Yes, and I think I’ll be adding parts of the “A New Language called American” debate as well.
Why limit it to pets? That seems a very arbitrary distinction. I think most western countries treat animals (which they cage, experiment on, kill and eat) just as badly as Taiwan.
Wolf and Hartzell seem to be limiting the concept of ‘animal rights’ to animals’ legal rights. Even if we do limit the discusiion to legal rights, are not all legal rights merely those bestowed by constitutions, laws and courts? In that case don’t various animal welfare and animal rights bills in many countries give animals legal rights?
Try reading the influential book ‘Animal Rights’ by Peter Singer (I think his name was). It first came out in 1975 but there was a new edition 10 years ago or so. In one of the chapters he (a philosophy prof) argues the theoretical case for animal rights. He argues that human rights are based not on our physical, mental or other abilities and potentials, but on our ability to suffer. Why else would babies, or even ‘vegetables’ with no hope of improvement, be afforded the same rights as other humans? He also argues that it is scientifically clear that animals suffer and should thus be given the same rights as humans.
Personally, I don’t think you need to make any big fancy theoretical arguments to see that it’s just a question of cruelty vs compassion, and it should be plain to anyone that animals are worthy of our compassion be they cute house pets, smelly pigs or ugly lab rats.
Bria
That is what the CCP in the PRC says about its own population… of humans… they have no rights other than the rights given them by the government. Without government intervention, people in the PRC have no rights.
Thanks Richard.
Rather than try to define the words here, I think people should steer this thread toward how animals are treated in Taiwan and how that treatment could be improved.
I think that ignorance in the root of the poor treatment of animals in general among Chinese. I don’t believe for an instant that they are being malicious. Seeing dogs caged in mainland China waiting for their fate at the hands of the butcher may upset Westerners…just as the caged chickens in the market would upset a person from a culture that loves chickens as pets.
Although I have a dog and like dogs, I am not ready to raid the puppy farms in China to liberate the animals. I think education, albeit a bit slow in coming, is the answer.
mjnemesis, great quote 
!!! I copied it down. Thanks!
some Taiwanese are rotten to their pets; in general, Taiwanese are only rotten to animals as a byproduct of their own interest in eating/using/selling them. OTOH, i’ve seen quite a few Taiwanese who have relationships with animals that i’d call deep and reciprocal far beyond anything that i’ve seen in the west.
SImilarly, i’d like to point out that while pretty much any meat-eating westerner will eat beef, a great number of dog-eating Chinese don’t – for precisely the same reason offered by Westerners as justifying their distaste for eating dog: “Man’s best friend”, a “useful” and “communicative” animal, “peaceful”, etc.
And incidentally, the taste for dog meat goes back to the very earliest years of Chinese civilization – literally back to the dawn of civilization here. Chastising these people for being attracted to dog-meat while being willing to hunker down over a big steak is pretty damned hypocritical.