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BEIJING — About animals, “The question is not, ‘Can they reason?’ nor, ‘Can they talk?’ but, ‘Can they suffer?’” So wrote Jeremy Bentham, the English philosopher, more than 200 years ago.

It seems anomalous that China, the world’s second-biggest economy, lacks animal welfare legislation (other places do too, though in Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines have been praised for their protection laws.) In the country that is a motor for regional and world economic activity and home to one-sixth of the world’s population, growing numbers of activists are still waiting for protection laws amid enormous, routine animal suffering, they say.

In a new report by the online environmental magazine, chinadialogue, Peter Li, a politics professor in the United States and China policy expert at the Humane Society International, predicted such protection would come in China, though he’s not holding his breath: “I know animal protection legislation will not be born in the near future,” he said in an article titled, “Younger generation face long wait for law-change on animal cruelty.” (Here it is in Chinese, too.)

A proposed draft of China’s first comprehensive animal welfare law, the China Animal Protection Law, was issued in September 2009, according to Xinhua, the state news agency. It has yet to become law, Xinhua said late last month. “In terms of law we haven’t seen any progress since 2009,” said Toby Zhang of Animals Asia, a China spokesman for the Hong Kong-based NGO. Nor is it tabled for discussion at the current meeting of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, he said, though some people lobbying at the event for more and quicker attention to the issue.

Meanwhile, the suffering goes on.

This article cited Liao Kan, a researcher at the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, saying about 15 million animals are involved in scientific research in China each year.

“The poor treatment of animals has provoked public uproar in recent years, resulting in an increase in the number of organizations like NSAPA,” the Nanchang Small Animals Protection Association, Xinhua wrote.

Mr. Zhang agreed. “There is a lot of pressure and calls for change among the people,” he said, pointing to regular “animal rescues” staged by ordinary citizens, including a dog rescue in Chongqing early this month, he said. The rescued animals are generally headed for sale in markets and restaurants.

The situation is extreme. Here’s an excerpt from a recent report by Animals Asia, “Friends… or Food?” on the dog trade in China. It makes for tough reading. You can download and read it here.

Dogs are raised on small farms of up to about 200 animals, says Animals Asia, the Hong Kong-based NGO with offices around the world. When they’re ready for market they are jammed into cages for “a long road journey by truck which often lasts for several days, throughout which the animals have no free access to food or water, and only an occasional cursory hose down to prevent dehydration and death.”

On arrival at the wholesale market, “The drivers climb the pyramid of cages, before hurling each one several meters to the ground, crushing limbs and paws and smashing faces of the terrified prisoners as the cages crash to the concrete.

“Using crude metal tongs which clamp the choking dogs and cats around the neck (or sometimes miss and stab into the soft palate), the traders then either hurl them into larger cages for weighing and onward sale, or offload them into pens. Once on solid ground the trembling animals urinate, defecate and literally fall on any available water bowls in the pens to quench a 3 day thirst, visibly relieved that the pain has stopped and hopeful that their nightmare is over.

However, “their relief is short-lived as customers walk by, chose their victim, and the tongs grip once again. The screaming animals are then bludgeoned in front of the other terrified dogs with a blow across the muzzle, using an instrument resembling a baseball bat.

“Tragically, the blow is not hard enough to render the poor animals unconscious for long. At this point they are howling pitifully in pain and confusion, with blood and mucus pouring from their nose and mouth – only to be bludgeoned again and again.”

Why? There’s a culinary reason.

“We’re told the idea is that when the traders finally dispatch the dogs, they want the heart beating rapidly so that the blood will gush out swiftly, which is believed to enhance the flavour of the meat. In amongst all this carnage, the other dogs and cats are looking on, knowing that their turn is soon to be dragged out and slaughtered.”

Why is it tolerated?

Animals Asia writes: “Cruelty to animals is not unique to Asia: animals all over the world are horrendously mistreated in factory farms, the fur trade, sport hunting or in animal testing.

“But rather than happening behind closed doors as it often does in the West, the cruelty in Asia is more open and therefore subject to greater scrutiny and judgment.

“Animal welfare is a relatively new concept in many places in Asia, and as a result it is vital that we ensure we work together with one voice to give the animals the best protection possible,” the group wrote.

There are other reasons, rooted in politics, said Mr. Li, the China specialist at the Humane Society International.

“Compared with other interest groups in China, animal activists have received less attention from the government since they do not pose immediate threat to social or political stability,” he said.

However, like all NGOs in China, their activities are viewed with suspicion and are monitored. The authorities “are not prepared to lift controls on the registration of animal protection NGOs,” said Mr. Li.

The debate will rage on. Is “Asian culture” an excuse for allowing animals to suffer? Or, as Mr. Bentham said, is the only reason we need to treat animals better a recognition that they suffer, too?

In its report, Animals Asia quoted a Korean animal rights activist:

“Culture has often been used as an excuse to turn away from suffering and people in both Asia and the West often use cultural relativism to soothe their conscience for doing nothing,” Sung Su Kim said.

“Surely we want to regard various practices in our history (such as slavery and cannibalism) as something to be rid of rather than treat them as ‘culture’ and demand respect accordingly.”