# 50000 dogs = 3 Humans, the new Chinese math. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 1, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912 "2006-08-01T17:45:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/1 "2006-08-01T17:45:26Z")
[This link](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/01/world/main1855386.shtml) tells the story of the slaughter of 50,000 dogs because three, THREE people died from rabies. I can deal with the ‘dogs as delicacy’ thing, it’s cruel, sure, but it’s culture IF YOUR COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT TOOK CARE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU LAZY, BRUTAL, SAVAGE PIECES OF HUMAN SHIT, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO GO ABOUT THE SLAUGHTER OF OTHERWISE INNOCENT AND LIKELY DISEASE-FREE ANIMALS. I AM USUALLY A WORDY INDIVIDUAL, AND CAN FIND A WAY TO EXPRESS ALMOST ANYTHING, BUT I AM SO FILLED WITH RAGE, CONTEMPT AND HATRED FOR THIS BACKWARD-ASSED SHITHOLE OF A COUNTRY, I AM ALMOST BLIND. FUCK CHINA. FUCK THE GOVERNMENT, THEIR PHILOSOPHY AND THEIR PRODUCTS. Knowing how difficult it will be, I will endeavor to never spend another of my hard earned American Dollars on a single thing made in, on, or near China. The real pity is, that, like Africa, they’ve had so many thousands of years to perfect an existance, yet still choose to live like it’s the 7th goddamn century. China and her Government can go right to Hell. And yes, their human rights abuses are horriffic, there’s no question about that, but humans can stand up for themselves. Humans can think, and stand together and fight against oppression if they choose. Dogs can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Blanche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Blanche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blanche)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/2 "2006-08-01T17:55:37Z")
Big deal, more dogs than that are killed every day in the USA for weaker reasons than that. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/3 "2006-08-01T17:59:11Z")
Are they clubbed to death in front of their owners? ---
**Author:** ![holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/4 "2006-08-01T18:00:33Z")
You do know that Africa is reeallly big place and not all of it is in the 7th goddam century. Just asking. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/5 "2006-08-01T18:22:54Z")
I don’t think any of Africa is in the 7th century. And I still don’t understand why this is the reason you’re boycotting China. I mean, I know you said: > [@](#): > > And yes, their human rights abuses are horriffic, there’s no question about that, but humans can stand up for themselves. Humans can think, and stand together and fight against oppression if they choose. Dogs can’t. But, are you saying that simply because humans have more capabilities than dogs to fight tyranny, all the human rights abuses of China…the slave labor, the denial of freedom of speech, the unfair trials, the excessive capital punishment…all of that is less of a big deal to you than killing a bunch of dogs? None of that is enough to make you boycott China, but killing some dogs, is? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/6 "2006-08-01T18:33:57Z")
An outbreak of foot and mouth which is a lot less damaging to humans that rabies lead to the slaughter and burning of 6 million animals in the UK 5 years ago. They weren’t dogs though so you probably don’t give a shit. Some animals are more equal than others it seems 😉 The cunts shot that guy who stood in front of the tanks. The slaughtered the protestors. They are very very bad when it comes to _human_ rights. That’s a reason to hate them . ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/7 "2006-08-01T18:44:05Z")
[QUOTE=Blanche] Big deal, more dogs than that are killed every day in the USA for weaker reasons than that. [/QUOTE] Cite, you dizzy bitch? [QUOTE=yojimbo] An outbreak of foot and mouth which is a lot less damaging to humans that rabies lead to the slaughter and burning of 6 million animals in the UK 5 years ago. They weren’t dogs though so you probably don’t give a shit. Some animals are more equal than others it seems The cunts shot that guy who stood in front of the tanks. The slaughtered the protestors. They are very very bad when it comes to human rights. That’s a reason to hate them [/QUOTE] Agreed. Your first point reminds me of that Dennis Leary routine about the people boycotting Starkist (or whatever) because they were getting dolphins caught in the nets: “Well, what about the fucking tuna? They didn’t have their own TV show, they’re not cute, so fuck them, we don’t care if they die!” Which is also oddly similar to the reasoning the OP uses to rationalize not getting as worked up over the human rights violations in China, come to think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/8 "2006-08-01T18:47:18Z")
You know, based on the OP, I was not at all going to support this rant. But then I read the article: > [@](#): > > The five-day massacre in Yunnan province’s Mouding county that ended Sunday spared only military guard dogs and police canine units, state media reported. > > Dogs being walked were taken from their owners and beaten to death on the spot, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported. Led by the county police chief, other killing teams entered villages at night creating noise to get dogs barking, then homed in on their prey, the reports said. That’s pretty horrifying–I’d have a pretty hard time with it if someone came to my house, took my pets, and killed them. Clearly China needs to adapt to increased dog ownership by improving rabies vaccination control, not by slaughtering people’s pets. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/9 "2006-08-01T18:53:29Z")
[QUOTE=woodstockbirdybird] Agreed. Your first point reminds me of that Dennis Leary routine about the people boycotting Starkist (or whatever) because they were getting dolphins caught in the nets: “Well, what about the fucking tuna? They didn’t have their own TV show, they’re not cute, so fuck them, we don’t care if they die!” [/QUOTE] Dennis Leary is often an idiot, and this is another example. Dolphin may or may not deserve protection, but they’re certainly a helluva lot smarter and more self-aware than tuna. As for the number of animals euthanized in the US–estimates range from 3 to 6 million that I’ve seen (I can’t be arsed to dig them up, but if someone really doubts me, I’ll do so). I believe this is in animal shelters. That works out to about 10-15 thousand every day. Even if you assume vets are euthanizing as many as shelters are–a huge assumption–that doesn’t get you to 50,000. And the way they’re killed–usually through an overdose of a sedative–is far different from being beaten to death. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/10 "2006-08-01T19:02:24Z")
[QUOTE=yojimbo] The cunts shot that guy who stood in front of the tanks. The slaughtered the protestors. They are very very bad when it comes to _human_ rights. That’s a reason to hate them . [/QUOTE] Although your point is well taken, no one actually knows what happend to “Tank Man”. In fact, there was a [PBS special on that topic](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/) not long ago-- it was quite good, too. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/11 "2006-08-01T19:02:52Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Dennis Leary is often an idiot, and this is another example. Dolphin may or may not deserve protection, but they’re certainly a helluva lot smarter and more self-aware than tuna. [/QUOTE] Obviously, and I’m sure Mr. Leary (who I agree is an idiot more often than not) knows this. The point I took from it was that people tend to rationalize suffering when it benefits them in some way - if dolphin blood, say, were shown to be a cheap and effective source of automobile fuel, the number of people protesting cruelty to dolphins would doubtless decrease. Maybe I read it completely wrong, but I think it’s a valid point, despite the horrible analogy I came up with to illustrate it. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/12 "2006-08-01T19:03:53Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Dennis Leary is often an idiot, and this is another example. Dolphin may or may not deserve protection, but they’re certainly a helluva lot smarter and more self-aware than tuna. [/QUOTE] You could sell me on the senseless waste of the dolphins, as they (to the best of my limited knowledge) don’t end up on our dinner plates. However, if the case is simply being more self-aware, I’ll stick with Leary’s version of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/13 "2006-08-01T19:07:20Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] You could sell me on the senseless waste of the dolphins, as they (to the best of my limited knowledge) don’t end up on our dinner plates. However, if the case is simply being more self-aware, I’ll stick with Leary’s version of the story. [/QUOTE] I’m not trying to be difficult, but huh? Are you saying that I’m wrong in thinking that dolphins’ self-awareness figures into people’s mental distinction between dolphins and tuna? Daniel ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/14 "2006-08-01T19:10:18Z")
We control dog-to-human rabies transmission in humans by requiring all dog owners to have their dogs vaccinated for rabies. It works, mostly. Do they do that in China? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/15 "2006-08-01T19:20:43Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] We control dog-to-human rabies transmission in humans by requiring all dog owners to have their dogs vaccinated for rabies. It works, mostly. Do they do that in China? [/QUOTE] The article mentioned something about how 3% of the dogs have been vaccinated. This looks like a failure to establish the necessary infrastructure. Thing is, if there’s one thing China’s been good at doing for the past several millennia, it’s setting up government bureaucracies. With a bit of energy, they could easily set one up to increase this rate. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/16 "2006-08-01T19:32:42Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] I’m not trying to be difficult, but huh? Are you saying that I’m wrong in thinking that dolphins’ self-awareness figures into people’s mental distinction between dolphins and tuna? Daniel [/QUOTE] People make a distinction based on that. It’s also why, in the U.S., we’ll east Bessie but not Rover. It’s not a position I agree with (not that I’m going to go roast Rover or have Flipper steaks anytime soon). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/17 "2006-08-01T19:34:26Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] People make a distinction based on that. It’s also why, in the U.S., we’ll east Bessie but not Rover. It’s not a position I agree with (not that I’m going to go roast Rover or have Flipper steaks anytime soon). [/QUOTE] So, wouldn’t that mean you DON’T go along with Leary’s story? I’m so confused. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/18 "2006-08-01T19:38:57Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] Are they clubbed to death in front of their owners? [/QUOTE] I think this bears repeating. If that had put the dogs down humanely-hell, if they had just shot them in the head point blank, that would be one thing. But this IS a human rights abuse-imagine watching your pets being taken away from you and being BEATEN to death. I hate to do a “think of the children!” rant, but let’s do just that for a minute-how is little Billy going to feel watching his beloved pet being bludgeoned in front of him? ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/19 "2006-08-01T19:46:07Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] I hate to do a “think of the children!” rant, but let’s do just that for a minute-how is little Billy going to feel watching his beloved pet being bludgeoned in front of him? [/QUOTE] Safe from the threat of rabies? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912/20 "2006-08-01T19:50:55Z")
> [@](#): > > The five-day massacre in Yunnan province’s Mouding county that ended Sunday spared only military guard dogs and police canine units, state media reported. > > Dogs being walked were taken from their owners and beaten to death on the spot, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported. Led by the county police chief, other killing teams entered villages at night creating noise to get dogs barking, then homed in on their prey, the reports said. > l In fairness that is grim in the extreme. Fuckers haven’t treated people much different however at times. In the UK they actually changed the law to save a cute cow. [Link](http://www.guardian.co.uk/gallery/image/0,8543,-10104142447,00.html) . Now that’s people power. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50000-dogs-3-humans-the-new-chinese-math/366912.md?page=2)