A Protest Gone to the Dogs

Page B3 of today’s Washington Post included a picture of protesters outside the Chinese embassy. (The picture and accompanying article are not on the Post web site so I can’t offer you a link) Were they there to protest the recent arrest of a Catholic bishop, a Catholic priest, and at least 90 Catholic worshipers? Were they there to protest the forced abortions and sterilizations of Chinese women? No. These demonstrators were from the Humane Society of the United States and were there to protest the killing of dogs in China after an outbreak of rabies in the country’s southwestern Yunnan province.

I realize that China does not carry out a gentle euthanasia program for these dogs. They are beaten to death with mop handles. I also realize that a rabies vaccination program could probably help control rabies as much as a mass dog slaughter does. But with all these atrocities being committed against humans in China, I have a hard time getting worked up over the cruelties inflicted on dogs. The headline for the Washington Post article reads, “An Impassioned Cry for China’s Dogs”. I hope these protesters would also show up to support “An Impassioned Cry for China’s Unborn Children” or “An Impassioned Cry for China’s Catholics”.