Eating cats in China (not a joke).

[catmoon]

Has Bambi ever been screened in China? Or Lady and the Tramp? 99 Dalmations? Do they give their kids teddy bears?

[Roland]

Is "The Cat in the Hat" a character in a children's book or a menu item?

[lowlydog]

Hey Alex,

Exactly what the duck is a bad dog. Bad cats well thats another story.

[Alex123]

Exactly what the duck is a bad dog. Bad cats well thats another story.

If dog bit someone and is going to be euthanized, then why not make the best of this bad situation?

Also if some homeless dog is put into overcrowded shelter and is going to be euthanized, why not make the best of this bad situation?

If it is possible it could be used to feed the homeless.

[lowlydog]

I think the meat industry lobbyists would have something to say about this.

[gregkavarnos]

Exactly what the duck is a bad dog. Bad cats well thats another story.

If dog bit someone and is going to be euthanized, then why not make the best of this bad situation?

Also if some homeless dog is put into overcrowded shelter and is going to be euthanized, why not make the best of this bad situation?

If it is possible it could be used to feed the homeless.

What are you talking about Alex? Dog and cat meat is a delicacy (mainly) in (Southern) China. It's not like they gathered up some strays, were going to euthanise them, and decided to serve them up on a dish instead.

[Indrajala]

What are you talking about Alex? Dog and cat meat is a delicacy (mainly) in (Southern) China. It's not like they gathered up some strays, were going to euthanise them, and decided to serve them up on a dish instead.

As the article points out people get paid a few dollars to catch the cats and then middle men arrange for their transportation down south.

I can't imagine that being very hygienic ... I mean stray cats would probably consume a lot of parasites.

[gregkavarnos]

What I meant to say is that the cats and dogs are not captured in order to be shipped to a pound, but with the express purpose to be eaten.

[Lhug-Pa]

This is disturbing and depressing. As one of comment posters in the Telegraph article wrote, eating dogs and cats are not common among the Chinese, and certainly most overseas Chinese consider that barbaric. In many of the large cities in China, the people treat pets the same way as most Westerners do.

Yeah, I think that many westerners assume that eating cats and dogs is common in Asian countries, even though it is uncommon. It may happen, yet not as often as westerners would like to think (I say 'would like to think', because I've seen many rednecks who get a kick out of thinking that most Chinese eat cats and dogs).

In regard to the question about why eat cows and not dogs or cats; well, in Vajrayana a skillful practitioner should be able to transform any substance, and—about animals in this regard—create a positive cause for the animal in the future (i.e. by eating animal flesh with presence, or better yet Instant Presence, creates a karmic connection to the Dharma for that animal).

Now I do think that it would be best if non-practitioners were vegetarian; and, if everyone were vegetarian, there would be no killing of animals which would be even better. However as long as animals are getting killed, then practitioners should help the already-killed animals by creating a positive cause for them; however that, again, eating meat ought to be discouraged among non-practitioners, unless there are health reasons for eating meat for some individuals (Tibetan Medicine explains the benefits of eating certain types of flesh for various health conditions).

Speaking of which (back to the point I was getting to), since Tibetan Medicine does explain the benefits of eating certain types of flesh for various health conditions, there are specific reasons why eating some flesh is beneficial, while eating other types of flesh is usually non-beneficial or even unhealthy. Like I said, a skillful Vajrayana practitioner is said to be able to transform any type of flesh; yet for the average-joe, eating meat like cat, dog, and many other carnivores is often quite unhealthy, whereas eating other types of meat can help to balance the humours, etc. Although I do think that there are conditions where eating carnivore flesh can help to balance the humours as well, however in most cases carnivore meat is unhealthy; and if one is vegetarian, then in many cases there are probably herbs and other dietary guidelines that would suffice.