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Animal protection in China. Philosophical and legal aspects
Organizations involved in the protection of animals have long indicated the need for changes in Chinese legislation, which, in their opinion, insufficiently protects the welfare of animals (both wild and farmed). This matter has recently been a subject of debate in China itself. Some Chinese scholars point out the negative aspects of the Chinese economic miracle, including the environmental degradation and bad situation and living conditions of livestock and wild animals. Postulates to improve the situation of animals, however, also have their opponents, and one of the more often cited critical arguments is the one about the “extraneousness” of the concept of animal rights and animal welfare in Chinese intellectual culture, and the imposing of “western values” on China.
In the article, I verify the above statement by analyzing the most important Chinese philosophical systems: Taoism, Confucianism and the Chinese type of Buddhism, as well as the Chinese communist thought, in terms of their positions regarding the obligation of humans towards animals. I also analyze changes in the contemporary approach to animal protection and animal welfare, based on the example of the amendment to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife.