CNN is reporting that 1,500 Chinese Raccon Dogs have died because of a tainted food supply.
Apparently melamine was found in the dog food supply. Melamine is the same deadly chemical that was added to the dairy supply last month and sent Chinese babies to the hospital with kidney stones. Four Chinese babies’ deaths have been blamed on infant formula that was laced with melamine. Some 54,000 other children were sickened.
Zhang determined that the animals died of kidney failure after performing a necropsy — an animal autopsy — on about a dozen dogs. He declined to say when the deaths occurred but a report Monday in the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper said they had occurred over the past two months.
“First, we found melamine in the dogs’ feed, and second, I found that 25 percent of the stones in the dogs’ kidneys were made up of melamine,” Zhang told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. (from CNN)
We have a problem. We have 1,500 dead dogs but let’s take a look at what these dogs are. These dogs are bred for their raccoon like coat which is used for trim on coats. Are we as a global economy okay with the slaughter of dogs, man’s best friend, for ornamental fabric? Is it acceptable that Melamine is added to the food supply of both humans and animals?
Are you willing to risk your life on a Chinese import?
I, for one, have cleaned my pantry. There are no Chinese imports in any of my food products (that I know of). I’m exhausted by the Chinese industry poisoning our children via lead in their toys and Melamine in their milk.
The animal deaths raise questions about the extent of the chemical’s presence in the country’s food chain.
Melamine has been found in a wide range of Chinese-made dairy products and foods with milk ingredients over the past few months. The government is still trying to win back consumer confidence after those tainted products turned up on store shelves around the world.
It’s also not very green for your food to have travelled further than you.
Take pause, take stock, and buy local. It’s the right thing to do.
http://stream.luxmedia.com/?file=/clients/hsus/e-community/china-dog-cut-down.wmv&type=wmv
go to this website. It will break your hearts. Whoever said they were not dogs, well you might be right. They bark and yellp like a dog. I just cannot beleaive that people would do these kinds of things to any animal
although i am a vegan so eating any kind of animal is something i easily avoid, there is something about the level of inteligence and awareness in dogs that those using them in the food or fur industries have a level of cruelty that resides in evilness
boycot china as much as possible is a good idea – and hopefully an evective one as well
I’ll take poison anytime rather than being skinned alive
Raccoon Dog is actually not a true dog but a member of the canid family indemic to eastern asia. They’re more like racoons then dogs and while it is very tragic that they died in this manner, your statement about “man’s best friend” is a bit inaccurate. Still the creatures are quite clever and very cute. It tugs at the heart strings.
When does it end with the Chinese government? I’ve always done my very best to buy local and buy American-made products and services. Now, though, I will try even harder. This is my line in the sand and this is me crossing it.
Jess, thanks for writing this and for sending me the shout on digg about it, I dugg it and have now stumbled it, facebooked it, and when I write my next blog entry I’ll be linking to this article. It is really appalling that they not only slaughter dogs and other animals for their fur, but that the food supply of both humans and domesticated animals are tainted with melamine.
And buying local is definitely the way to go, for residents of Los Angeles and certain surrounding areas, I highly encourage people to go to farmers’ markets and also google Abundant Harvest Organics.
Me as an animal lover, think that God was on the side of the dogs, at least they will not be slaughtered. I watched a video of how they kill those dogs and it made me sick to my stomach.