Animal cruelty is the first step up the phylogenetic scale for all budding sociopaths and I can only assume that CNN has given employment to this young reporter so that she will not grow up to become a serial killer. CNN have probably saved dozens of lives because of this move and they should be commended. I'm assuming that she is very young indeed because no adult journalist would write so complacently about so dreadful a place as the Harbin Siberian Tiger Park. This is how Miss Ouyang begins her article:
Housed on nearly 400 acres of land, the Harbin Siberian Tiger Park in north-east China is one of the largest tiger refuges in the world. And it offers visitors a highly manufactured but extremely satisfying experience of what happens when large cats feed on lesser animals. Visitors are loaded into rickety busses [sic] and taken on a tour through various sections of the park outfitted with electronic chain link fences "Jurassic Park" style. Throughout the trip, the busses [sic] will stop to let you get a good view of the park’s inhabitants. Lax safety standards ensure that a thin layer of mesh and metal is all that divides you from tigers whose heads average the size of your bus’s tire. For those not satisfied with merely being a spectator, visitors have the unique opportunity to sentence hapless farm creatures -- starting at RMB 50 for a chicken and going up to RMB 1,500 for a cow -- to becoming tiger feed. It may seem cruel to the farm animals that are unceremoniously dumped out of a food truck into the middle of 10 insatiable Siberian tigers but it certainly makes the tigers very happy and adds quite a bit of excitement to the tour.
The Chinese of course are experts at making tigers, lions and their own populace happy. In a chatty tone Miss Ouyang goes on to explain how - from a platform - you can throw live chickens to the tigers but you must, she adds, be careful not to throw them too hard lest you stun the animals or even kill them thus missing the thrill which comes from watching them being torn apart alive. She also mocks those foolish souls who may be members of PETA or even vegans and who might (perish the thought) get offended by such fun and games; but everyday common sense folks like her and you and me will love visiting the park and will surely get a big kick from seeing see living cows, goats and sheep getting thrown to caged tigers, solely for our prurient amusement.
I am looking forward to Miss Ouyang's next giddy article on the excellent bear baiting opportunities which can still be enjoyed in that haven for old time animal fun - the People's Republic of China.
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26 comments:
How did this [sick] report get past the journalist's boses [sic]?
Maybe they were too bussy to give it a proper proofreading.
It's not cool to care about animals anymore is it?
I can't believe the new hunting reality show called 'Goin Country' where a pretty ex American Idol contestant goes and slaughters a load of wildlife for fun. A new low I think.
I never thought I'd want to be classified in the same category as PETA, but in this case, I think I'm OK with it. When did it become ok, or even encouraged, to be so heartless to animals?
I suppose the real point is not how she reported this or even that she reported it, but that there were a fair number of other people on that bus, and obviously a lively little business has been set up.
If you keep captive tigers, they are going to have to be fed somehow. I'm kind of surprised that a lot of people want to be part of how that's done--I wouldn't--but I'm not sure in what way it's worse than not wanting to think about how it's done. Okay, I know that getting a thrill out of all this is not to be encouraged, but is it better to be inured to it, as the zookeepers must be?
Caring for animals is still very cool in Santa Cruz, Frankie. Sometimes, though, it can be ill-considered. I was just reminded of this by an update this week on some unsolved firebombings that took place here a couple of years ago.
Nothing suprises me these days. Now, if they threw the reporter or a vegan in the tiger pit, that would be.. Would a tiger actually enjoy eating a vegan? Might not be too tasty for a carnivore ;)
Gotta say, it doesn't really bother me. China's never had a strong record on preserving endangered species, and if it takes a profit motive to get them to care, then so be it.
They could be auctioning off right to kill the tigers instead -- that would be much worse.
Phil
It was on the same CNN asia page where they were remembering their reporter who covered Tianamin Square.
Dana
Far too bussy.
Frankie
There's actually a hunting show that I like called The Best and worst of Tred Barta. Tred has a very respectful even reverent attitude towards the animals he kills (or more often doesnt kill). The creatures are never mocked or treated in a flip manner. Sadism is not a part of the show.
Glenna
I suppose its cool to watch the animals suffering before and while they die.
Sean
It depends on the vegan. Natalie Portman? I hope not.
Gav
I suspect that the animals are trapped in the wild and that the "resere" is really just a zoo. I doubt very much that these stressed animals are breeding. In fact I bet they are all male (otherwise they would fight each other for the female). The motive isnt to save the tigers but to make money from them. When they get too old or boring they probably get turned into "medicine".
Seana
Yeah they have to be fed somehow but they dont have to fed in a way that tortures other animals. Domestic cows are bred for their docility and the calves in particular must have suffered horribly before they died.
I'm not for it, though it may sound like I am. I just wonder how they do it in other places.
As for the bloodlust, I suppose the Coliseum should have taught us something about that aspect of our natures.
Seana
Its a question of nuance too I suppose. I've never been to a bullfight but when Hemingway writes about such things he praises the artistry of the matador and the beauty of the spectacle and has empathy for the bull. I'm not sure I entirely buy into what he's saying but there is no sadistic joy over the bull's death.
The CNN's reporter's gleeful, sadistic tone is what offended me most about this piece.
The casual brutality of the Chinese towards animals is breathtaking: puppies crammed into cages, dogs routinely beaten and kicked, a hundred songbirds in a filthy cage. . .God knows what goes on in their factory farms.
According to The Guardian the Chinese have now overtaken the US in energy use. In five years or less they are due to overtake the US in GDP.
I for one am not looking forward to the Chinese Century...
Your mention of songbirds reminded me that Jonathan Franzen did a piece on the vanishing songbirds of Europe which is pretty much at the opposite end of the spectrum from Ms. Ouyang's. Of course they won't let you read the whole thing on line without a subscription, but there is a podcast he did about it here
I'm surprised that CNN allowed this piece to run as written.
it is simply wrong to house the lions in the park ...
Happy people have no stories.
- Therapy?
Seana
read it. Its good.
Brian
They're lazy and demoralised is my explanation.
red
yeah they certainly dont look bloody happy do they?
Yeah, it's good. Unfortunately, I was reading that at work and all these people with requests and purchases and things kept interrupting me despite the fact that they should know better, so I never found out whether there was any hope.
Has anyone here seen Black Books? Because that's the bookstore I'd like to work in. But not as Manny.
seana
black book is good, but quite dated really; there're more recent outputs from each individual in that group.
... i particularly like bill's (manny's)live performance stuff; the absolute pitch test (party trick if you like) is quite funny, very good interactions with the crowd, almost puppy dog like.
red bike, thanks--I'd wondered what they've done since. A British friend recommended this to me because I work in a bookstore here in California, and so of course for Bernard's completely unsalesmanlike approach to the business, it's still worth watching.
Although, come to think of it, I've known a few little hole in the wall places that seem to be run pretty much the Black Books way.
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