Cruelty in China, PETA and Heather Mills McCartney..

[Disturbing video, watch in full]

I recieve regular email updates from PETA [here]. I'm a vegetarian and also concerned about animal welfare. I didn't become a vegetarian because I think that it is not natural to eat animals, it is perfectly natural and man has been doing it since the dawn of time. My concern is the way we treat animals, all animals, and our attitude towards them, even the ones destined for our plates.

I come from a farming background, I grew up on a farm with animals and have been aware of the destiny of certain species of animal since I was a kid. I've always accepted that this is the case for the lowly cow or sheep and never felt comfortable with it. Since I was a kid farming techniques have changed and the demand for meat is greater than ever before, which has led to the introduction of more intensive and disgustingly cruel methods of "industrial" farming. I honestly believe that if most of the customers were to see how their KFC chicken was treated prior to landing on their plate they wouldn't eat it.

The fur trade is another contentious topic. I have never, even in my meat eating days, supported the fur trade and have nothing but utter contemp for the selfish, ignorant people who will pay highly for the privilege of wearing something torn from the back of an animal. I fully appreciate that leather is a natural by-product of the meat industry and having eaten the animal it only makes sense to use all of the carcass so there is no waste. But fur?

Thanks to the likes of dear Beyonce Knowles and idiots like Wayne Rooney's girlfriend the fur industry is alive and kicking. At what cost should we look good? Is the torture and skinning alive of an animal justified because it "looks good and feels great"? Heather Mills McCartney (regardless of personal opinions about her and her relationship with Sir Paul McCartney) has made a short film with PETA, highlighting the sickening and barbaric conditions of Chinese fur farms in a country that is now the biggest supplier of fur to the west. I warn you, this is disturbing and I challenge anyone not to moved by what it shows. Please watch it.

Cruelty happens everywhere and all countries share the responsibility but China seems to specialise in animal cruelty. In the name of entertainment, fashion and cuisine the Chinese torture, maim, humiliate, degrade and slaughter animals on a gigantic scale. Maybe there is something in the Chinese gene that makes them this way, maybe it is just culture that is yet to develop but whatever it is I certainly hope that it stops soon. If there are any Chinese readers then maybe you could share your view, and maybe explain why the Chinese seem to get so much pleasure from the torture of animals.

Further link link

Cruelty in China, PETA and Heather Mills McCartney..