Dogs saved China

I will spare you the gory details, but a recent AP story tells of a truckload of dogs in China on their way to slaughterhouse to be served as food, who were luckily rescued by a “people’s blockade”.  Needless to say, the dogs were in a very poor state, cramped into metal crates with many injured or sick.  Apparently at least one dog died in the truck.  As a result of a man putting out a call on microblogging site, around 200 people responded and stopped the truck in it’s tracks.  They then negotiated the dogs’ release for a $17,000 payment. It’s a great example of how social activism can work – even in an environment where dissent is generally not tolerated. According to the report, the Police who responded to the incident suggested the animal lovers were at fault and as the truck had the paperwork sorted out, they had no right to hold the truck back. The interesting thing about this incident is that it signals a change in attitudes towards “sentient beings” and demonstrates how attitudes shift with growing wealth – economic growth apparently breeds more middle class sensibilities!