BEIJING--Political stress over Tibet and controversies arising from the aftermath of the May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake appear to have deferred expectations that China would introduce a national humane law as a goodwill gesture just ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The anticipated introduction, all but promised by state media for several years, did not happen. Instead, as the 2008 Olympics approached, speculation about the possible content of a national humane law and reportage about controversial animal issues nearly vanished from state media--except for warnings that Beijing restaurants should not serve dog meat during August and September, while visitors filled the city to attend the Olympics and the Paralympics for handicapped athletes, to be held afterward.
But the Beijing Pet Dog Management Office. a branch of the police department, in mid-July summoned Animal Rescue Beijing founder Wu Tianyu and China Small Animal Protection Association founder Lu Di "to discuss the situation of pet dog control in Beijing," Animal Rescue Beijing volunteer Irene Zhang told ANIMAL PEOPLE.
Joining the delegation, Zhang described a positive atmosphere and outcome. "The police promised that if there are any complaints about a dog," Zhang e-mailed to ANIMAL PEOPLE, "they would not take the dog away, but would pursuade the pet owner to take care of the dog according to the law, such as keeping a big dog out of the downtown, or registering a small dog. If elderly people have a big dog as a companion, they will not take any action.
"Animal Rescue Beijing asked the police to propose to the government to strictly control professional dog breeders," Zhang continued, "with no new registration of dog breeders and no cross-breeding permitted; to close the local roadside dog meat markets in Liyuan Tongzhou, Gaoliying Shunyi, Daxing and Changping, to maintain food safety and prevent rabies; to control roaming pet dogs in the suburban and countryside areas; to ban private dog breeding with a heavy fine; and to punish the dog owner instead of the dog if there are any complaints against a pet dog.
"The police agreed with our opinion," Zhang wrote, "and said that they would work with other government agencies to take these actions."
The Beijing Catering Trade Association distributed the initial "strong advisory" to restaurants against serving dog meat, reported Xinhua News Agency editor Bi Mingxin.
Beijing Tourism Bureau vice director Xiong Yumei several days later issued recommendations to restaurant staff about how to firmly but politely dissuade thrill-seeking foreign visitors who might ask for dog meat.
The Beijing Food Safety Adminis-tration followed up by formally prohibiting 112 officially designated Olympic restaurants from selling dog meat during the Olympics.
"Non-designated restaurants, especially those serving Korean, Yunnan, and Guizhou cuisine, have also been encouraged not to serve dog meat," reported China Daily staff writer Wang Zhuoqiong. "All meat transported into Beijing during the Olympics will be checked to prevent violations, the notice said." The dog meat ban was presented "as a mark of respect for foreigners and people from ethnic groups," Wang Zhuoqiong continued.
Beijing restauranteurs questioned by various reporters mostly said they had never served dog meat in the first place. Dogs are often eaten in parts of southern and coastal China, but barely 100 of the more than 14,000 restaurants in Beijing have been found to serve dog meat in more than 15 years of surveys.
Western reporting teams sent to the Olympics typically consisted of one or two sportswriters plus a "lifestyles" reporter, much to the annoyance of reporters from other beats who had hoped to get the coveted assignment.
"Let's be honest. We came to China for the food, in all its bizarre, exotic glory." wrote Garry Linnell of the Victoria (Australia) Herald Sun. "Scorpion kebab? Roast dog leg? Deep fried worm? Welcome to Guolizhuang, a Beijing restaurant specialising in animal penises and testicles." Linnell's reportage, and similar from others who tended to visit the same places, played into expectations whetted by warnings from western animal advocacy groups.
Humane Society of the U.S. policy director Teresa Telecky, for example, cautioned Olympic visitors that "Although it is legal to sell ivory in China, it is illegal to bring ivory back to the U.S. Don't buy items made of or trimmed in fur or leather. Wild animals as well as dogs and cats are killed for their fur in China. The methods of killing them include skinning them alive." Telecky mentioned seeing "cat trinkets covered in real cat fur" in China, which have appeared in U.S. stores as well, imported from China and several other parts of the world.
"Don't order shark fin soup," Telecky continued. "Sharks are in decline worldwide, largely because of the demand for their fins. Shark fins are cut off and the sharks are thrown overboard to die. Be mindful of what else you eat. Massive numbers of snakes, turtles and small mammals are captured in other Asian countries [and in the U.S., in the case of turtles] and transported alive under cruel conditions to China, decimating wild populations. Bird's nest soup, another delicacy, is made of swiftlet nests. Removing the nests deprives birds of places to breed.
"Be careful about pharmacy purchases," Telecky finished. "Traditional Chinese medicines may contain parts of endangered animals, which are believed to have potent healing properties. Demand for these products has pushed rhinos and tigers to the edge of extinction. In China, endangered Asiatic black bears are trapped and kept in small cages so their bile can be extracted."
"I don't think people need to be worried too much about consuming tiger, bear or other endangered species parts, whether in traditional Chinese medicine or restaurants," responded Animals Asia Foundation founder Jill Robinson, whose China Bear Rescue Project has freed more than 250 bears from bile farms and has won hugely favorable publicity both in China and worldwide, inspiring a parallel project in Vietnam.
"They would be paying significantly more for these [wildlife products], having had to ask for them, being aware that this is what they are consuming. These parts are not hidden for consumers to munch on in oblivion," Robinson explained, "for the obvious reason that the traders want to exploit these poor animals for a goodly return."
Robinson emphasized to animal advocates who demanded an Olympic boycott, with little visible response, that within China "Targeting is happening. Peaceful protests in the streets in Beijing at the Korean restaurants have grown, and in the major dog and cat eating capitals too," notably Guangdong, the only region where cats are commonly eaten, and the scene of several major anti-cat eating demonstrations within the past two years.
Robinson cited the rising popularity within China of dog therapy, beginning with the Dr. Dog program she started 14 years ago.
"The motivation and change is coming from within China," Robinson said, "from those who understand the issues and arguments, and intelligently articulate the concept of healing without harm."
Halfway through the Olympics, the only demonstration in support of any cause to have attracted much note was a pro-animal press conference held on August 6 by U.S. swimmer Amanda Beard, 26, a four-time Olympian who won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Warned by eight plainclothes Chinese security officials the previous evening against holding a scheduled press conference at her hotel to decry the Chinese fur industry, Beard instead "unveiled a demure nude photograph of herself urging 'Don't wear fur," Reuters reported, "in front of reporters and TV cameras outside the heavily fenced Olympic athletes' village. Security guards watched the media scrum from the south gate of the village, but did not intervene. The German Olympic cycling team, heading out for training in hot, muggy weather, stopped for a look."
"Beard, who has posed nude in men's magazines, said she decided to participate in the PETA ['I'd rather go naked than wear fur'] campaign because she loves animals and was horrified to see how fur was produced for fashion in some places," added Associated Press sportswriter John Pye.

--Merritt Clifton