Stray Animals in Beijing
While most of the world is caught up in all of the drama and feel good stories that the Olympics provide, there is a problem in Beijing that is being overlooked. In preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games, organizers tried to "clean up" the city, making it more appealing to visitors. This sounded like a good idea, until you learn of one of ways this was achieved. Officials thought that the stray cats who lived in the city would cause problems, and took methods to reduce their population. Reports are that local officials were sent out on the streets to kill these stray cats. They would receive money for reaching certain quotas.
I read a great article detailing this story on CNN.com. The focus is on China native Qin Xianona, who is going to great lengths to protect the stray cats of Beijing. She had a great quote, saying "People's attitude toward animals reflects their attitude toward fellow human beings." This couldn't be more true, and Beijing officials should be ashamed. It is one thing to make their city as presentable as possible for visitors, but to do so at the cost of helpless animals is simply disgusting. Hopefully, stories like these will surface during the games, and the next city to host the Olympics will learn from the mistakes made in Beijing.
To read more about this story, visit www.Cnn.com and search "Stray Cats Beijing".