Year of the Dog Dinner

PARIS (AFP) – France’s Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) appealed
to Chinese President Hu Jintao to put an end to the cruel slaughter of
dogs, which it blasted as an affront.

"The SPA does not set itself up as a judge of a country and its culture,
but is asking for animals to be killed in a dignified way," the SPA
said.

"Millions of dogs (in China) are hanged, beaten with sticks and butchered
while they are still alive," it said in a press release.

The organisation added that it had tried to get French media to accept
an advertisement as part of its campaign against dog butchering, but
the picture — of an animal being cut to pieces in a pool of blood —
was so
graphic that it had been rejected by every newspaper.

Up to 10 million dogs are slaughtered every year in China, many killed
slowly and cruelly to supposedly enhance the meat’s flavour, according
to animal rights groups.

from AFP