Dogs: Friend Or Food?

Photo by Changsha Small Animal Protection Organization, courtesy of  the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times. "An animal rights activist in China gives water to one of the hundreds of cats rescued on its way to be sold in food markets and restaurants earlier this year."

We thought long and hard about whether to call your attention to this article from the International Herald Tribune/The New York Times website-it's certainly not about a great new book extolling the virtues of our furry best friends, fun new pet products to try, or even a post brimming with cute photos of Bella or yours truly. (We will keep posting those types of stories!)

But this piece grabbed our hearts and heads-you'd have to be made of stone not to be upset by the brutality against living creatures described in this article. Although these events took place in China, it's clear that it's the global community that continues to treat animals like commodities. As Animal Asia, an animal rights group bluntly stated in this piece: "Cruelty to animals is not unique to Asia: animals all over the world are mistreated in factory farms, the fur trade, sport hunting or in animal testing." But the difference with this scenario is that our American culture doesn't condone eating dogs and cats, but some Asian cultures do. So the question seems to be: How does the world react, as the global community that we are? Those interviewed for this article seem to suggest that the days of blaming violent, brutal treatment of animals on differences in culture and letting it go without a response are over.

We'd love to hear your thoughts...

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