Letters to the Editor
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Dogs and Cats
That has to be the most disgraceful thing I have ever heard of. I am sure their views on human life can not be much different. I think we should have a ban on China being able to hold any Olympics whatsoever. I would not go if I had the money and I am sure there are alot of Americans that feel the same way. You might say it is only a cat or only a dog, but they are a part of many families. They are considered a family member, in fact, and are treated with high regard and respect. Just the cruel way in which they are slaughtered is way worse than we do our cattle for consumption. If that is part of their regular diet, then they need better ways to end their little lives than bashing them or skinning them alive. I am so outraged I am sitting here a little dazed and don't know what else to say, but ban the Chinese from Olympics. Just terrible!
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actually, "farm animals" are treated like pets in places in the world, too
I'm dismayed by the tone of this article, which seems to advocate for the slaughter of some animals because they are not as cute or not as domesticated, while protecting other animals because they are "man's best friend."
I'll start this by saying that I'm not vegetarian anymore... but reading this made me think maybe I should rethink my choice to eat meat.
Traveling in India will give you a different sense of what kinds of animals are "traditionally" considered part of the home. Even in most cities, many homes have cows that come home to spend the night indoors, as part of the family. In the Middle East, Asia, and parts of Europe even today cows, goats and other animals we in America might consider just food animals actually come into the family home. They generate warmth, families name them and treat them like extensions of the family or working pets, etc. I have a wonderful picture of a man nuzzling nose to nose with an older calf on a main thoroughfare Puri, Orissa with the kind of gentleness and love you'd expect from a dog owner in America. Dogs are not really widely kept as pets in India, and in fact the state of the dog population there is a bit dire at times, but cows are certainly part of the fabric of family life. So, putting religious views aside and just looking at it from this context, it's easy to see why it's considered completely unacceptable to kill and eat a cow in India. Yet the author argues that it's okay to kill cows because as far as he's concerned, they're made to be eaten, whereas dogs are not. It's ridiculous.
This is not the only article in Salon that has suffered from some measure of cultural incompetence and cultural prejudice; I am not saying that the inhumane treatment of animals is ever excusable. But when you refer to PETA, I would suggest that you consider that people who work for PETA are typically vegans who value the lives of all animals, and they'd probably be horrified at the argument that some animals lives are worth more than others, especially based on arbitrary culturally-specific opinions.
Anyway, after reading this I'm seriously considering becoming vegetarian again, to resolve some of my own inconsistencies. But at least my resolve to eat only free-range, organic meats is strengthened.
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I AM SHOCKED!!!!!
I read author Ted Kerasote's article on China's inhumane treatment of dogs and cats yesterday. I was unaware of the 139 comments until a friend called moments ago, very upset that she and I along with thousands upon thousands of other animal lovers, could possibly be living in the same country as some of you people. First of all let me say this: I along with a large number of animal lovers had the honor and privilege of meeting and getting to know author Ted Kerasote a few months ago. If you knew him or if you read his latest NY Times best seller book MERLE'S DOOR you could not possibly make such unkind, unknowing, judgmental comments that some of you made about this man. No, he would not have eaten a lamb, pig, or cow had it been served. He doesn't eat red meat. No, his story is not "fake." He has travelled the entire world extensively and is the epitome of the word honesty. Have so many of you, fellow citizens of the United States, become so hardened and unkind that you cannot find it within you to read an article like this and feel compassion? Are you unable to give an honest,caring, kind to the bone man who loves animals beyond reason a, "hey thank you for enlightening us" pat on the back for bringing this TRUE story to our attention? Perhaps you are projecting your own feelings of inadequacy or perhaps jealousy ( a few of you took pot shots at Mr. Kerasote accusing him of being self promotional). This man wrote this article as he has written many other articles and books about subjects he is passionate about, NOT for purposes of ego, fame, or fortune, but to INFORM, in hope of making those of you who go round living with blinders on to wake up and try and make this a better world. And, for those of you who do not know of the love relationships one can have with animals I am saddened for you. May I suggest that you visit the author's web site, kerasote.com, and be one of the fortunate souls that choose to read MERLES'S DOOR before deciding to post critical, negative, anger and hate filled comments about someone who has spent a life time in love and gentleness for the good of animals and our environment. To you, Mr. Kerasote, we thank you for being brutally honest on a subject that had to be very difficult to write about. Hopefully, continued strides will be made for humane treatment of animals everywhere.
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animal rights -- silly construct
Animals don't have rights. Domesticated animals basically were created by humans and exist as a resource to be exploited by humans. Bourgeois Americans use cats and dogs to fill an emotional void, since we no longer have other utilitarian uses for them. However, in most of the world, the majority of domestic animals are for food production. The Chinese are all about the exploitation of the resources available to them. They need to be, with their population. We as Americans have no right to judge what they eat. We aren't saints and neither are they.