EJ is stepping into the pawprints of his mentor Endal and working to assist with Poppy Day publicity. - Story page 16.

K9 Perspective

The magazine your dog would want you to read

Editorial November-December 2009:

NZ hiding behind cultural
guilt over dog eating ban

I WAS filled with disgust recently when I read a newspaper article about the eating of dogs in New Zealand and a person who describes himself as a Malaysian Chinese New Zealander saying that it is culturally insensitive for New Zealand to bring in any laws against eating dogs. This person, believe me, is no New Zealander. He is no Malaysian either. He reveals himself as a Mainland Chinese of the worst kind (even Hong Kong has progressed and does not allow the eating of dogs) – the kind that New Zealand can do without.

People who have mental attitudes of that calibre reveal their true selves - it is very true that those who treat animals cruelly are to be treated very seriously by the police as future attackers and murderers of humans. This fact has been proved over and over and is well recognised in USA laws and punishments. That fact can be observed in China itself – there is no value placed on the life of an animal but neither is there any value placed on the life of another human - a grand illustration of the proven facts. Does New Zealand wish to emulate such a country?

This Leong person who calls himself culturally sensitive is merely using one of the well-known weaknesses of the New Zealand government to score points for himself and his cohorts.

As for the Tongan man - I lived in Tonga for three years as a secondary school pupil and never once saw dogs used as meat. I also attended many feasts for many occasions and never once was dog served. His defence was that it is not illegal in Tonga … well, it is also not illegal in New Zealand … arguably the last of the Western countries to spend years “thinking about” banning dog eating. Sadly, this once proud country is now lagging behind even the Philippines.

New Zealand has to make up its mind now whether it is a Western country, or wishes to be equated with China and Korea. Its hesitation is making other Western countries suspicious of its intentions and its suitability to belong to any Western alliances. As New Zealand is still a “colony” in technical terms it can still be pressured by UK for its lack of positive intention and failure to keep abreast of modern moral standards.

New Zealand must now equip its government with a bit of backbone as so far MPs have proved themselves totally gutless. Once it has decided in favour of remaining a Western country it must quickly bring in new laws against dog eating – and against importing any goods made from dog fur, skin or meat, as other Western countries have also done. But just bringing in the laws is not good enough – they must have consequences and jail terms for those who laugh at the law, and they must also give authority to SPCA and Police to act on those laws and enforce them with arrests. Many of New Zealand’s current laws are totally ineffectual as nobody is authorised to enforce them … it is fast becoming the “self-regulating” capital of the world – in other words, no regulations that count.

New Zealand would do well to take a leaf from the book of progressive Australia, which has informed any immigrants given residence (concentrated version) that they are “welcome to live in Australia as long as they realise that Australia is a Western country, a free country and a Christian country, and if they do not like Australia’s laws they are also free to go back home where the laws will be more suited to their expectations”. This is not being culturally insensitive – it is being strong, it is knowing what sort of country you live in and it is having the guts to make sure it stays that way. New Zealanders do not want dog eating in their country and never will.

It is time for New Zealand to make up its mind and either bring in strong laws, or become a little country annexed to Mainland China. - Liz