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Through my eyes

Through my eyes

Author: Kasia Yoko
Date: 2016-05-27
On June the 20th, China will once again host the dog eating festival, which is held each year in the city of Yulin. It is estimated that China consumes up to 20 million dogs a year and the Western world is outraged at this figure.

Avaaz, which is a global civic organization that launched in January 2007, promotes activism on international issues. They recently reported; "For the Yulin dog meat festival, some dogs are stolen from their owners and beaten or bled to death. Then they're hung upside down from hooks, a slit cut from their anus and skin ripped off their bodies, and sold to be eaten.

"The suffering must be unbearable - new research shows that in terms of emotion, dogs' brains are much like ours, something dog owners and lovers understand well. When we see dogs for what they are - living beings with thoughts and feelings - the torture they endure at this 'festival' becomes unimaginable."

A couple of years ago we visited the Hanoi fresh market Chau Doan, situated in the centre of the Capital city. We were travelling with our children. We trekked by land from Thailand and my children who were small at the time, have seen everything from deep fried Tarantulas to juicy sautÈed Scorpions. Nothing could faze them until we came to this one stall.

At first I thought the table was lined with baby pigs. But on close inspection we saw that they were clearly dogs, like little Jack Russells, the terror of their demise clearly imprinted on their tiny faces.

We froze in our tracksboth my boys looked at me in horror. I guess my lifetime of telling them that they were only allowed to eat meat if they first ate our cheeky redhead Spaniel Julie. "Julie pup" had been their faithful companion from birth.

Personally I do not see the difference between eating a cow or a dog. To me they are both as alive as we are, with the same pain threshold as ours. It's just that society tells us its ok to eat certain animals and reserves the judge whether or not to eat others. It makes no sense.

Social media is outraged by the cruelty and unfair treatment of domestic animals. I have good friends that spend small monthly salary feeding wild feral cats. Posting horrific images of the treatment of Dolphins and other cute beings but feeling nothing about tucking into a baby pig with a knife and fork.

I get it, but it does not make it right, right?

What is it about our double standards?

Or is it me that is a bit warped?

We live in a world where we are not asked to hunt and see the cause of our actions so I guess it makes it ok ,but if we stop and think about our daily dietary optionswe could be consuming so many delectable things without harming a single soul.

Just a thought on this beautiful May morning, have a great week everyone!