation (which can be contacted for further information here http://www.animalsasia.org/index.php?UID=P709D24JPR00) and the China Small Animal Protection Association (which takes donations from this page http://www.csapa.org/english/Donation.htm).

Judging by the current state of their work, such organisations are in dire need of that kind of funding and outreach. Last spring’s canine highway rescue was nobly lopsided. The activists succeeded in stopping the truck and seizing the captive dogs, but what plan did they have to house and care for these animals afterward? Like a dog chasing its tail, the activists had no idea what to do once they caught it – they made no effort to arrange for homes or shelters for the pooches, much less veterinary services to tend to any of the injured animals. Why rescue someone now that you might leave at risk later? Negligence is hardly noble.

Their quick, social-network-fuelled scheme to stop the truck was very impressive. Now China’s animal rights activists need to follow through with that laudable ambition – to provide health and housing to the creatures they adore, all the way to the higher courtrooms and lobby groups that can shelter them once and for all.
 

Related links
Should Expats Being Their Pets to China?
How Would You Kill These Dogs? China Vs. The West
The Five Essential Stages to Buying a New Puppy in China

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Keywords: animal rights in China Chinese animal rights organizations protecting animals in China changing values towards animals in China