Have you ever heard that a monkey brain is edible? I guess according to current trends everything is almost edible; dogs, cats, tigers. Name all of them. Some are even consuming our ancestors the monkeys. What is wrong? Is it ignorance gone on a rampage, or just a mere discovery that we did not know before? Imagine some people consume monkey brains and they even have descriptions for the delicacy cooked, raw, and flash fried while others still eat it as a snack in the mid-morning. It is such an expensive food. I wonder where these monkeys are sourced from and how they are just killed to get a brain. Horrible, isn’t? Can you feel what I am feeling? I tell you, a mixture of reactions - disgust towards the consumer of the brain, mercy for the killed monkey and resentment for how long will these cruel practices occur. However, ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’, so goes the wise saying. Animal cruelty is quite rampant in China.
Chinese cuisines consist of a variety of bizarre foods originating from animals such as tigers, shark fish, dogs, cats and monkeys. Another form of animal mistreatment is illegal poaching of wildlife such as rhinos for their horns. It is said that, in China, dogs and cats are on display, for sale as consumable food. You only need to have your pick and the seller will then skin the animal for you right at your face and dip it in boiling water, as is done in the case of poultry. Gosh! It is such an evil and disgusting practice and even though as humans we are above all animals in the food chain, and can choose our consumption patterns of food, we should be humane to animals, only a ruthless man has the guts to skin an animal alive and toss them in boiling water. One instance of animal mistreatment was reported on Chinese media in November 2013 involving a laughing street mob that beat up 2 dogs for reasons that the dogs had strayed to the city where large dogs are not allowed according to the laws of the city. They were chased about by the crowd consisting of 20 policemen and 40 security guards, who with intentions of killing the dogs; pelted them with stones, shot and eventually bludgeoned them with spades to death. Shocking images of the encounter had animal campaigners protest over all social sites including Facebook and twitter.
China is a renowned destination for dumping of illegal ivory and rhino horn from Africa. Poaching is a present threat to the world ’s resources and especially wildlife from African wild lands .a rhino horn is valued in Asian markets since it is ground and used as traditional medicine as a cure to almost every illness. According to the Chinese medicine descriptions, ground rhinoceros horns can act as a cure and an antidote for many disease and illnesses. In this light, it is an antidote to poison and should not be taken by expectant women since the elements in the ground horn kills a foetus. It is believed to have a wide pharmacological approach including counteracting headaches, typhoid, arthritis and feverish colds. It also can lessen fear, is a tonic and anti-pyretic as well as dissolves phlegm. Moreover, when it is burnt into ash then taken with water, it is used to combat infantile convulsions and dysentery as well as treat overdose of poisonous medicines and drugs, food poisoning and violent vomiting. The use of rhino horn has an aphrodisiac in traditional Chinese medicine is not justified. It seems to be just an assumption by the western media rather than a proven record on how it has worked as a love portion in china, yet Asian markets are after the horn for the same reason that they believe has aphrodisiac properties.
Rhino horn fetches more value than ivory and poachers have been out on a hunting mission especially in African countries such as Kenya the black rhino is the most targeted but a white rhino cannot also miss the shot of a gun if it luckily comes by the poacher’s sight. Major Asian importers of rhino horn from Africa are China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. During the 1960s and 1970s, the largest importer of rhino horn was Hong Kong. As a result of trade in illegal rhino horns many rhinos have been killed and many other driven towards the brink of extinction, therefore, lessening rhino populations because this is a black market business, it is not clear the actual worth of all rhinos that have been killed. Tigers are also among the endangered species in China. In accordance with a report via the state media, more than 10 of them have faced death, just as visual feasts to entertain rich business people and officials. Bizarre! Right? Prominent business people and local officials gathered just to watch the killing of the tigers as a social stature. A video of a tiger killing that was conducted 2 years ago identified the tiger in an iron cage and with an electrified iron mass put through its mouth via a wooden stick. It died within 10 seconds. Normally an experienced pig or cattle slaughter is usually sought to institute the slaughter of the tiger after which tiger bones and food are sold at a very competitive price. Tiger bones and food are given to local officials by buyers as gifts. Tiger bones had been an ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine believed to strengthen the body for a long time. Even though it was abolished its market is still growing.
Overfishing within and beyond Chinese territorial waters, illegal shark fishing and finning practices are rendering shark populations in the ecosystem extinct. Soup from the shark fin is a Chinese culture delicacy that is associated with honour, prosperity and good fortune and is served in weddings, New Year celebrations and corporate banquets. Hosts of traditional Chinese ceremonies serve shark fin soup in honour of their guests because of fearing that their guests would be insulted if they are not served with such. Shark fins are tasteless and may exhibit high levels of toxicity by methyl mercury. They are among the most costly seafood products globally fetching over 500 Euros per kilogram. The significance of the Chinese economy is a driving force behind shark fin soup need. The consumption of shark fin soup has many negative effects and although trade in shark fins is legalized throughout the world there is a restriction to consumption rates due to potential for toxicity due to methyl mercury. For years, the vast majority of big food corporations and companies dealing with fast foods have covered up their horrible actions in the pork, beef and poultry industry. There is a need to urge countries and corporations to establish and enforce laws and regulations on human treatment of animals. When people are aware of the magnitude of cruelty to our animal is when measures can be executed to deal with animal cruelty. Moreover, rhino horn is illegally accessed through black market businesses and most trader Taiwan’s and Chinese continue trading on it due to the money value attached to it, therefore it may seem like a lucrative transaction but the source of these raw materials is being depleted
In conclusion, animal cruelty is a global threat, since all countries in the world are faced by the same menace of animal cruelty. It is in my hope that we understand the vitality of all animals in balancing the ecosystem and hence promote the best animal welfare practices in order to prevent extinction of these endangered species. Thank you.
Works Cited;
Linzey, Andrew, and Desmond Tutu. The Global Guide to Animal Protection. N.p., 2013. Print.
Morris, Lawrence. The Middle Ages and Renaissance. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2009. Print.
Payton, Brian. Shadow of the Bear: Travels in Vanishing Wilderness. New York: Bloomsbury, 2006. Print.
Richard, E. Poachinng for traditional Chinese medicine 12.3 (2005): n. pag. Web.
Wharton, J. "Horrific animal cruelty that shames China: Wild mob kill dogs just for walking into a city." (2013): Web.
