<B>By Deepa BHOOKHUN</B>

Oh poor little doggies that are being eaten by the horrible Chinese people!

Don?t be fooled by my tone because I am not being sarcastic.

I feel for those dogs that are being mercilessly chased and beaten up and killed just to satisfy some people?s whims.

Whims, huh? Do we agree on the word? Because killing nice, friendly, beautiful dogs just to satisfy some selfish want, is tantamount to being capricious, huh?

Great. I?m glad that we agree.

Then my question is- why do you feel sorry for dogs and don?t feel sorry for chicken, for sheep, for cows, for fish, for pigs that are being massacred on a daily basis just to feed you?

I can guess the answer- most of you have dogs and you have developed an emotional relationship with them. And when you love someone, it?s horrible to think that others could be cruel to the extent of hunting that person down, hurting them and killing them, isn?t it?

And I?m sure the same goes for your pets. I know people who have owned a pet and loved them so much that when the animal has died, they were so upset; they refused to adopt another one because the thought of loving an animal again is just too painful.

So we agree that the relationship between humans and animals is comparable, huh?

Then how do you explain that people are horrified when dogs are killed for their meat but the same people will readily and gluttonously eat foie gras (among other things) when offered?

In case you?re naively wondering why I am talking about foie gras, you might be interested to know that male ducks and geese are force-fed enormous amounts of food so that their livers become grotesquely enlarged. Many birds die in the process but those that don?t are then killed, so that you may satisfy your taste buds and your snobbishness.

So that?s ok but eating dog meat, isn?t?

Come off it. This whole affair stinks of hypocrisy. Animal rights organizations have protested against the cruelty to which those poor dogs have been subjected to. Great, I say. But does animal only mean dog, I wonder?

I have never once heard those supposedly good doers and animal lovers protest against the cruelty other animals are subjected to, on a daily basis. The birds who survive the force-What about those cows, those pigs, those chicken that are slaughtered everyday so that you and the so-called animal lovers can be fed? How many times have you driven past those disgusting vans on the highway, carrying animals tied together at the back, animals who know as surely as you do that they are heading to the slaughterhouse?

Animals who shed tears just before they are about to be murdered.

Yes those poor dogs must have been petrified indeed and they must have suffered tremendously, bless them.

But let?s do those poor animals a favour and stopped being so hypocritical about this whole dog meat issue.