According to the National Inventory of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources, 18 kinds of traditional livestock and poultry such as pigs and pigeons, as well as 13 kinds of special livestock and poultry such as sika deer and raccoon, have been listed in the Catalogue, excluding dogs that have previously attracted more attention. That is, dogs have been gorgeously turned around, "specialized" from traditional domestic animals to companion animals. It also makes "companion animal" a hot word.
Searching from Baidu, in fact, companion animals are another term for "pets", but only for the purpose of playing and accompanying animals, including cats, dogs, birds, chickens, ducks, fish, pigs, cows, sheep, rabbits, turtles and all other animals suitable for human breeding.
The listing of dogs as companion animals alone is expected to be controversial. The author believes that there are debatable places in history, reality, economy, and execution. At the end of the day, if a dog is a companion animal, it is only the companion animal of the dog owner, and for others, it cannot be a companion animal, and may become the object of the dog's barking.
(1) The consumption of dog meat is extensive and has a long history
According to research, dogs are the first animals to be trained, and dogs were successfully domesticated by locals in Asia about 15,000 years ago. The purpose of domesticating dogs by humans is to take care of the home and care for the family, and the second is to eat dog meat. Dog meat, in some parts of China, is also called "fragrant meat" or "ground sheep". The Compendium of Materia Medica, written by Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty of China, records four kinds of dog meat-based medicinal recipes. Chinese medicine believes that dog meat tastes salty and warm, which can supplement the qi and warm the kidneys and help the yang. Han folk saying is that dog meat can aphrodisiac, so dog meat is more used as a winter tonic. And Koreans believe that dog meat is hot and fire-free.
Dog meat is most common in Asia, with consumption in China, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The main dog meat consumption areas in China are the northeast and Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian, and there are famous dog meat dishes. There are also records of dog meat consumption in Europe and around the world, including depictions of dog meat in the works of the French writer Victor Hugo, and there were dog meat shops in France until 1910, and it is rumored that dog meat is still eaten in the north of Paris today. In the Pacific island nation of French Polynesia, people have always had the habit of eating dog meat. In Africa, dogs are mainly used as hunting dogs, and people from some tribes will eat dog meat after they die. In some parts of Latin America, such as Buenos Aires, Argentina, some people also eat dog meat.
Dog meat, like mutton and pork, has formed a brand in some places, such as Guangxi Yulin, Guizhou Huajiang, Jiangsu Peixian and other places where dog meat is famous throughout the country. People use "smell the smell of dog meat, the gods also jump the wall" to describe the charm of Peixian dog meat; In September 2018, Guizhou Huajiang dog meat was rated as one of the top ten classic dishes in Guizhou among the "Chinese Cuisine", and was also known as the "Three Absolutes" along with Huajiang rice noodles and Huajiang wine; Every year on June 21, the folks of Yulin, Guangxi, spontaneously form a traditional folk custom to celebrate the summer solstice - Lychee Dog Meat Festival. These places like to eat dog meat and Wenshang like to eat reed chicken, Zaozhuang, Heze like to eat mutton, coastal like to eat seafood, is the local history of the formation of eating habits, relying on the mountains to eat mountains, relying on water to eat water, one side of the water and soil to raise one person, relying on a paper administrative order to change the eating habits developed in a place for thousands of years, both restricting the local economic development, but also affecting the experience and satisfaction of the public's tongue, this is not reliable!
(2) Dog breeding cannot be encouraged
Citizens raising dogs once became a pain point and difficulty in urban management, like to keep dogs as important members of the family, some hostess pet dogs status is much higher than the husband and in-laws, almost inseparable, every day to go out to walk the dog at a fixed time, even shopping, go to the restaurant to eat also lead the dog; Do not like to raise dogs to see the dog to walk the dog frown, the dog to see people to rub or even sniff around is more annoying, if you accidentally step on the, you must burst the foul mouth, greeting the dog owner's family members.
In September 2019, the author's location began to implement the "Jining City Dog Management Regulations", but the uncivilized dog breeding behavior is eye-catching, stealing large dogs, walking dogs without a leash, not cleaning feces, ignoring the green park 'no pets allowed to enter' and other behaviors have been repeatedly prohibited. Some pet dogs scare children into crying, but dog owners use "my dog does not bite people" as an excuse, without any guilt. When I was working in the army, as a staff member, I once went to the home of an old cadre to deliver things, and when I knocked on the door, I didn't see anyone, but a half-meter-tall dog rushed out first, which frightened me. The dog owner, that is, the daughter-in-law of the old cadre, said that "my dog does not bite people", and I teased: "Dogs do not bite people, and I am also afraid; You bite me, and I'm not afraid."
Residential areas have also repeatedly become the cause of some disputes because dogs bark and harass people, fecal pollution, and unraveled puppies roaming. Some time ago, a WeChat video attracted countless likes: a dog walking woman did not force an elderly sanitation woman to apologize to her pet dog, a man saw uneven road, reprimanded the woman: and the dog stayed for a long time, there is no smell! This is by no means empty, many people treat dogs more than their parents, wear vests and foot covers for dogs, and hold them at every turn, which makes people uncomfortable.
The author knows a middle-aged man, doing odd jobs for a living, living a very general life, but raising two pet dogs, this dog does not eat leftover meals, likes to eat ham sausages, several per day, but also what is the "king of kings" brand, the dog's food fee is nearly 1/5 of his income. The relationship between this person and his mother was very stiff, and at one time it was like a strange road, let alone taking care of it. Isn't it typical to be close to a dog but ignore a mother-in-law?
One day, I occasionally met an acquaintance walking the dog, and the woman said to the dog in a milky voice: "Son, call uncle", I pretended to be surprised: When is this, when did you get pregnant? This "son" who was born at what time did not say a word, he should follow his part! Make her blush. No matter how perfect the dog is, the dog is always called by the son and daughter, but at the end of the day, the dog becomes a person, or the dog owner becomes a dog?
In addition to the troubles of pet dogs, stray dogs, rabies and other problems are enough headaches. As early as April 2012, the author published a small article in the Qilu Evening News, "'Dog Disease' Makes People Worried", the draft is to the effect that I saw reports of stray dogs hurting people for two consecutive days, and I was very worried. Dogs are human friends, can take care of homes, and can also be kept as pets. However, stray dogs are wild, have strong offensive power, carry many germs, and are harmful to the personal safety of the masses, which should arouse the attention of relevant departments. It is recommended to establish three systems to control the "dog disease" and return a safe social environment to the masses. The first is to establish a compulsory registration system, just like the purchase of car traffic insurance, all dog owners must register to establish files and issue a certificate of approval. The second is to establish a responsibility investigation system, which can learn from the practice of controlling "drunk driving" to formulate laws and regulations and play a disciplinary effect. The third is to establish a stray dog arrest and custody system, properly solve the problem of stray dog containment, and eliminate potential safety hazards.
In fact, there are many hidden dangers in the public's dog breeding, if the legislation will list the dog as a companion animal to protect, it is bound to trigger a dog breeding boom, the dog owner will be more rational, it will appear: the dog broke into the disaster and injured the person and the dog is fine, and the person who hurts the dog can break the law. In the past, it was said that hitting the dog to see the owner, in the future there will be legal protection, the dog can protect itself without the owner's protection, the consequences may be very serious, most citizens may be very angry.
(3) It is difficult to supervise the prohibition of eating dog meat
Urban residents live in a concentrated area, and it is relatively easy for relevant departments to supervise the raising and slaughtering of dogs. For the vast number of rural areas, the supervision of raising dogs, killing dogs and eating dog meat is more than enough and insufficient. In some rural areas, thousands of families have dogs; Some administrative villages are divided into several natural villages, separated by several hills, and dogs roam the mountains all day; Some people live in the mountains and old forests, and sometimes the owners do not know how many dogs there are in the family; Herders on the grasslands are moving around, struggling to find people, not to mention supervising dogs...
And there are many cases of dogs in the countryside, the Zhang family has two dogs today, and tomorrow they have another one from the Li family; The Wang family's female dog gave birth to five puppies today, and two died tomorrow for some reason; The Zhao family has three dogs today, and one is lost tomorrow; Today the Sun family has a female dog, tomorrow may follow the Qian family's male dog "elopement"... How many manpower and material resources are needed to supervise these dog affairs! You can't always arrange for a person to stand guard for the dog. The Liu family came to the guests today, want to come to a hard dish, kill only their own chickens, ducks, geese or dogs, should be regarded as their own family affairs, and what to do with others? Rural dogs are originally nursing homes, let farmers register and list dogs, injections and epidemic prevention, time-consuming, laborious and costly, there is no right to control, it is estimated that this work is difficult to do.
Dogs are just "watchdogs" in the eyes of farmers. When it comes to animal-human feelings, dogs are far from the top of the list. The second half of the word "home" is "豕", which means that there is a pig to have a home, and in ancient times the pig was a symbol of wealth and an important member of the family. In the era of farming, cattle are almost indispensable in the eyes of farmers, ploughing and rake and other agricultural affairs are inseparable from cattle everywhere, hard-working, obscure is the portrayal of "old cattle", Mr. Lu Xun is more with "eating is grass, milk and blood" sublimated the spirit of cattle. Sheep are also a treasure in the eyes of farmers and herders, the protagonists of the grassland, a flock of sheep is almost all the belongings of a herdsman. In the era of taking chicken butts as banks, chickens, ducks and geese can bring nutritious and delicious eggs to farmers, which can be exchanged for money, and they are higher than the status of "watchdogs" and have deep feelings with people. Even in the eyes of cultural people, chickens and dogs are livestock and poultry, there is no distinction between you and me, which can be seen from idioms such as "chicken flying dog jumping", "cockfighting running dog", "chicken fragments and dog fragments", "chicken intestine dog belly" and so on. Have you considered the feelings of chickens, ducks, pigs, cows and other animals by listing dogs as companion animals this time?
(4) "Not killing" is originally a false proposition
All along, all kinds of animal protection organizations have been cruelly talking about the slaughter and eating of animals, let me ask, isn't eating any kind of animal premised on ending its life? Why take the dog out? Is it simply because dogs wag their tails and beg for mercy and flatter their masters?
Any animal in the process of slaughter will be painful, struggling, will bleed, warm-blooded animals are like this, fish, crabs, shellfish and other cold-blooded animals are the same, that is, cutting leeks, picking tea leaves, there will also be green juice flowing out, what is the difference between this and animal blood? Humans cultivate and cultivate animals and plants for my own use, is it possible to see the struggle of animals being killed and the sap of plants flowing out like animal blood, so that human beings do not eat meat, do not eat seafood, do not eat vegetables, do not drink tea?
By extension, vegetarians advocate "no killing", people with beginner Chinese know that organisms include animals, plants, microorganisms, we eat vegetables, eat rice pasta is also the end of plant life, washing hands and brushing teeth and even needles and medicine are destroying bacterial microorganisms, walking may step on a few ants, sleep may crush some mites. Whoops, the compassionate "do not kill" people who kill so many creatures every day in their daily lives, what a sin! Will there be a feeling of pain and not wanting to live, but "not wanting to live" is not OK, their own life is over, the microbes in the flesh can not live, or kill ah! Therefore, "not killing" is originally a false proposition.
(5) Prohibiting the consumption of dog meat is suspected of moral kidnapping
The "Lychee Dog Meat Festival" in Yulin, Guangxi in 2019 is somewhat different from previous years. On the streets of Yulin, there are many opponents of the past, and even the slogans against eating dogs are rarely seen all over the streets. And the few dog meat food stalls that were pushed to the forefront of the "war of words" are still in hot business. Even a local food stall known as "The First Crispy Dog in Yulin" spent a lot of money in the first few months to ask a professional shooting team to produce a beautiful promotional video, imitating the tone of "China on the tip of the tongue" to promote the store. In the video, not only the process of making dog meat is shown in detail, but the hostess and employees also appear in person with a smile on their faces. This was incredible a few years ago.
The reason why the "Yulin Dog Meat Festival" can be "famous in the world" began with moral kidnapping. A group of people standing on the moral high ground forced netizens to take sides with "love". In 2013, 2014, and 2015, thousands of people came to Yulin to protest and overwhelming media coverage. But after 2016, the voices of reason have increased, and the voices of opposition have gradually weakened.
The eight years that the "Yulin Dog Meat Festival" has attracted attention from the outside world is also the most vigorous period for the development of social media. Netizens from fanaticism, blind obedience, credulity, populism to today's rational, prudent and calm, "Yulin Dog Meat Festival" will become a classic model of social public opinion with Chinese characteristics, alluding to a certain mood of this era, gathering people's righteous illusions and moral conceit.
The currently uncontrolled coronavirus has refocused wildlife on humans, and humans have had to examine their own habits, especially their eating habits. The "National Inventory of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources (Draft for Comments)", which lists dogs as companion animals, must have animal protection organizations behind it, and it is in line with the current big issue of food safety, especially meat safety, forming a public opinion force for banning meat, and dogs have become the biggest beneficiaries. But because of whether it is reasonable to choke on food, whether it is reasonable to "burn a quilt for a lice" is not reasonable. Now that it is a society governed by the rule of law, any regulation will protect the interests of the vast majority of people, find the greatest common denominator, draw the largest concentric circles, and will not only protect the interests of a few individuals or organizations.
The author is not an iron fan of dog meat, and I also have enough respect for police dogs, military dogs, guide dogs, etc., but I am full of contempt for dog owners who lack human taste, and I am very unimpressed with pet dogs who urinate around and even enter the house. I think, "Eating dogs is not guilty, loving dogs is justified". Eating dog meat is the same as eating beef and mutton and seafood, it cannot be illegal, and it has nothing to do with morality, and you cannot let the neighbors hold a wedding because your family is dead and wants to do a funeral.