Unattended stray cats and dogs, in close contact with the environment, carry some viruses or bacteria themselves, or intermediate hosts of some viruses. For theft, some even use poisoning, which is a huge public health risk.
For the elderly, pets are an indispensable companion to family life, bringing joy to life. The bad habit of indiscriminately eating cat and dog meat will inevitably hurt their emotions.
Pet cats at the Bhopal Pet Show in India, December 29, 2019. (Xinhua News Agency/Photo)
Editor's Note:
Whether the source of the new coronavirus is the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market is still inconclusive. However, after the outbreak of the epidemic, many parties called for strengthening the supervision of wild animals, especially the indiscriminate consumption of wild animals. On February 24, 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted the Decision on Completely Banning illegal wildlife trade, eliminating the bad habit of indiscriminately eating wild animals, and effectively protecting the people's life, health and safety.
"Eating wild animals is originally a bad habit of human beings, there was nothing to eat before, eat this and eat that, now why eat wild animals." 」 On February 27, Guangzhou Medical University, at a press conference held by the Guangzhou Municipal Government, Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said. Judging from the situation of acute infectious diseases in recent decades, nearly 80% of them come from animals, and he believes that this fasting decision is of great significance for the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
On February 25, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone's Regulations on the Comprehensive Prohibition of the Consumption of Wild Animals (Draft for Solicitation of Comments) was promulgated, expanding the scope of the ban and requiring "the prohibition of eating animals and their products for non-edible purposes such as scientific research experiments and pet breeding". In this context, Chang Jiwen, deputy director of the Institute of Resources and Environmental Policy of the Development Research Center of the State Council, who has long been concerned about the legislation of banning cat and dog meat and animal cruelty, submitted a paper to Southern Weekend to put forward legislative suggestions for banning cat and dog meat.
Based on the consensus of society, on February 24, 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted the Decision on Completely Banning Illegal Wildlife Trade, Eliminating the Bad Habit of Eating Wild Animals, and Effectively Protecting the People's Life, Health and Safety.
The decision stipulates a total ban on the consumption of general terrestrial wild animals and "three animals" that live and are raised in the wild, and it is also decided to prohibit the hunting, trading and transportation of terrestrial wild animals that naturally breed in the wild environment for the purpose of eating.
The introduction of the decision has triggered some voices affecting the economy and employment, but compared with the losses caused by the new coronavirus pneumonia and the significance of the prevention and control of infectious diseases in the future, which is more important?
The decision is conducive to the protection of wild animals and disease prevention, forcing the whole people to form an environment-friendly diet, and promoting the sustainable development of the country and society. From the perspective of social civilization and ecological civilization, it is a huge historical progress.
It is worth noting that the objects of indiscriminate eating are not only wild animals, but also domestic animals such as cats and dogs. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress should follow the trend and go one step further and promulgate legal provisions to eliminate the bad habit of indiscriminately eating cat and dog meat.
<h3>Reasonable, should not eat cats and dogs</h3>
Some wild animals carry germs, cats and dogs are also prone to parasites in their fur or bodies, and may even carry rabies virus, and it is not safe to slaughter and eat. Cats and dogs are human pets, and it is reasonable to eat cats and dogs indiscriminately, which should be prohibited.
From the source point of view, the cat and dog meat sold in the market mainly comes from domestic breeding, straying and theft. For unattended stray cats and dogs, which are in close contact with the environment, carry some viruses or bacteria themselves, or are intermediate hosts of some viruses. For theft, some even use poisoning, which is a huge public health risk.
From the perspective of slaughtering methods, the country lacks unified cat and dog meat slaughtering procedures and inspection and quarantine regulations, and some slaughtering places for cats and dogs are simple and unhygienic, with neither quarantine pass marks nor food safety and health permits.
From the perspective of social emotions, with the continuous improvement of living standards in our country, more and more people have pets. Many people regard cats and dogs as family members, and they have a deep emotional sustenance. Especially for the elderly, pets are an indispensable companion to family life and bring fun to life. The bad habit of indiscriminately eating cat and dog meat will inevitably hurt their emotions.
On February 8, 2020, at the Westminster Dog Show in New York, USA, a dog prepares to participate in the "Sensitive" competition. (Xinhua News Agency/Photo)
From the perspective of social order, in the past decade or so, the media has disclosed many conflict incidents, such as animal protection volunteers blocking long-distance transportation of cats and dogs. In the past two or three years, there have been fewer cases of centralized slaughter and cross-regional long-distance transportation of cats and dogs, and the number of incidents that have triggered public opinion has also decreased. However, the bad habit of indiscriminately eating wild animals has attracted attention, and public opinion will still turn to the problem of eating cats and dogs.
From the perspective of international image, China actively participates in global environmental issues, and the 2020 United Nations Biodiversity Conference will be held in China, but it has been criticized by international media and public figures for eating cats and dogs by a small number of people. For example, in May 2016, in response to the "Yulin Dog Meat Festival", the New York Times and other international media repeatedly reported that none of them expressed tolerance and support. American actress Ian Summerhead and British pop singer Liana Lewis have spoken out against it. After the Guangxi Yulin Municipal Government took positive measures to restrict the situation, the heat of international public opinion has declined, but there is a risk of fermentation at any time.
<h3>It is not difficult to get rid of the bad habit of indiscriminately eating cat and dog meat</h3>
Cats and dogs are not edible breeds recognized in the National Inventory for the Protection of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources, that is to say, the consumption of cats and dogs is not supported by law. However, there is still a vague area between non-support and prohibition, which needs to be explicitly prohibited. At present, legislation to eliminate the bad habit of indiscriminately eating cat and dog meat has some conditions in place.
From the perspective of nutritional access, the level of economic and social development in China is constantly improving, and in the period of fully realizing a well-off life, it is no longer necessary to rely on wild animals, cats and dogs to provide protein needed by the human body. Now that it is also the window period for cultivating a responsible diet for public health and the development of civilization, cat and dog meat is no longer an essential food.
From the perspective of employment and economy, eating cat and dog meat is only the traditional eating habit of some regions and people, such as Yulin in Guangxi and Xuzhou in Jiangsu. The large-scale breeding of cat and dog meat is small, the vast majority of cats and dogs in the market come from family free range, and the employment related to it is limited to a small amount of transportation, slaughter and catering. China has now entered a stage of high-quality development, and its economic growth rate is still faster than the world average. Similar to fasting on wild animals, after fasting cats and dogs, it is believed that there will be voices that affect the economy and employment, but compared with the benefits of fasting cats and dogs, the total population and economic size of the impact can be borne.
From the perspective of social support, according to the social questionnaire survey done by our research group on CCTV in 2016, 64% of the 30,000 participants supported the legislation to ban the consumption of dog meat, 24.4% did not support it, and 11.6% remained neutral. With the development of the economy and the improvement of living standards, most young people are no longer supportive of eating cat and dog meat. Coupled with the impact of the novel coronavirus pneumonia incident, the proportion of support is likely to increase significantly.
<h3>Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have enacted legislation to ban the consumption of cats and dogs, and Shenzhen has begun to solicit opinions</h3>
At present, the international community, especially in Europe and the United States, generally prohibits the consumption of cat and dog meat, and China's Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao also have legislation prohibiting the consumption of cat and dog meat.
The Cats and Dogs Ordinance was amended in Hong Kong in 1999 to stipulate that no one may slaughter any cat or dog for food, and no one may sell, eat or allow others to sell or eat dog meat and the food it cooks, whether or not it is for human consumption. Taiwan has also revised its animal protection system to prohibit the slaughter of cats and dogs and their trafficking. In the animal protection regulations implemented in Macao in 2016, those who illegally slaughter animals, including cats and dogs, are punishable by up to 3 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 yuan.
Some cities are also experimenting with legislation. In February 2020, Shenzhen Municipality publicly solicited opinions on the revision of the Regulations on the Comprehensive Prohibition of The Consumption of Wild Animals in the Shenzhen Special Administrative Region (Draft), which prohibits the production and sale and consumption of pets such as cats and dogs, reflecting the civilization consciousness and the progress of the rule of law in economically developed areas, which is worthy of reference and reference in other places.
In summary, at the national level, it is recommended that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress amend the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases and the Law on Animal Epidemic Prevention, or issue a decision to eliminate the bad habit of indiscriminately eating cat and dog meat, and clearly stipulate that the consumption of cat and dog meat is completely prohibited or prohibited in principle, as well as the capture, transportation, trading and other acts related to it.
If the legislative amendment stipulates strict legal liability, it can make the offender or the eager to try the law really feel afraid in their hearts after weighing the gains and losses, and dare not try the law by example.
Therefore, it is recommended that individuals who violate the law be fined not more than 200 yuan and ordered to show remorse; units and organizations that violate the law should be fined between 10,000 and 200,000 yuan; those who disturb social order and violate the Public Security Administration Punishment Law shall be punished with administrative detention; and those who cause public health incidents constitute a crime, and shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.
Considering the traditional eating habits in some areas, if it is difficult to completely ban them at the national level, in the specific implementation measures, the standing committees of the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may be required to make concessionary provisions in accordance with the ethnic and customs of their respective regions.
In addition to the legal responsibility to pursue this kind of after-the-fact defensive means, it can also be managed from the source, and the relevant norms are formulated by the competent administrative department of animal husbandry and veterinary medicine under the State Council. It is recommended that the state comprehensively establish a fixed-point breeding, fixed-point sales and buyer identity registration system for cats and dogs and pet animals, and prohibit specific measures such as illegal abandonment, purchase or breeding of cats and dogs.
(This article is only the author's personal opinion and does not represent the position of this newspaper)
Researcher Chang Jiwen, Deputy Director of the Institute of Resources and Environmental Policy, Development Research Center of the State Council