50,000 dogs

[irishgrl]

Haggis anyone?

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

Haggis anyone?

I think I know what those are, but I'm afraid to say...

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

I think I know what those are, but I'm afraid to say...

sheep stomach stuffed with meat and barley. (straight from the Highlander! )

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

sheep stomach stuffed with meat and barley. (straight from the Highlander! )

I thought so. I take it youve eaten it?

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

I thought so. I take it youve eaten it?

Hey, Im IRISH!!!!! (actually Im Scott too, but keep that on the down low )

[Miss Vicky]

Chinese Start Another Mass Dog Slaughter
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Aug 4, 2:13 AM

SHANGHAI, China - A second Chinese city planned a mass dog slaughter to contain a rabies outbreak, state media said Friday, days after similar massacre in another province drew outrage.

Officials in the eastern city of Jining said Thursday they would kill all dogs within three miles of areas where rabies was found, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The measure came in response to the deaths of 16 people from rabies in Jining in the last eight months, Xinhua said. It didn't say how many dogs would be killed, but said the city had about 500,000.

Rabies cases are on the rise in China, with more than 2,000 people dying from the disease each year. Only 3 percent of the country's dogs are vaccinated against rabies.

Last week, a county in southwestern Yunnan province killed 50,000 dogs after three people died of rabies. The massacre provoked unusually pointed criticism in state media, while the activist group People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for a boycott of Chinese products.

Other slaughters have been reported elsewhere in China this year, although the government says it has no standard policy of destroying dogs.

"I think this is completely insane," Zhang Luping, founder of the Beijing Human and Animal Environmental Education Center, said Friday in response to Jining's announcement.

"What's more, this really damages our national image and sets a really bad example to show how lazy and inconsiderate those local government officials are," Zhang said.

Zhang said there were no laws under which citizens could stop the killings, but said she and other animal protection activists were reaching out through the media to try to change policy.

"I think this brutal and cold-blooded campaign should stop as soon as possible," Zhang said.

People answering phones at Jining's city government and epidemic control center refused to comment or said they weren't authorized to release information to media.

The World Health Organization has not directly criticized the slaughters, but WHO experts have said they underscore a lack of coordination and other problems with China's health care system.

The killings have prompted widespread commentary in state media and online forums, with opinions strong divided.

Rabies attacks the nervous system. In humans, it normally results in death within a week after symptoms develop.

[skcin]

"I think this is completely insane," Zhang Luping, founder of the Beijing Human and Animal Environmental Education Center, said Friday in response to Jining's announcement.

"What's more, this really damages our national image and sets a really bad example to show how lazy and inconsiderate those local government officials are," Zhang said.

Zhang said there were no laws under which citizens could stop the killings, but said she and other animal protection activists were reaching out through the media to try to change policy.

"I think this brutal and cold-blooded campaign should stop as soon as possible," Zhang said.

People answering phones at Jining's city government and epidemic control center refused to comment or said they weren't authorized to release information to media.

Seems to support my blanket statement, IMO.

[David]

Originally Posted by Violet

I'm a bit offended by the tone of this thread. I'm not talking about the original subject. I didn't read the article about the dogs, and of course I don't agree with the whole killing 50,000 dogs, but the rest of the China bashing.

As some of you know, my daughter is Chinese, and I am quite familiar with their one child policy and have dealt with several governmental agencies in person in China who most definitely "give a **** about their people."

You know, I don't get involved in the political discussions on the Ledge, because when you're bashing the President or the US, you guys live here. But you don't live in China and you're passing judgment on China as a whole, and that sucks.

Carol, I'm afraid I can't apologize for my dislike of China in general. This has nothing to do with your daughter or any Chinese on an individual basis. But I won't retract my disgust with China just because I don't live there. You know the old saying that you don't have to be able to lay an egg to know it's rotten? I am not of the mind that I have to walk that mile in someone else's shoes in order to criticize, etc. I criticize governments & policies all over the world on a regular basis--even my own, of course. When I think of China, I think of a situation that resembles Mexico & much of Latin America: squalidness & poverty that the state perpetuates decade after decade through shortsightedness, corruption, tyranny & superstition.