Nothing cuter than a baby goat or a lamb… and those Greek Catholic priests eat 'em up for Easter every year!
Well, hexuan, you know very well that most reason and rules of logic get thrown right out the window when it comes to this beautiful island
But give the Taiwanese some credit… they have been pushing for internationalization for years now, and why shouldn’t they try to comply with international doggie norms, just as they have accepted intellectual property norms and have agreed to WTO conccessions and are striving to be just as modern in thought and practice as the rest of the world.
Moreover, many Taiwanese have found, in the past ten years, that doggies make better pets than food, and that they are more fun to pamper than to place in a cage or chain up on the roof.
Pet care still has a long way to go here, but I don’t think anyone who has been here for a LONG time can deny that incredible progress has been made. The folks that live above us have a little ratdog… it lives in their home and scampers around freely (we hear his nails tapping clickity-click above us). That dog goes to the doggie groomer once a week! A guy from the doggie grooming parlor comes and picks the dog up! Taiwanese dress their dogs up in coats during the winter now, to keep them warm! People walk their dogs now. They used to just put them in a cage on the balcony or roof and barely feed or water them. Now there are pet stores selling every creature comfort and healthy dog food and vitimins and doggie beds and toys and you name it… How different an attitude toward pet care does all this illustrate? Wow![/quote]
Right, well, Taiwanese attitudes to dogs must have undergone nothing short of a revolution since Christmas 1997, as the vast majority of dogs I came across then were either kept in a small cage 24 hours a day or were roaming the streets mad and diseased.
As far as Taiwan’s “international image” - well, that’s a bad joke. Obviously “doggie rights” are higher up the list than human rights. The usual pathetic and transparent attempt at window dressing. Wow, I though we had a cynical government in the UK… Tony could learn a thing or two from a trip to Taiwan…
a more logical arguement would p[erhaps come from the idsea that a dog is more useful alive than on your plate. sheepherding or some other sh1t,i dont know ive got redeye and its new years day
Drawing on an exchange of posts with Chainsmoker on the open Forum, I think the answer lies in the fact that, originally, it is fine to eat dogs as they are competing for the same scarce resources as we are. Over time, after such competition resource becomes meaningless, we have started to worry more about establishing a set of human rights to allow a fair chance of survival for all humans. More recently, there has been a move to extend these rights to the animal kingdom. We tend to do this most quickly for those animals that most obviously exhibit similar traits to ourselves, physical or emotional - thus, dogs are favoured over pigs by common (but not unanimous) consent.
Also, there is an economic argument - meat is still a relatively cheap way of providing us with essential nutrients. Pigs are fairly high yield - fat little beggars and big litters.
Still, the real catalyst I am sure is to make Taipei seem more “modern” and caring in the eyes of the West. In the past, I would have always argued that this is a spineless capitulation to Western sensibilities, but with the benefit of the above perspective, I tend to think it is part of the process of 1) evolution of morality 2) growth in food productivity that is probably common to all ethnic groups/races.
This does not require me to support a ban, however.
What any city dweller needs a dog for is beyond me. If you had a machine that dropped crap everywhere, whimpered when left alone and barked at passer’s by and left a bad smell in your elevator, the local govt. would be all over you to get rid of it or stop using it. I’d rather see your dog on a plate than locked in an apartment or roaming around loose.
For every one responsible, caring dog owner there are a hundred assholes and those animals are a blight on the environment for everyone else.
[quote=“hsiadogah”]What any city dweller needs a dog for is beyond me. If you had a machine that dropped crap everywhere, whimpered when left alone and barked at passer’s by and left a bad smell in your elevator, the local govt. would be all over you to get rid of it or stop using it. I’d rather see your dog on a plate than locked in an apartment or roaming around loose.
For every one responsible, caring dog owner there are a hundred assholes and those animals are a blight on the environment for everyone else.[/quote]
I agree. I find it a little hard to swallow that Taipei has gone in 5 years from keeping dogs locked in cages or tiny apartments until they become too annoying to bear after which they are turned loose in the street, to a nation of dog lovers who provide the attention and exercise that dogs need.
I said that Taiwan still has a long way to go with respect to caring for dogs, but acknowledged that Taiwan has progressed (IMO) greatly in this regard and offered several antecdotal references to explain my observation. Taiwan law now mandates that dog owners have chips implanted into the dogs so that if they go stray, the owners may be identified.
Also, there is a huge difference between being locked in a cage and being kept in a small apartment. I agree that large dogs are not ideal for city dwellers… but when you get back here, I think you will see that many, many Taipei residents are raising “toy” breeds now rather than larger dogs. I do believe that the Taiwanese people are taking much better care of dogs than they did in the past.
Moreover, let’s not forget that this problem of dumping dogs loose on the streets is not unique to Taiwan. back on the farm in the States, we took in many abandoned dogs and cats as well as “transient” critters who dropped in and hung out for a while. No doubt the city folks who dropped these doggies and kitties off in the country thought they were doing good for the animals… but many of them turned to running in packs and had to be put down.
And that law is being enforced how? Taiwan has no shortage of good laws, but falls way short on enforcing them.
And these armpit dogs are the ones that whimper and yap every moment they are left home alone. How is this an improvement for anyone but the owner?
And Taiwanese farmers and rural dwellers readily take in another stray, but it doesn’t help us city folk much… when these unwanted armpit dogs start hitting the streets, it’s going to get pretty comical. Roaming packs of wild, vicious Yorkies
And that law is being enforced how? Taiwan has no shortage of good laws, but falls way short on enforcing them.[/quote]
When I was working as a paralegal in China I couldn’t get over the enormous quantity of law they have there. They have laws for everything. Obviously they too have a slight enforcement problem. It’s a great system for bent officials: everything that isn’t compulsory is illegal.
And these armpit dogs are the ones that whimper and yap every moment they are left home alone. How is this an improvement for anyone but the owner?[/quote]
“Armpit dogs” ! Had to have a giggle at that. They’re the ones that yap constantly. City people shouldn’t have dogs, in the same way that they shouldn’t have horses or Range Rovers. If you want all that move to the country. It’s the same the world over, yuppies buying the country lifestyle.
And Taiwanese farmers and rural dwellers readily take in another stray, but it doesn’t help us city folk much… when these unwanted armpit dogs start hitting the streets, it’s going to get pretty comical. Roaming packs of wild, vicious Yorkies [/quote]
Seen them years ago (one was right where the MRT exit is at Keelung and Chunghsiao), but now it seems like an urban myth.
I hear, “So and so said that a friend knows of this place in Sanchung…”
Does anyone know for sure of a place and can provide an address?
Today’s China Post relates, “Although they never put the dog meat dishes on their menus, restaurants in Linkou, Taipei county are notorious for secretly offering dog meat, which are thought capable of warding off illnesses.”
The article, however, also says, “The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed new rules in the Animal Protection Law to ban killing and selling dogs as well as other pets as foods. Fines for violators will be 25 times the present level.” This may mean such restaurants may not be around much longer.
So the legislature is busying itself with a referendum question along the lines of: “Would you like to be bombed by China?”, and the urgent issue of dog meat. Thank God they’re not wasting their time.
