MCLC: eating tiger meat (1)

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Magnus Fiskesjo <magnus.fiskesjo at cornell.edu>
Subject: eating tiger meat (1)
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This must absolutely not be described as "sensationalist" or "Western"
news.

It is a very serious issue, that cannot be dismissed in such a casual way.
See the Guardian/AFP version:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/27/tigers-killed-entertainment-gu
angdong-businessmen

On the contrary, Chinese media should be lauded for bringing this to
light. Nanfang Daily that was cited here, is to be commended for their
reporting. There has previously been similar excellent serious
investigative reporting on the smuggling of illegal ivory into and inside
China which is rampant on a frightening scale. (See:
http://www.infzm.com/content/65944, 象牙的终点：中国黑市助推国际象牙非法贸易,
作者:南方周末记者 冯洁 2011-12-08).

So I want to say: Kudos to all the Chinese government personnel, all the
Chinese media journalists, and also to all the Chinese conscientious
citizens, who are trying to stem this awful endtime slaughter, in the face
of the staggering power of greed and ignorance.

Tigers are about be go extinct globally within the next few years (along
with rhinos, elephants and a number of other animals), and it is mainly --
or to a very, very large degree -- because of the greed, and ignorance
(idiotic, baseless, empty superstitions of medical effects) among wealthy
Chinese, like those depicted in this news, who are the end consumers --
killing with their yuan in orgies of "luxury" consumption of tiger bones,
rhino nail-powder and elephant ivory.

When the guns fall silent in the next few years, this will be a permanent
stain on the record of humanity as a species on this earth.

Know that in the last few years and decades, we have seen a series of
commitments made by the Chinese authorities at international meetings (of
the CITES convention etc. where China is a state member), to stop the
tiger trade, as CITES and the world has desperately kept trying to finds
ways to stem the global slaughter of the last animals.

But in China, the consumption goes on regardless.

And this news we see here, is a rare thing, that has brought to light some
of the greedy killers in the flesh. This is not "Western" slander, it is
news brought out by Chinese authorities, police etc. who are mindful that
their government have made those international commitments and yet are
unable to deliver on their promises -- in the face of the rollercoaster of
ugly corruption and greed that China is seeing today. The tiger killing
spree has to be one of the utterly worst examples of that.

I have a paper forthcoming on the Buddhist-animal rights-derived
resurgence of compassion for fellow animals in China, where I do try to be
as optimistic as possible about the good people that really do exist in
China, and to acknowledge them as I do want to acknowledge the
protagonists of this case. --But there seems to be very little they can
do, and much of the world does not care, while the last shots are fired.

Magnus Fiskesjö