Newsletter No. 468

8 468 • 4.12.2015 ’ 口談實錄 Viva Voce 本刊由香港中文大學資訊處出版,每月出版兩期。截稿日期及稿例載於 www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/chinese/newsletter/ 。 The CUHK Newsletter is published by the Information Services Office, CUHK, on a fortnightly basis. Submission guidelines and deadlines can be found at www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/english/newsletter/ . 劉淑儀 Suki Lau • 文化管理課程二年級生 • 《香港動物報》特約記者 • Year 2 student in Cultural Management • Hong Kong Animal Post Reporter 請談談你在維護動物權益的義務工作 今年6月我前往廣西玉林狗肉節採訪後,網上媒體《香港動物 報》主動聯絡我,我就開始為他們寫稿,報道在狗肉節的所見 所聞,之後寫了一篇關於化妝品用動物做測試的文章〈血腥的 「美麗」〉,得到很大迴響,近期又訪問了區議會候選人對處 理流浪動物的看法。我也有一個叫「如果動物能說話」的社交 網頁,轉載本地和外國有關動物權益的新聞。 親身採訪廣西狗肉節,和預期有何不同? 親身到達現場,比單看照片全面得多。原來當地人會刻意隱瞞 屠狗的行為,大部分狗販會躲在幽暗的巷子裏屠狗,一些平日 販賣狗肉的店鋪,為了避開外國媒體的追訪,在狗肉節期間乾 脆關門不做生意。我拍了一張照片,攤子的招牌寫着出售牛肉、 豬肉、羊肉等,但最後一個「肉」字前面有個空格,空格裏還隱 約透出被人塗去的「狗」字。 你只帶了一位朋友出發,兩人都是女孩,可曾感到恐懼? 採訪時遇上十幾個保護動物的義工,有他們帶路,感覺相對安 全。後來我和我朋友離開了大隊,跟着兩名義工去他們在山上 收養狗隻的地方,突然有好幾個大漢前來爭執,在僻靜的山區 被包圍,沒有支援,天又快黑,那一刻我才真正感到害怕,幸好 最後沒有發生不愉快的事。 面對難受的場面,如何說服自己繼續採訪? 其實屠殺和販賣動物的場面每天都存在。我在香港街市肉檔 看到的,跟在玉林狗肉節看到的差不多,為甚麼人們可以接 受街市的動物被屠宰,但看見有人屠狗、吃狗肉就覺得殘忍? 我不希望自己的報道是在渲染個人對某種動物的特殊情感, 而是想將事實呈現出來,讓大家思考人類對待所有動物的 態度。 透過網路媒體推廣動物權益有何利弊? 我當初只打算拍攝一些關於狗肉節的記錄短片,剛巧碰到一班 香港記者,他們把我的經歷和聯絡方式上載到網絡新聞,回來 後馬上收到兩百多個短訊,讓我一下子認識很多在維護動物權 益方面志同道合,又有豐富經驗的人。當然也會收到一些批評: 理性的評論可讓我重新思考自己的立場,也聽聽別人怎麼想; 至於一些沒有理據的批評,我會選擇一笑置之。但大部分網上 的回應都頗正面,有些讀者看完我在《動物報》的文章後,說 以後只會挑選沒有用動物做測試的化妝品。 在校園感受到支持嗎? 我從廣西回來後,曾有一段時間很迷惘,不知道下一步該怎樣 走,幸好有教職員和同學主動給我意見和鼓勵,甚至提供協 助,有很多更是之前和我不太相熟的。我是素食者,中大差不 多每個飯堂都有素食選擇,但如有較為清淡的菜式,甚至開設 一間全素食餐廳就更理想了。 社會該如何保障動物的權益?人類又可以做些甚麼? 我認為社會越文明,人類理應更懂得尊重生命。現在的蔬果供 應充足,吃素也能果腹,不一定要為了口味上的滿足而屠宰動 物。科技的進步創造了很多新穎又環保的布料,冬天即使不穿 羽絨、毛衣或皮衣也可保暖,再說工廠大量拔取動物毛皮的手 法,往往令動物承受極大痛楚。至於娛樂方面,野生動物本該 擁有屬於他們的野外棲息地,而不是住在城市動物園的籠子裏 供人觀賞,或在主題公園表演讓人消遣。我社交網頁的名字是 「如果動物能說話」,就是希望大家想想,如果動物能用人類 的語言溝通,你會不會嘗試了解他們的感受,而不是一味想從 他們身上獲得好處? What do you do as a volunteer animal rights campaigner? After visiting Yulin in Guangxi in June, and having documented the annual Dog Meat Festival, I was approached by online media Hong Kong Animal Post . I began contributing articles as a volunteer reporter and wrote about my experience in Yulin, animal testing in the cosmetics industry, and reported the views of various District Council Election candidates on strays. I also share news on animal rights on my Facebook page ’If animals could talk’. What is the difference between your expectation and what you actually saw in Yulin? I was able to obtain a more comprehensive view in Yulin, which was quite different from the impression gathered by simply looking at photos online. I didn’t know that locals would try to hide dog-slaughtering and dog meat- selling activities from non-locals. Most of the dogs were slaughtered in back alleys while some restaurants serving dog meat were closed during the festival to avoid controversy. I took a photo of a meat stall sign with the word ’dog’ deliberately covered up with paint. The word ’meat’ was still visible, alongside ’beef’, ‘pork’ and ‘mutton’. You went with a female friend. Were you ever in a situation where you felt intimidated? Most of the time I felt relatively safe, as we were accompanied by more than 10 animal rights activists. Then towards the end of the day, we left the group to visit one of the volunteers’ dog shelter on a hill. All of a sudden, we found ourselves surrounded by a group of local men who started arguing with us. The sun was about to set and we were alone and isolated. I felt truly intimidated. Luckily, nothing bad happened. How did you convince yourself to continue filming when confronted with disturbing scenes? What I see at the meat stalls in Hong Kong is no different from what I witnessed at the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. What makes the slaughtering in Hong Kong wet markets more acceptable than dog-slaughtering in Yulin? I do not wish to indicate a preference towards a certain species in the documentary as I hope it would allow viewers to think about how human beings treat all kinds of animals. What are the pros and cons of advocating animal rights via social media? I ran into a group of Hong Kong reporters in Yulin who posted my experience on their news app. After returning to Hong Kong, I received more than 200 messages, some sent by very experienced animal rights activists. It was great connecting via social media with like-minded people. After reading my articles, some readers told me they would stop using animal tested cosmetics. I also received a few criticisms. It is always good to listen to different opinions. If I find certain criticisms irrational, I just shrug them off. Do you feel supported on campus? I was a bit confused after returning from Yulin. With hundreds of messages received overnight, I wasn’t sure what to do. I am very fortunate to have staff and classmates on campus who came to me and offered support. I didn’t even know some of them very well in the past. I am a vegetarian and almost every canteen at CUHK offers vegetarian dishes. It would be more ideal if we could have healthier and lighter choices, or even a vegetarian canteen. What can we do to protect animal rights? As we become more civilized, we should be more respectful of life in general. Nowadays, food, clothing and entertainment choices abound. Animal skin, fur, and feathers are no longer the only materials available to keep us warm. And with an abundance of agricultural products in developed countries, it’s no longer necessary to kill animals for food. As for entertainment, shouldn’t wild animals have the right to thrive in their natural habitats, instead of living in urban zoos or being forced to perform at theme parks? I named my Facebook page ’If animals could talk’ because I want people to ponder this: If animals could communicate in human languages, would we try to understand their feelings and needs, instead of always taking advantage of them? Photo by ISO staff

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