Why is animal cruelty considered fine in China?

The infamous Yulin dog meat festival takes place around the summer solstice, but the practice of eating dog meat continues year round in China. Last week, online tabloid newspapers widely shared a video of a greyhound-type dog being forced into a large barrel of boiling water. read more

Animal cruelty is NOT considered fine in China. There were multiple cases where videos of abusing cats and dogs caused tremendous uproars online and Chinese netizens promptly organized unofficial man hunts of the abusers. The abusers were quickly found and forced to apologize. China doesnt have animal cruelty laws, yet. read more

The Chinese government has shown itself open to this approach: the RSPCA, working with an international alliance of animal welfare groups, has been closely involved in the development and promotion of China's draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Although the law – China's first ever legislation protecting animal welfare - has yet to be passed, its circulation as a draft is a significant step forwards. read more

On June 30th 2014, China lifted the animal testing requirement for cosmetics manufactured within the country. While this is a big and important step, it’s important to emphasize that cosmetics manufactured outside of China are still confined to the same animal testing law. read more