[Image: Side-by-side close-ups of the faces of a chicken and a dog. Underneath is the phrase “People, not property.”]
Content note: Violent anti-Chinese racism.
Every year during the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, Guangxi, China, the same predictable racist and speciesist comments flourish on social media. This year is no exception:
[Image: Screenshot of a comment reading “What makes the Chinese so barbaric. Why can’t they eat chicken and rice. They are miserable bastards that should rot in hell. I would love to see those people tortured and killed and then feed their flesh to all those starving dogs.”]
[Image: Screenshot of a comment reading “This Yulin barbaric dog meat trade is beyond a nigthmare, horrific. I hope all those responsible die.”]
[Image: Screenshot of a comment reading “I loathe those scumbags, they’re not even “people” but forevermore goblins.”]
[Image: Screenshot of a comment reading “The Chinese should start eating themself……..many problems solved!!”]
I’ll keep my responses brief.
Non-vegans who are criticizing this festival: What Western farmers do to chickens, cows, pigs, and other animals is absolutely no different from what some Chinese people do to dogs. Even on so-called “humane” and free-range farms, our fellow animals are separated from their families, subjected to painful procedures, suffer from numerous ailments as a result of being bred for rapid growth, and are slaughtered at a young age. This includes laying hens and dairy cows, so lacto-ovo vegetarians are not exempt from participation in this violent system. The Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary has literature exposing the truth about animal agriculture in the USA.
Western vegans who are criticizing this festival: Stick to your own backyard. There are many vegans and animal rights activists in China who can protest dog slaughter without colonialist intervention. Call out racism and speciesism if you see comments like the ones in the above screenshots. Emphasize that all of our fellow animals—not just cute, cuddly, or “intelligent” individuals—are people, not property.
Animal liberation begins—and belongs—at home. Please go vegan, and do your part to help end speciesism, racism, and xenophobia.
The Chinese keep bears in cages barely big enough for them also. They get bile from them and sell it.
They have these outdated and ancient and cruel beliefs about what animal parts do for them. They can be barbaric and ignorant and devoid of spirituality just as everyone who slaughters and eats animals are. They are spiritually unconscious but change is coming.
Bear bile farming is horrific, but so is the farming of birds for eggs and cows and goats for milk. Westerners have no cause to call out the Chinese for “barbaric” practices, and certainly no cause to criticize their spirituality considering how much harm has been done in the name of Christianity.
Eating the life of another or contributing to it is a very sad thing. I am vegan, but I understand the circle of life. I choose to be vegan because I cannot live with myself knowing others are suffering. I am healthy this way. Those who see only certain animals (such as dogs, yet eat other animals) as those who shouldn’t be eaten, confuse me. All animals feel pain, and all humans feel pain. Telling someone to keep their opinions to themselves when it comes to such a manner seems childish. Freedom of Speech will always remain our right and it has no bounds. The comments made above, in your post, are harsh. We should be teaching others why they shouldn’t in peaceful mannerisms-why would anyone respond or listen to hate? Speak your hearts out people!
You appear to be confused as to what “freedom of speech” actually means… https://xkcd.com/1357/