Don’t Hurt Friends
If there were no animals, could humanity live alone? If humanity does not care about the dignity of animals, how can we respect the dignity of our fellow human beings?
By guest reporter Zhu Xi
THE MOON BEAR GRAVEYARD
Sprouting tender buds, green grass covers one small soil mound after another. On top of the soil mounds are simple garlands, indicating that someone has come to see them. In front of every soil mound is a cross, and in front of every cross is a round-topped stone. On each tombstone is a name, together with dates of birth and death. However, in the position marking the birth date, the date has been substituted by a question mark. This is a graveyard, home to one hundred Asiatic black bears, or moon bears, that have died in the Chengdu Moon Bear Rescue Center founded by the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF). Nearby is the center's bear garden. There, 177 bears remain with the AAF workers taking good care of them. "Frankly speaking, we care for them till they pass."
Zhang Xiaohai, director for external affairs for the AAF China Region, speaks of the graveyard in a sad, regretful tone. "I started encountering bears because of my work. However, as time went on, I have felt they are just like any children. They know how to play a trick, show off and feel awkward when making a mistake."
Zhang Xiaohai has worked at the Chengdu Moon Bear Rescue Center for eight years. The center, built in 2000, has adopted 277 moon bears rescued from different bear farms throughout China that used to extract gallbladder bile from live bears. However, in light of the vast bear farming industry, such rescues have proven inadequate. Originally, the foundation and its base were not well known. However, in early 2011, Yu Jichun, the producer of The Nature Code on Yunnan TV, brought this special moon bear protection agency to light in a micro-blog.
In the micro-blog, Yu Jichun revealed a bear product enterprise based in Fujian Province that was seeking to go public. "The proceeds from the listing will be used to fund two projects that will turn out 4,000 kg of bear bile powder and maintain an inventory of 1,200 moon bears a year. The provincial regulators have reviewed and approved the listing application. If this enterprise really does go public, it will prove this year is the doomsday for Asian moon bears." His micro-blog quickly spread on the Internet. "After this matter came to light, we felt we should make an active response." The AAF sent a letter to the local securities regulatory administration, opposing the listing of the bear farm, and underscoring the various risks of the industry for sustainability. Before this, even though the AAF used to oppose the bear farming industry, it had never targeted any particular enterprise or bear farm.
The practice of extracting live bear bile originated in North Korea but has quickly grown in China. It is still a practice permitted by Chinese law, but public appeal to ban the practice is gaining momentum.
PROTECTING SHARKS
Like the ban on bear bile, another event has gained a large number of followers. Jim Zhang (Zhang Xingsheng), managing director of the Nature Conservancy (TNC) North Asia Region, has appealed on his micro-blog to the National People's Congress to ban all shark fin trade through legislation.
After Zhang's micro-blog post was published, his friend Mr. Pan Shiyi, chairman and co-founder of SOHO China, immediately re-tweeted it, inviting the public to observe that he would no longer eat shark fin. When he re-tweeted the micro-blog post, Mr. Wang Shi, chairman of China Vanke Co., Ltd., expressed his "strong support"; Mr. Ren Zhiqiang, chairman of Huayuan Property, said he no longer ate shark fin since signing an initiative with Jim Zhang three years ago that advocated protecting sharks and refusing to eat shark fin.
Zhang was formerly the executive vice president of Ericsson China Region and president of AsiaInfo. Now, he has been working for more than a year as the managing director of TNC North Asia Region. Currently, he is leading a high profile life, participating frequently in forums and events, and arranging more time for media interviews. In 2010, he even persuaded Jack Ma (Ma Yun), the founder of Alibaba Group and who is zealous about philanthropy, to join TNC, becoming the first Chinese director of the global board of directors for the organization.
Choosing this time to lobby the elite to refuse to eat shark fin and launch an ecosystem protection initiative, Zhang has very practical considerations: "First, shark fin is only a vanity. It does nothing for one's health, and can even harm it. The consumption of shark fin has given rise to corruption to a large extent, so there should be no dispute at all in refusing it. Second, the public has become relatively mature about the concept of saying no to shark fin, so public support is very high. Third, the advantages of speed and breadth are unparalleled when it comes to communicating via micro-blogging and the platform is becoming stronger and stronger. This also allows the public a chance to play a part in constructing a harmonious China."
In April 2009, Wang Shi, Feng Lun, chairman of Vantone Holdings Co., Ltd., Liu Chuanzhi, chairman and president of Legend Holdings Ltd., Jack Ma, Niu Gensheng, founder of China Mengniu Dairy Co., Ltd., and other members of the China Entrepreneur Club joined hands with WildAid U.S. to launch a public initiative declaring the refusal to eat shark fin on behalf of 140 entrepreneurs. Avoiding controversies and choosing a low-risk topic in which entrepreneurs and the elite class would be more willing to participate was a tactical consideration of Jim Zhang when he first advocated the refusal to eat shark fin.
If the elite class changes their concept of consumption, what will this bring? Within only 13 days of Zhang's launch of the voting campaign on his micro-blog, 27,000 netizens or a support rate of 98% had agreed to stand by his initiative. In his offline activities, Jim Zhang persuaded the Hong Kong Jockey Club to stop offering shark fin entries at its clubs in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Another prominent figure who sets a positive example for society is Yao Ming, who brought the concept of "refusing to eat shark fin" to China in 2006. As one of the spokespersons for WildAid U.S., he starred in a philanthropic advertisement advocating the protection of sharks. "No trade, no killing" Yao says in the advertisement. In the picture, he leads the well-dressed business elite in refusing shark fin dishes set before them.
During a phone interview at his home in Houston, Yao Ming described the process of the sharks' extinction with the word "cancer". "Every year, hundreds of millions of sharks are killed. If this is not stopped, they will eventually be wiped out. The process is not as quick or as horrible as portrayed in a disaster movie, so it doesn't even draw people's attention. However, in the end it will be an irreversible tragedy."
DON'T HURT FRIENDS
Beyond existing concepts of luxury consumption, Jim Zhang and his counterparts will have to resist another enemy; a shifting industry. In March 2009, the U.S. appealed to the Canadian government to stop hunting seals, and simultaneously appealed to the EU, asking that it make a powerful trade ban on seal products. In August 2009, the EU formally announced that its 27 member states would adopt a trade ban on seal products. France First Lady Carla Bruni and the U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama committed to not using fur products in order to protest the annual hunt and skinning of young seals in Canada.
After the European and American markets for sealskins shrank, Gail Shea, Canada's former Fisheries Minister, led a delegation to China in early 2011, indicating that Canadian fur producers wanted to grow their business in China. In an interview with Canadian media, Shea said, "…The Chinese market holds great potential for the Canadian seal industry." She indicated that the deal with China could help offset losses that have resulted from a European Union ban on imported seal products. She also claimed she never encountered protests by animal right advocates protesting Canada's seal products during her stay in China.
It is for reasons like this that Jim Zhang, Jack Ma, Zhang Xiaohai and their fellows still face a tough reality. Shark fin is not an isolated case where protected animals have been sacrificed. China has a huge black market in ivory and rhinoceros horn. In 2011, Guangzhou customs alone investigated 141 cases involving the smuggling of endangered animals, and confiscated 8,240 endangered animals and their products, including ivory.
