Reading recently about donkey meat I came across disturbing 'reports' that there is a practice in China called huo jia lü (活家驢). A donkey is tethered on the ground, a patch of hair is removed, slices of meat are cut from the live animal's body, and then eaten. All the while of course, the poor animal lies braying in agony. See these sites (you'll need to scroll down): The 6 Most Sadistic Dishes From Around The World, Top 10 Foods From Around The World You Could Not Pay Me Enough Money To Eat
A horrendous story, but is it true?
There is nothing on either of these sites to indicate anything more than the regurgitation of sensational rumours – no credible source, or eyewitness reports. Of the two photos, one shows a donkey tethered on the ground, and nothing more; the other shows clearly a donkey being slaughtered; hardly evidence of slicing meat from live donkeys.
This article, Recipes for cruelty, appears somewhat more credible as it at least sources its claim. That source, Shanghai 'gastronome' Jiang Liyang, says the practice, "still persists among farmers in some villages in Henan and Hebei provinces. The legs and head of a donkey were held by cords fixed to five poles. The diners could choose meat from whichever part of the donkey they wanted. A butcher would pour boiling water onto the part selected, remove the hair and cut the meat off while the donkey was still alive. The process was similar to an ancient torture called "ling chi", to put a person to death by slow dismemberment."
But again, where is the evidence? And, even in the event that the taste of these farmers of Henan and Hebei runs to such exotica, they must surely be wealthy if they can afford to waste a valuable work animal. Even if old and unable to work, a donkey would fetch good money if sold to a butcher.
I put the question to the UK-based The Donkey Sanctuary, which promotes donkey welfare in many countries including China. They are an organisation you would expect to have a built-in highly sensitive radar for this kind of misbehaviour, but they have never seen or heard of such a practice.
And with that, I would like to be able to file this story in the urban myth category, but in the interest of truth let's cast the net wider: has anybody seen or heard of people eating meat sliced from a live donkey in China? Post a comment or email me: stephen.jack at me.com
* Ling chi (凌遲) is also known as 'death of a thousand cuts.'
