A slightly modified tale:
I recount this story because of the great irony associated with a putative act of kindness being done by well-meaning people.
The short story here is that a group of people in the UK decided to “rescue” dogs from the Chinese meat dog trade.
One summer in the village, the people gathered for a picnic. As they shared food and conversation, someone noticed a deformed bulldog in the river, struggling and barking. The dog was going to drown!
Someone rushed to save the dog. Then, they noticed another yowling monstrous dog in the river, and they rushed in to pull that dog out. Soon, more deformed monstrous bulldogs were seen drowning in the river, and the townspeople were pulling them out as fast as they could. It took great effort, and they began to organize their activities in order to save the severely deformed dogs as they came down the river. As everyone else was busy in the rescue efforts to save the dogs, two of the townspeople started to run up the shore of the river.
“Where are you going?” shouted one of the rescuers. “We need you here to help us save these dogs!”
“We are going upstream to stop whoever is throwing them in!”
I recount this story because of the great irony associated with a putative act of kindness being done by well-meaning people.
The short story here is that a group of people in the UK decided to “rescue” dogs from the Chinese meat dog trade.
Breeding dogs to be eaten is, of course, horrible and someone had to do something, and so "let's raise money," said someone, and things spiraled up and out from there.
But wait a minute. No one’s breeding mutant bulldogs for the meat trade. After all, most of these dogs are so morphologically wrecked they cannot breed on their own, and cannot whelp on their own.
But wait a minute. No one’s breeding mutant bulldogs for the meat trade. After all, most of these dogs are so morphologically wrecked they cannot breed on their own, and cannot whelp on their own.
So why are these dogs being bred? Why to sell to the “meat dog rescue” people, of course.
The very same thing has happened here in the US, where “rescues” would swoop in at Amish puppy mill auctions to buy Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Thanks to thick bankrolls provided by Facebook “Good Samaritans,” the legend of the “$10,000 Cavalier” sale of a kennel of aged bitches became legend — and fueled more Amish farmers breeding Cavaliers.
In fact, what occurred here is a classic story right out of the Bible.
In the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37), Jesus says that the way to heaven is to come to the aid of those who are battered, hungry, and destitute.
The set up to this story, however, is generally lost due to poor translation.
The Pharisee is not asking Jesus what he should do in any specific situation -- he asking what is good policy?
The distinction is not a small one.
Yes, if you come across a person who is bleeding in a ditch, bind up their wounds and invite them in for a hot meal.
But what are we to do with scores of thousands of people bleeding in ditches? Who has the bandages, the iodine, and the rooms to accommodate them all? What do we do in that situation?
And so we come back to a first movement question: How is it that deformed Pug X English Bulldogs are being sold in China to a foreign “dog meat rescue” group on Facebook?
The very same thing has happened here in the US, where “rescues” would swoop in at Amish puppy mill auctions to buy Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Thanks to thick bankrolls provided by Facebook “Good Samaritans,” the legend of the “$10,000 Cavalier” sale of a kennel of aged bitches became legend — and fueled more Amish farmers breeding Cavaliers.
In fact, what occurred here is a classic story right out of the Bible.
In the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37), Jesus says that the way to heaven is to come to the aid of those who are battered, hungry, and destitute.
The set up to this story, however, is generally lost due to poor translation.
The Pharisee is not asking Jesus what he should do in any specific situation -- he asking what is good policy?
The distinction is not a small one.
Yes, if you come across a person who is bleeding in a ditch, bind up their wounds and invite them in for a hot meal.
But what are we to do with scores of thousands of people bleeding in ditches? Who has the bandages, the iodine, and the rooms to accommodate them all? What do we do in that situation?
And so we come back to a first movement question: How is it that deformed Pug X English Bulldogs are being sold in China to a foreign “dog meat rescue” group on Facebook?
And what could that possibly have to do with so many of these very same people now riding in to play "Rescue Ranger?"
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