Thursday, April 24, 2008

Lassie for Dinner

This story really disturbed me...

On my first trip to China I met a dog who was a dead ringer for Lassie. He lived with a dozen other dogs at a remote training camp for Olympic skiers in Manchuria, where a friend and I were spending a few days as we explored the area's backcountry skiing. In return for food and lodging we gave the Chinese athletes some clinics in American ski techniques.

The dog quickly became my friend. He would twirl happily in my arms before I headed up the slopes each morning and would be waiting for me when I returned. Dropping to my knees, I'd play tag with him, and he'd wag his tail so hard that his entire body would shimmy. The Chinese skiers paid no attention to the dogs.

On the day before we departed, at lunch, our translator stood and called the mess hall to silence. "To thank our American friends for showing us so much about skiing," he announced, "our chef will prepare a special dish tonight." He nodded to the head coach, who waved his hand toward the door. Two of the Chinese skiers, standing at the ready, opened it with a flourish, and the white-aproned chef stepped inside, holding aloft my friend, the collie, by his tail. He had been gutted from throat to groin.

Stunned, I couldn't say a word, but that evening when a large platter of dog meat was put in the center of our table, I regained my voice. My ski partner, a better cultural ambassador than I, gingerly took a few bits of the dish with her chopsticks. I declined. "Please thank the head coach," I told our translator, "but I can't. I have too many friends at home who are dogs."

More from An Olympic disgrace



When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals' heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of those who have gone before them. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. Some of the animals' hearts are still beating five to 10 minutes after they are skinned. One investigator recorded a skinned raccoon dog on the heap of carcasses who had enough strength to lift his bloodied head and stare into the camera.

Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org.

This is very disturbing video of raccoon dogs and foxes being skinned alive. It is horrifying to see a completely conscious raccoon dog moving about for a good 5 to 10 minutes after being completely skinned alive. Why can't they at least bother to make sure the animal is dead before skinning them? Absolutely cruel, inhumane and barbaric!

If you see someone wearing fur you might want to remind them of the torture the animal had to endure.
In this Beijing News report, half the raccoon dogs and foxes were skinned alive.






Further memories of drafting the 80's and meat is murder (yet fur is worse)!


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read a story about a bunch of exotic animals being shipped to China in cages yesterday. Tigers, pythons, etc.. I thought at first it was for a zoo until I read the story, one sentence in particular stuck out: "The Chinese will eat anything..." Sickening, I'm glad I'm not going to live forever, I hate this world, especially the people.

Akubi said...

At some point I had a post about the horrible manner wild animals are treated in China. In addition to food, many parts (like seal penises) are used for "medicinal" purposes. On the one hand, I do appreciate the fact that the Chinese - unlike the Canadian seal killers - waste very little of the animal (the meat from the animals skinned alive in the video above is eaten rather than left to rot), but the utter cruelty in doing nothing to alleviate a long and extraordinarily painful death is disturbing. Did you watch the videos? The 2nd video is particularly horrifying. Given the fact that even the Beijing Times admits that half the foxes and raccoon dogs were skinned alive when they investigated the situation suggests this isn’t some “delusional” PETA “fiction” to hurt the fur industry. Fuck the fur industry.

Anonymous said...

If they would do that to an animal do you think they would even hesitate to kill us all in the most horrific way possible? Yikes, back to making plans for my bunker now.

Akubi said...

Have you read Murakami's _The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle_? It includes an extraordinarily disturbing description of a man skinned alive (like a peach as I recall) by a Mongolian guy during WWII.

Anonymous said...

Something the Clinton machine might consider: Japanese Gift Wrapping: All About The Folding Arts.

Anonymous said...

Have you read Murakami's _The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle_?

No, and I don't think I want to. :/