Animal Voices

The internet exploded earlier this year with outrage from Western vegans, animal lovers, and dog owners in response to the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival held in Yulin, China. Graphic images inflamed sensibilities and a conflict began to mount that was clearly producing racial tension between the (typically) white animal rights protestors and the people of China who practice a cultural tradition of eating dog meat. Defensive over claims of cruelty on one side and racism on the other, each group backed into their respective corners. This pattern of cross-cultural conflict is seen regularly within the animal rights movement and the charges of racism and imperialism are often well-founded. On this show we talk to Dr. Claire Jean Kim about these cross-cultural conflicts. Dr. Kim is a Professor of Political Science and Asian Studies at University of California, where she teaches classes on comparative race studies, social movements, and human-animal studies. Her book, Dangerous Crossings: Race, Species, and Nature i