Dog Meat, Factory Farming, and Animal Welfare (Not Rights)

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. -- Mohandas K. Gandhi

I've always thought that if the Mahatma's pronouncement were applied, England would emerge as the greatest and most moral of nations. In any case, it would not be the country that is the subject of this article, linked to by View from the Right, which, not being directly about Korea, I feel more comfortable to post: China's Animal Torture.

Here's a taste (no pun intended):

[D]ogs and cats are not only killed, they are slowly tortured; they are bled or beaten to death; they are boiled or butchered alive. The Chinese believe that the more the animals suffer the better they “taste.” German shepherds have been seen being skinned alive in a frigid warehouse in Harbin. Ironically, China this year is celebrating “The Year of the Dog.” Does Wal-Mart, now operating and expanding in China, sell dog and cat meat there?

Another humane group website, the Asian Animals Protection Network, has photographs showing men thrusting knives into the necks of fully conscious dogs, then hanging them on an incline as their blood runs out. Others show people gathered at a roadside with dogs tied to a truck or railroad tracks.

Something I've witnessed firsthand in Korea is mentioned:

Dogs in Korea are strangled to death, often from trees, for up to an hour, or bludgeoned to death with pipes or hammers, then blowtorched.

To be fair, this blogger also opposes on principle factory farming as practiced in the West, as does Matthew Scully, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, who wrote this article for Pat Buchanan's magazine: Fear Factories: The case for compassionate conservatism—for animals.

Here's an article from today on the animal welfare theme: Chicago bans foie gras in restaurants.