China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Hi Everyone- I am new here and have yet to post on this board (I've been over on TTC) but I got this email this morning and thought it was important to share with fellow animal lovers. This is truly disgusting and I just wanted to spread the word.
Here it is.....

Normally, I try to avoid political issue, but this cause is VERY dear to my heart.
Please avoid buy products from China (if possible). China's economy stands to gain Millions by hosting the next Summer Olympics. Yet it is ranked as one of the highest in acts of cruelty to animals (www.PETA.org).
Support your furry friends and your country, BUY AMERICAN.
Please forward to all Animal Lovers you know, and please hug your pets!
Thanks.


China blasted as 'crude' for killing 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Associated Press

SHANGHAI, CHINA - China slaughtered 50,000 dogs in a government-ordered crackdown after three people died of rabies, sparking unusually pointed criticism in state media Tuesday and an outcry from animal rights activists.

Health experts said the brutal policy pointed to deep weaknesses in the health care infrastructure in China, where only 3 percent of dogs are vaccinated against rabies and more than 2,000 people die of the disease each year.

The five-day slaughter in Mouding County in Yunnan province in southwestern China ended Sunday and spared only military guard dogs and police canine units.
Dogs being walked were seized from their owners and beaten to death on the spot, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported. Led by the county police chief, killing teams entered villages at night creating noise to get dogs barking, then beat the animals to death, the reports said.

Owners were offered 63 cents per animal to kill their own dogs before the teams were sent in, they said.

The official newspaper Legal Daily blasted the killings as an "extraordinarily crude, cold-blooded and lazy way for the government to deal with epidemic disease."

"Wiping out the dogs shows these government officials didn't do their jobs right in protecting people from rabies in the first place," the newspaper, published by the central government's Politics and Law Committee, said in an editorial online.

In an editorial, the official Xinhua News Agency said the killings wouldn't have been necessary if the local government had been more attentive, but called the slaughter "the only way out of a bad situation."

"If they'd discovered this earlier, they could have vaccinated the dogs and ... controlled the outbreak," the editorial said.

The killings prompted calls for a boycott of Chinese products from the group People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"We are urging everyone to actively boycott — not a word we use lightly — anything from China, given the bludgeoning killing of thousands of dogs," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said.

She said the group had canceled all orders of merchandise it sells that are made in China. Will Wright, at PETA's European office in London, said the orders were worth about $300,000.

"We believe other groups will join us in expressing outrage over the blatant cruelty to animals the world is witnessing," Wright said.

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

I saw this article this morning, I had to stop reading it.

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

i wont even read that

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

I agree- I started to skim it and got sick to my stomach.
I don't even like to think about stuff like this because it upsets me.
I just wish there was more we could do....

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

I think this is disgusting.

Although I think that trying a boycott is a good idea, I am not sure how successful it will be as almost all everyday items are made in or have components made in China. I hope the groups find other ways to get through to them

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

that is absolutely horrible...im sure they wouldnt think about wiping out 50,000 people...but its so easy for them to kill innocent animals

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Let me tell you what would happen to these government officials if they dared to step to my dogs!! They would be the one getting the beatdown BAD

Let the boycotts begin!!!

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Oh my God, as soon as I got to the beating part, I just couldn't read any further. What the h_ll is wrong with people!?!?! I can't even begin to convey how wrong this is in so many ways. There are no words.

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

This article makes me so blessed to be an American.

I have two cats, no dogs. But if this was happening here, the gov't would have to kill me first because I would be shielding the dog about to be killed

Message edited 8/2/2006 1:21:44 PM.

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

I just read this and my stomach turned. They grabbed dogs who were being walked and beat them to death in front of their owners!!! I can't imagine that kind of horror....

What is WRONG with people? It would have probably been easier to grab the dogs and vaccinate them than taking the time to beat them to death....

Amy

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Someone outta BEAT THEM TO DEATH. HOW AWFUL...I want to cry

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

I can't even read it, it's just SICK!!

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Omg, I really wish there was something we can do, those poor dogs

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

OMG...I just saw pictures...this is so disturbing.

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

OMG this is absolutely horrible

Re: China kills 50,000 dogs to stop rabies

That is horrible beyond words