I absolutely agree - countries such as China must be made to stop this unnecessary suffering.
BUT we must also remember that even in the UK, there are lots of animals living in unacceptable conditions. Even within the relatively affluent countries of the EU, animal welfare laws desperately need to be made stricter. Farm animals are allowed to live in unacceptable conditions, without access to the outside. They are often transported in disgusting ways, and when they are to be slaughtered they are pushed, shoved and stressed until they are in a complete panic. This is no way for an animal, or any being, to be treated.
Don't get me wrong - I think mistreating animals is disgusting and absolutely unacceptable. But we need to remember that countries such as China have a wide range of other problems to battle: poverty, illiteracy, gender discrimination, human rights violations and so on. This is
NOT an excuse. But I think it is part of an
explanation. And lets not forget that products such as fur are often made for the benefit of people in wealthy countries, i.e. us. If there was no demand, there would be no supply. So we need to focus our attentions on the consumers, as much as the producers.
I hope people don't misunderstand what I'm saying, and send me hate mail...
I do not condone any form of cruelty whether to animals or people (with the possible exception of sex offenders and people guilty of animal cruelty...). But in my old age, I am trying to learn to be compassionate towards
people - although compassion towards animals is a lot easier...
Sometimes pure boycots work, but only if there are other job opportunities for the people. The Snow Leopard Trust recognise this; concerned about dwindling numbers of snow leopards in Central Asia, they developed partnerships with local communities to stop hunting of the leopards. In return for help & support with local business opportunities etc, the locals stick to conservation guidelines to safeguard the snow leopard and its habitat.
