China is now the second most populous country in the world, as well as the second largest economy by gross domestic product (GDP) and the fourth largest country by area. It’s also politically powerful and influential in world affairs. Given its size and significance on the global stage, China’s views can affect vast numbers of animals both within and beyond its borders.

It’s therefore essential for the animal advocacy movement to gain insight into the evolution of attitudes towards animals in China and invest resources efficiently. This is especially important for international groups, as advocates from other countries may have limited knowledge of how to carry out activism in China and could inadvertently hinder rather than help the cause.

The purpose of this study was to capture the state of current academic discussions around the consideration of animals in China. To do so, the authors performed a semi-systematic review of the literature on the animal advocacy movement in China. In total, they gathered 507 Chinese articles and 177 English articles published between 1980 and 2019.

Moral Consideration Of Animals Is Growing, But Slowly

There’s been a significant increase in concern for and discussion about animals, both in the literature and among the population. The authors caution that this could simply be linked to the increased number of animals being used in China, especially on factory farms. Nevertheless, there’s a clear growth in debates between defenders and critics of speciesist viewpoints, even if the literature is still scarce.

Among the population, it seems to be young people, students, college-educated people, and those who live with or in proximity to companion animals who have the most pro-animal attitudes. However, polls still showed that 80% of respondents knew nothing or very little about the concept of animal welfare and two-thirds of young and highly educated people had never heard about the concept.

Clash Of Philosophies

The literature shows that the Western model of moral individualism can seem “unnatural” to Chinese people, who may be more persuaded by local philosophical traditions such as Buddhism, Taoism, or Confucianism. While a few Western works have influenced Chinese literature, such as Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation, most contemporary theoretical advancements lack adaptability to Chinese society. The authors note that Confucianism and Taoism support the idea of “harmony” between humans and nature, which aligns with wild animal protection ideas.

Insufficient Laws And Policies

Animal protection legislation in China is both insufficient and insufficiently enforced. For example, companies don’t need to take animals into account when building infrastructure, such as passages under highways for wild animals to travel through, even though there’s strong evidence that it saves many lives without huge costs.

Most of the existing legislation related to the protection of animals still considers them as resources, whether in the wild or in food production. China’s list of wild animals prioritized for conservation is especially criticized for its limited scope. Another example is Article 9 of China’s Constitution stipulating that wild animals should be “rationally used.” Thus, they’re protected as part of biodiversity and not considered as individuals.

Animals Used For Food Are Just Food

Attitudes towards farmed animals reflect attitudes towards animals generally, as concerns relate mostly to the impact of factory farms on human health and environmental pollution. The authors emphasize that while this is similar to other countries, these concerns tend to dominate discussions in the literature on China.

As for the special case of dogs used for food, the literature explains that the major reason for dog consumption was widespread poverty in the 20th century. Later on, dog meat festivals stayed popular due to three main reasons: food safety concerns (being able to inspect the animal alive before buying), low awareness of animal sentience and welfare, and non-discrimination between dogs and other traditionally farmed animals (which is admittedly a less speciesist view).

Dog consumption nowadays is almost negligible, restricted to small communities and rare occasions. International pressure on dog meat consumption did have an effect on the reduction of this practice. However, because it was usually tackled without context, it contributed to a reductive understanding of China in the West, which the literature described as unfair and an imposition of Western values. Importantly, the decline of dog meat consumption was actually more due to domestic opposition than external criticism. Thus, the authors suggest that international advocacy groups focus on universal values to avoid imposing Western ones.

Charismatic Animals Offer Advocacy Opportunities

The literature emphasizes advocacy efforts in support of a few charismatic animals such as pandas. Because they’re highly appreciated by the general population and authorities, interventions aimed at reducing the suffering of such charismatic animals could be well received and helpful in familiarizing people with the concept of wild animals as individuals capable of suffering. The authors note that these interventions would need to be careful not to confuse the well-being of individuals with conservation, as they encountered a number of times in the literature.

This study, which hasn’t been peer-reviewed, only gives an overview of the academic discussions on the subject. As the authors assert, further research is needed to understand how organizations can best approach their work in China, what their relationship with Chinese authorities should be, the actual way in which animal advocacy is developing in China, and the ways in which concern for wild animals may be best advocated for in China. They suggest that interviews with scholars, animal advocates in the field, and other key stakeholders would be helpful in filling these gaps.

While this review doesn’t suggest direct actions for animal advocacy, the authors indicate a number of pathways towards greater consideration of animals in China:

• Building a social basis of animal consideration is an imperative
• Education is the strongest predictor of pro-animal attitudes
• Existing legislation should at least be first properly enforced
• Having companion animals or being in close contact with animals facilitates caring about all animals
• Advocacy should be constructed around Chinese philosophical traditions to work best
• Focusing on charismatic animals could be effective as well