The Nanfang / Blog

Photos of Horrific Animal Abuse in Guangdong Hit Major Chinese Media

Posted: 09/22/2014 3:45 pm

dog dragged behind car shantou guangdong animal cruelty

Photographs of a dog being dragged behind an SUV on a street in Shantou, Guangdong were uploaded by the Weibo account “Love in Shantou” on September 20, and have been reported by news outlets as varied as the People’s Daily Online, Caijing and Sina.

Details regarding this story are scarce, but the photos are horrific. They depict the dog, tied to the bumper of the SUV, dragged through busy city streets. While widely available, The Nanfang has decided not to publish them here because of their gruesome nature.

China does not have any animal anti-cruelty laws. If the driver of the vehicle with Guangdong license plate D K0213 is eventually caught and charged with a crime, it won’t be for dragging a poor animal behind a vehicle.

Related:

Photos: Sina News User Contributions

Haohao

Man Smuggling Dozens of Chinchilla Pelts Caught at Shenzhen Customs

Posted: 09/16/2014 9:32 am

chinchilla peltShenzhen Customs announced it seized 56 chinchilla pelts from a Hong Kong man attempting to smuggle them through Luohu checkpoint on August 27, reported China Daily.

The smuggler, a man in his sixties, carried an old satchel and followed the crowd when entering Luohu checkpoint. During an inspection, customs officers discovered a vacuum-sealed bag wrapped with yellow adhesive tape. When they decompressed the bag, they found two bunches of animal fur, totaling 56 pelts.

The pelts were handed over to the anti-smuggling department, which had the pelts analysed. An investigation by the Research Institute of Southern China for Endangered Animals in Guangdong Province revealed the animal fur consisted of 56 whole pieces of chinchilla fur.

Chinchillas have the finest fur of all mammals, making their fur very soft. They have great appeal, like cuddly little “balls of fur”. Their exceedingly soft, dense coat has more fur per square inch than any other known mammal.

Each of their hair follicles is able to grow 40 to 60 individual hairs. One breed of chinchilla can grow 80 hairs per follicle, while cats and dogs can only grow one to three hairs per follicle.

The price of chinchilla fur is equal to that of gold by its weight.

The chinchilla is currently categorized as a critically endangered species and is on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. While most trade in chinchilla pelts are done using domesticated farms, chinchillas are still massively hunted in the wild, threatening it with extinction.

Photo: Caijing

Haohao

China’s Use Of The IV Drip 10 Times The World Average

Posted: 09/1/2014 9:30 am

tied up dog Chinese hospitals are overdosing on the intravenous drip.

According to a study by the World Health Organization, the use of an IV drip in China to treat minor ailments such as the common cold is ten times the world average. There were a reported five billion IV infusions in China in 2004, more than 30 percent of the world’s total of 16 billion. That figure rose to 10.4 billion doses in 2009, or an average of eight infusions per citizen.

Experts like Li Ling of the China Center for Economic Research calls the heavy usage “absolutely abnormal and even ridiculous”. However, Li may want to reconsider what he considers “ridiculous”. According to a photo from the People’s Daily, even pets are being treated with IV drips:

No further information was provided regarding the location, but we’ll assume it’s somewhere in China. In the photo, an electric power bar looks to have the many pronged interfaces required for Chinese electrical devices, there are signs of Chinese characters, and that style of slipper looks very familiar.

We certainly hope this dog gets the medical treatment it deserves and gets back on its paws again soon.

Photo: People’s Daily Online

Haohao

[Photos] Fujian Fishermen Catch Endangered 2 Ton Whale Shark

Posted: 08/22/2014 11:41 am

endangered whale shark fujian Fishermen in Fujian made a big catch this week, but they had no idea how big until later: it is a two ton whale shark, which is on the official endangered species list.

CCTV had this to say about the controversial catch:endangered whale shark cctv

Mistakenly caught dead endangered species; on no terms are you to do this on you own. You will be sentenced to prison!
Today, Fujian fishermen caught and landed a two-ton whale shark. At the time the whale shark was caught, it was already dead. Whale sharks are a species protected in the Xiamen Ocean Valuable Animal Sanctuary. Police authorities say, whale sharks are classified as category two national endangered species. When the fishermen caught this animal, they suspected it to be an endangered species and reported it to police. No matter dead or alive, profiting or use of this animal by private individuals is expressly forbidden, otherwise violators may be punished by up to five years in prison. (CCTV reporter Shi Jinbin)

endangered whale shark fujian

As the use of an endangered species in China is illegal, we can only assume that the meat of this whale shark is being kept fresh with ice for some other reason other than consumption. After all, no one is interested in a fish that was dead when it was captured, right?

It’s unclear what the law says if people catch an endangered animal that is already dead, but if it was still alive at the time of capture these fishermen would be going to jail.

endangered whale shark fujianendangered whale shark fujianendangered whale shark fujianendangered whale shark fujian

Photos: CCTV

Haohao

Fury In Hong Kong After MTR Train Runs Over Dog As People Tried to Save It

Posted: 08/21/2014 7:22 pm

hong kong dog killed MTR subwayHong Kong residents are outraged at local subway operator MTR, which is being blamed for a number of missteps that culminated in the death of a stray dog after being hit by a train.

The stray dog died when it was hit by the T801 train from Guangzhou at Sheung Shui Station at 10:30am on August 21.

The dog was first spotted around 9:50 in the morning by a commuter, after which train service was halted for six minutes while station personnel tried unsuccessfully to remove the dog from the tracks. The attempts included lowering a chair onto the tracks for the dog to hop onto. Unfortunately, the dog wasn’t rescued in time. After failing to get him off the tracks, train service resumed and the dog was killed a short time later.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the MTR said that it has an official procedure for dealing with this kind of situation:

There are clear guidelines for handling any reported track or unauthorized station entry by animals. In such circumstances, MTR staff will do their best to safely remove the animals while also ensuring the safety of passengers and their own safety at all times.

The incident has sparked a wave of anger among Hong Kong residents, some of whom have interpreted pictures of the stray dog on its hind legs as signalling its intention to climb up out of the tracks.

An online petition has been created, calling for a formal response from the MTR. So far 64,687 people have signed it (English version).

A memorial for the slain dog was held, while another commemoration service and a protest at MTR headquarters is planned.

hong kong dog killed MTR subway

Furthermore, animal rights group the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has announced its intention to meet with senior staff at the MTR Corporation. MIchael Wong of the SPCA refuted the MTR’s claims that it has an official procedure for dealing with stray animals.

The story of a stray animal wandering onto subway tracks has recalled a case from last year in which the New York City subway system was halted for two hours due to two kittens that were in danger of being struck by moving trains.

The cats were eventually rescued by a police officer.

hong kong dog killed MTR subway

Photos: Facebook, Yahoo

Haohao

Woman Releases Cobras Into Shenzhen Park, Gets Eviscerated Online

Posted: 08/13/2014 8:00 am

live poisonous snake release shenzhen animal rightsThe release of a number of poisonous snakes by a Shenzhen woman has incurred the wrath of a number of netizens.

The woman in question posted nine pictures to her Weibo account (@郎卡卓玛) back on July 14, reports the Nandu. One of the photographs show her releasing rattlesnakes and cobras into what many netizens suspected to be a public park. The text accompanying the photo reads:

You should praise us beautiful girls and handsome boys for releasing these live snakes. The poisonous ones were all released by her. Such bravery [thumbsup.emo]

Almost a month later, the unidentified woman’s Weibo account has become very busy as a wave of netizens have come to criticize her. Yesterday at around 4pm, her posts had been forwarded some 7000 times as the outrage against her grew. Some Weibo verified users even got involved by saying that the release of poisonous snakes is a public issue.

However, the precise location of where the photographs were taken have not been verified, fueling netizen speculation. Furthermore, requests for an interview with a reporter have gone unanswered, leaving any facts to this story unconfirmed, such as whether the woman is an animal rights activist or simply someone with a grudge.

Following the outcry from netizens, the woman tried to delete her Weibo account. Later, she tried to change her name, and then later still the woman made a statement in which she apologized for her actions:

Today I have made everyone very annoyed because of myself, to which I want to express how sorry I am to all of you! However, I didn’t release poisonous snakes into a public park as everyone claims; instead, we released these animals back into the natural world. All living things are equal. These animals come from nature, and so we have let these animals go back to nature! The deletion of Weibo content was to disallow the pointless attacks that kept being made. We treat Weibo as a diary, and so with that we invite everyone to stop their speculation.

Shenzhen Police and Shenzhen Public Parks are investigating.

Southern China is home to 35 types of snakes that are venomous. These include the Chinese cobra, the king cobra, Fea’s viper, and Russell’s viper.

Annual records of snake bite fatalities in China range from 450 to over 4,000, an amount that is dwarfed by snake bite fatalities in India, Bangladesh and some African countries.

Snake bites most commonly occur in rural farming communities where workers use manual agricultural tools and walk barefoot. Unfortunately, these are also communities where access to healthcare is often limited.

live poisonous snake release animal rights

Related:

Photos: Sina News Video

Haohao

Chinese Donors Raise Hundreds of Thousands of Yuan to Rescue Yulin Dogs

Posted: 07/7/2014 5:26 pm

yangzhou dog rescue yulin dog eating festivalAfter being rescued from certain death as an entree at the Yulin Summer Solstice Dog Eating Festival, some 413 dogs are getting a second chance at a dog sanctuary in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, reports Caijing.

A representative of the dog sanctuary has revealed that hundreds of thousands of yuan were spent to rescue 417 dogs from Yulin.

READ: Yulin Draws Foreigners Who Dine on Dog Meat

The dogs were transported back to Yangzhou in extra-large cages on a giant transport truck by two Shanghai volunteers. Costing about 15,000 yuan, The journey from Yulin to Yangzhou is about 800km by train and cost about RMB 15,000. Unfortunately, four dogs perished during the trip.

The dogs finally arrived at the Gaoyou dog sanctuary at 1am on July 4. After undergoing a quarantine administered by the local authorities, the dogs have finally been set free.

So who paid for all of this? Apparently some wealthy people in China, including a few from Shanghai.

yangzhou dog rescue yulin dog eating festival

A representative for the dog sanctuary explains their needs:

For the Yulin dog rescue, a fund of RMB 200,000 was raised. Aside from the funds already spent, there is now the need for RMB100,000 for the dogs’ upkeep. We need donations to raise funds.

The dogs consume five large bags of dog food in one meal, costing RMB 1,000 per day. Staff say they feed the animals twice a day, bringing the cost to RMB 60,000 a month.

READ: Yulin Dog Sellers Openly Taunt Dog Lovers: “Buy the Dog Or it Dies!”

The final goal of the dog sanctuary is to find them each a good home. After full quarantine approval, the dogs will be registered and available for adoption. If not adopted, the dogs will be allowed to live at the sanctuary for the remainder of their lives.

To prevent the dogs from falling back into the hands of unscrupulous dog traders, a rigorous approval process is mandated for every person interested in adopting a dog from the sanctuary. People must provide a valid ID and sign a contract guaranteeing the dog’s safety as well as check-in from time to time with a photo of the dog.

READ: Yulin Dog Eating Festival: “The More You Protest,
The Better Our Business!”

Even though these dogs are safely out of harm’s way, other dogs in the same province will be undergoing a similar fate to those in Yulin, Guangxi.

Reports of a dog-eating festival in Jiangsu Province are being downplayed by the local government, saying that it is an “activity run by a business”. Organizers of the event cite thousands of years of tradition as they prepare for a festival that is “small-scale” and open only to an invited group of about a hundred people.

Related:

Photos: Yangcheng Evening Report

Haohao

Yulin Draws Foreigners Who Dine on Dog Meat

Posted: 06/23/2014 11:26 am

yulin dog eating festival guangxi protest animal rights activistsYulin residents trying to preserve their custom of dog eating from animal rights activists now have new supporters: foreigners.

READ: Yulin Dog Eating Festival: “The More You Protest,
The Better Our Business”

The annual Yulin Summer Solstice Dog Eating Festival took place on June 21 in Guangxi Province, and for all the controversy it has attracted from media and protesters, it has also attracted two foreigners who were photographed emerging from a restaurant that serves dog meat, reported Caijing.

yulin dog eating festival guangxi protest animal rights activists

Though no photographs have shown them dining on canine, photographs show the couple, a man and a woman, surrounded by a crowd that cheer for them as they walk away from the restaurant.

READ: Yulin Dog Sellers Openly Taunt Dog Lovers: “Buy the Dog or it Dies!”

Despite having attracted so many people, including these foreigners, the Yulin dog eating festival has been hit by a steep decline in sales, contrary to the claims of a local restaurant. According to Beijing News, only 2,000 dogs were consumed at the 48 participating restaurants at this year’s festival, down from an estimated 10,000 dogs two years ago.

yulin dog eating festival guangxi protest animal rights activists

Cheng Taotao, the Department Head of the Yulin Municipal Food and Drug Administration, confirms the decline in sales. He said as of June 16, only 30% of restaurants that had served dogs last year are doing so again this year. Of Yulin’s 1,395 restaurants, 17 have voluntarily stopped serving dog meat while four have been closed, reports Xinhua. Furthermore, quarantine inspections stopped two vehicles carrying 2,000 dogs and prevented them from being put on the market.

RELATED: Doctors In Yulin Told To Stay Away From Dog Eating Festival

Cheng cites the controversy for hurting sales, and also inflaming tensions between animal rights activists and dog eaters.

yulin dog eating festival guangxi protest animal rights activists

On the evening of June 21 at around 8pm, an altercation between the two sides turned violent after a Yulin resident that supports eating dog was struck in the mouth on Jiangbin Road. An eyewitness named Lu said the strike was strong enough to draw blood. Police came to separate both factions until crowds finally dispersed at 10:50pm.

yulin dog eating festival guangxi protest animal rights activists

Local residents remain defiant, despite being under the glare of the international media. Banners (seen above) read:

Thank you for allowing our countrymen to witness the spirit of unity here in Yulin.
As much as we love to promulgate the culture of eating lychees and dog meat, we love obeying the law even more.

The eating of dogs is not illegal in China.

While strong convictions may have lead to violence in some, others are dealing with their concerns in a different way. Yang Xiaoyun, who was earlier seen begging on her knees to save a dog, is now reported to have spent RMB 70,000 to rescue 200 dogs.

Related:

Photos: China News, Caijing

Haohao

Yulin Dog Eating Festival: “The More You Protest, The Better Our Business”

Posted: 06/21/2014 6:44 pm

yulin dog eating festival controversy argumentWe’ve reported it cancelled and then rescheduled, but as our report yesterday suggested, the Yulin Summer Solstice Dog Eating Festival did in fact take place today, reports CNR China.

But as Yulin residents persist in continuing their tradition of eating dog meat and lychee on June 21, protests against their cultural tradition continues to mount.

Animal rights activists have descended upon the city, causing one dispute after another with local residents like the one that occurred this morning right in front of the Yulin government  building (seen in pictures shown in this post).

READ: Yulin Dog Sellers Openly Taunt Dog Lovers: “Buy the Dog or it Dies!”

However, this difference of perspective continues with Yulin residents disagreeing among themselves on how the dog eating festival is working out for the city, reports Guangming Network.

Even though some dog sellers have been reported making a lucrative profit from the sale of dogs, others are complaining that the animal activists are disrupting their sales. At a remote location used for the slaughtering of dogs, one farmer complains about the interference from outsiders:

No one was able to sell them, and the dogs have all been brought back here. all that we can sell now is maybe ten to twenty dogs. Can’t sell any, you see, and I’m not willing to say because this is a farmer’s market, run by farmers. Between you and me, it’s not entirely legal.

yulin dog eating festival controversy argumentAt the Dongkou Market where the sale of dogs fetches a price of about RMB 34-36 per kilogram, a butcher also complains about the lack of business:

The dog eating festival is a busy season, but after two or three days, the business will die down. (However,) sales are down 80% from last year.

Be that as it may, a big difference of opinion lies between the people that sell dog meat in Yulin and the ones that prepare it for customers to eat.

RELATED: Doctors In Yulin Told To Stay Away From Dog Eating Festival

Over on Jiangbin Road where many restaurants serve dog, many customers are seen dining on canine. Even though there have been many regulations passed that forbid the character “dog” from being displayed on restaurant signs and menus, and forbid restaurants from slaughtering dogs or displaying cooked dogs in public places, this appears to have no effect upon local restaurants.

One restaurant manager explained why:

People who eat dog meat all know (my store). I’ve been selling dog meat for 30 years now, and the people of Yulin all love to eat dog meat. 

yulin dog eating festival controversy argumentIn fact, the restaurant manager suggests that protests against the dog eating festival will in fact encourage more people to eat dog meat:

They (the animal rights activists) came here last year, and now business is doing better than ever. They (animal rights activists) are here again, and now we can’t even handle all the business we’re getting; we can’t even keep up with the orders of dog meat we’re getting.

The restaurant manager goes on to say that there is a solution for people who want to eat dog, but don’t want any of the controversy that goes along with it:

Everyday we get people coming here to order takeaway.

Related:

Photos: Caijing

Haohao

Yunlin Dog Sellers Openly Taunt Dog Lovers: “Buy The Dog Or It Dies!” [UPDATED]

Posted: 06/20/2014 7:29 pm

yulin dog eating festival controversy animal activists[This article contains content that may offend some readers]

We first heard rumors that the Yulin dog eating festival was to be cancelled, and then heard reports that it had already taken place last week. With tensions running high between animal rights activists and Yulin’s traditional dog-eaters, it now appears Yulin’s dog sellers are taunting activists and exploiting their love of dogs.

READ: Animal Activists Clash with Dog-Serving Guangxi Restaurant

Reports in the Morning Report suggest that dog sellers in Yulin are selling their live dogs to animal activists at inflated prices while threatening harm to the dogs in their possession.

yulin street market dog sellers animal activists

At 9am on June 20 at a market for dogs, an animal rights activist named Zhao Hao (a pseudonym) from Chongqing was spotted by a dog seller. This seller used a hand clamp to catch a dog by its neck and hoist it into the air. The dog seller said, “Are you going to buy it or not? If you don’t buy it, I’m going to strangle it!” He pressed the issue by saying, “Do you want to buy it or not? 600 yuan!”

PHOTOS: Shocking: the Brazen Capture of a Dog in Broad Daylight in Guangdong

Zhao and two other activists named Yang Xiaoyun from Tianjin and Yang Yuhua from Chongqing had already bought ten dogs from dog sellers. They tried to haggle with him as the price went down to 500 yuan, and then 400 yuan. Finally, the dog was purchased for RMB 350.yulin dog eating festival controversy animal activists

After being paid, the dog seller stood up and made a big show of waving his new earnings in the air. Bystanders were heard to support the dog seller by saying “well done” while others are said to have given him a thumbs up.

yulin street market dog sellers animal activists

yulin street market dog sellers animal activists

This same tactic was used by another dog seller in the area who had witnessed the transaction. This time, Zhao ended up paying 1,600 yuan for five dogs. Once again, the dog seller made a show of dancing with his cash held above his head.yulin dog eating festival controversy animal activists

READ: Dog Beaten to Death in Beijing in Front of Foreign Owner

In another story by Morning Report, 64 year-old Yang Xiaoyun is seen getting on her knees to beg two young men to resell her the golden retriever they had just purchased. The men said the dog was to be a gift for one of their girlfriends, but Yang didn’t believe it. Instead, she held the chain and continued arguing with the seller for ten minutes.

yulin street market dog sellers animal activists

While many activists have arrived in Yulin to protest the annual dog eating festival, residents remain skeptical of their actions. One young male resident said, “Where do they move the dogs after buying them? I had heard before that dogs are abandoned and left to starve at the side of the road.”

RELATED: Doctors In Yulin Told To Stay Away From Dog Eating Festival

Other people are more pragmatic and see no line between a dog’s role as a pet or as dinner. One dog seller was seen trying to sell two small dogs for 800 yuan. The man said he had raised them for three years:

“These are for people to eat, who said dogs raised as pets can’t be eaten? They’re all for eating. There are people here who would pay several tens of thousands of dollars to buy a Tibetan mastiff in order to eat it.”

yulin dog eating festival controversy animal activistsyulin dog eating festival controversy animal activists***

UPDATE 1, 8:08pm June 20: From the time this was posted to Weibo at around 3:30 this afternoon, this post has gotten a tremendous amount of attention. Within its first four hours of being published, this post received 1,219 likes, was forwarded 12,308 times, and received 7,737 comments. The following is a small sample of them:

直面惨淡的人参:
No matter what, I feel that maintaining a standard to respect all life is something that is not outrageous. You can say that you love to eat dog meat, but you should at least not mistreat the dog before you eat it, and not mistreat it’s corpse afterwards, okay? (I) don’t feel as though loving dogs will make me turn into some kind of Virgin Mary. People can spend their money to do whatever they want, and is not anyone else’s goddamn business?

顾此失1彼:
When all these dogs cause a disaster, who will take care of it? Why do these dog lovers and dog owners abandon their dogs? Those dog lovers who take their dogs out for a walk in public places will defecate and urinate all over the place; is this a demonstration of their love? Who has made the decision that dogs aren’t allowed to be eaten? Is it illegal? Does your love for your dog eclipse your love for you mother and father? Many of these dog-loving sons of bitches don’t even regard their elders as people, and yet they fucking have the nerve to say they love dogs?

肖-天爱:
I take a neutral position on the issue of eating dogs, but this kind of dirty trick is fucking shameless [angry.emo]

seaseek:
Dog-slaughterers, spectators, hecklers: these people are just like the characters at the beheading Lu Xun had wrote about before who fought over steamed buns covered in human blood. It’s such a shame that years later, all that has changed is the time and the setting. People haven’t changed! What a tragedy! What a shame!

小太阳-sugar:
Very cruel.

Youyou艾特_正能量:
After you rescue (the dogs), how are you going to take care of them?

yulin dog eating festival controversy animal activistsRelated:

Photo: Luzheng Gongshu, Weibo (2)

Haohao
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