[AndyKoh]

I just read about this in the morning too... and have seen for myself the gross sight of canine bodies that were hung like chickens along hawker stalls and restaurants in ShenZhen.

I absolutely despise the ill-treating of any type of animal, be it those rared for food or for pets. But I believe that the "grossness" factor stems from our culture and exposure to particular animals, as one man's pet could well be another's dinner.

If we were to grow up with chickens as our dearest pets, cows, goats, or even tortoises and fishes, we might also feel disgusted if we ate them as food, as long as we are emotionally attached to them and identify with their behaviour. Animals that we commonly eat as food could very well have been subjected to similar inhumane raising and torture before being killed too. Some cultures and religions also treat certain animals as sacred, and they would equally feel disgusted to see such animals being tortured and eaten at other countries.

In fact, there has been significant research indicating that birds (in particular, chicken) have cognitive capacities equivalent to those of mammals, even primates. They exist in stable social groups, can recognize each other by their facial features, and have 24 distinct cries that communicate a wealth of information to one other, including separate alarm calls depending on whether a predator is traveling by land or sea. They are good at solving problems. Should we still eat the chickens, knowing that they have such cognitive capacities?

In short, I don't know if we can rightfully criticize any party for eating any animal, so long as we ourselves are contributing towards that statistics. What we could fight for is in giving animals as humane as possible a living condition, and as quick and painless a death should we decide to eat them.

Until and unless there is a day we can all shift to vegetarian diet or just consume synthetic meat.