After the dogs, the yaks

Photo: www.medex.org.uk/kangchenjunga_98.htm

China Plans a Rare-Animal Hunt [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/world/asia/10china.html]

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Reuters) — China plans to auction licenses to foreigners to hunt wild animals, including rare species, a newspaper said on Wednesday.

The government will auction the licenses based on the numbers in each category of animal, ranging from a starting price of $200 for a wolf, the only predator on the list, to as much as $40,000 for a yak, The Beijing Youth Daily said. There are believed to be fewer than 10,000 mature wild yak in the world.

The newspaper said the auction, on Sunday in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, would be a first for China.

What's wrong with these guys anyway? Why are they so callous about killing animals? From the N.Y. Times article (see link above), this comment [regarding the recent dogs killing campaign] answers my questions:

Some drew comparisons with China’s human rights situation. “We don’t have human rights, let alone dog rights,” wrote a commentator going by the name of Kui Kui Xiang Ri, on the Tianya forum. “I’ve seen too much live abuse, let alone abuse of dogs. Anyway, it’s the local emperors who have their say, and we ordinary folks are not much different from dogs in their eyes.”