Friday, August 17, 2012

23 Reasons Animal Lovers Should Boycott China - Reason #13: China Abuses Cows and Baby Calves


Cows and baby calves in China, where there are few animal protection laws, are abused and suffer greatly before being killed to supply meat and leather industry

[When I started this blog in 2008, my first post was about a dog who was chained inside a gallery and starved as part of an "artwork." Since then, animal welfare has remained a primary theme on 13.7 Billion Years. Over the years, I have learned about countless stories of animal cruelty here in the United States and across the world. But one country has shown the most blatant and widespread disregard for the lives and well-being of non-human animals: China. As Mahatma Gandhi wisely observed, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated." If China is to become a great nation, it has a lot of work to do. One way concerned people can help put pressure on China to change is to stop buying Chinese goods. More than 2.3 million people worldwide have signed the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, and the number of animal lovers around the globe is much greater. Imagine if all of them stopped purchasing Chinese products. So, every weekday for the month of August, I'll give animal lovers one reason to boycott China—23 reasons in all. It will not be an easy month to digest all the horrific stories and cruel practices. But I have placed great value in a quote by the late philosopher Albert Schweitzer: "Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight." This month, I'll be doing that, and I hope you will too. -- Reynard Loki]

In China, where much of the leather sold in the United States comes from, "conditions for animals are particularly cruel and the cows are so malnourished that they yield little if any meat," according to In Defense of Animals.

"Old and sick cows are often forced to march long distances, then crammed tightly into illegal transport trucks that take them to the slaughterhouse. Upon arrival, handlers beat and torture weak and injured cows to force them to walk to the killing floor, then slit their throats while they are still fully conscious. Most clothing labels only specify where the product was finished, not where the leather came from, so if you purchase leather you may be supporting this extreme animal cruelty without even knowing it."

According to Care2:

"Most leather comes from the skin of animals raised for meat, but virtually all dairy cows meet the same end, as well, when their milk production slows down and they are no longer seen as profitable to keep.

"Calfskin suede is exactly what it sounds like. This is the skin of mostly young male dairy calves. These poor calves have been taken from their mothers within days of being born and confined to tiny wooden boxes, where they’re raised to be veal. To buy calfskin suede supports the terrible treatment of veal calves, the inherent abuse of dairy farming, and the entire animal exploiting meat industry.

"A growing percentage of leather on the market in the US is imported from India and China. And in China, many animal welfare laws do not exist. And if they do exist, they are simply not enforced, leaving millions of animals to suffer horrible deaths so their skin may be turned into a cheap pair of shoes."
In this video, designer Stella McCartney, explains why she has made the ethical decision to stop using leather in her fashion line:

http://action.peta.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=5&ea.campaign.id=12472

ACTION ALERTS
  • Join Stella McCartney and sign the PETA pledge to be leather-free
  • Sign a Born Free Foundation petition to increase the protection of elephants from the bloody ivory trade
  • Sign a Griddix petition urging U.S. President Barack Obama and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso to officialy ask to the Chinese government to stop the brutal practice of eating dog meat and to immediately end the terrible tortures to which dogs are subjected in China
  • Sign a Change.org petition urging Nestle Purina to recall chicken jerky treats made in China
  • Sign a Care2 petition urging Chinese president Hu Jintao to stop killing endangered species
  • Sign a Change.org petition to stop the sale of "living keychains"
  • Sign a Care2 petition asking the Chinese government to ban shark finning
  • Sign PETA's Pledge to Be Fur-Free
  • Sign a ForceChange petition to protect threatened populations of Asian musk deer
  • Sign a Care for Chinese Animals petition to ban dog and cat meat in China
  • Join Bill Clinton, Paul McCartney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Bono, Ricky Gervais, Roger Moore, Susan Sarandon, Anjelica Huston, Jeremy Irons, Paula Abdul, Joan Jett, Annie Lennox, Elton John and thousands of others who have signed the TigerTime petition urging Chinese premier Wen Jiabao to call for an end to all tiger trade in China
  • Sign a Change.org petition to close China's bear bile farms
  • Sign the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW)
  • Follow 13.7 Billion Years on Twitter
23 REASONS ANIMAL LOVERS SHOULD BOYCOTT CHINA
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