Near many kindergartens and primary schools,
Vendors selling dyed chickens often appear.
There are still many children around the carton.
Shouted: "How cute!" "I want to buy it!"
Xiaobian can’t help but have doubts.
These lovely chickens
How can it be this color?
And little turtle.
How did it all become like this?
I don’t know if I don’t check,
A look startled …
"Mom, what happened to the little turtles? Why did their shells crack? They must be very painful. What should I do?" Xixi, 5, said sadly. Not long ago, Xixi just bought two little turtles that were ill. They were very ill and were about to die. However, the man who sold them to her said that the turtles with Hua Hudie on their shells were beautiful and healthy, and there would be no problem.Why did the tortoise get sick so soon? In fact, in many places where pet turtles are sold, you can see these turtles with beautiful patterns printed on their backs. Because of the bright colors and beautiful patterns, it is easier to attract people’s attention and children’s love. Many businesses have followed suit, but it is hard to imagine that these little turtles are suffering from the pain of life! There are many beautiful pets like this, such as chickens dyed in colorful colors, puppies dyed in pandas, sparrows dyed in parrots … These small animals are being harmed by toxins just like turtles! On July 5th and 6th, a reporter from Shanxi Evening News paid a visit, and some people called for the protection of animals to start from stopping buying and selling.
There are many small turtles dyed in the market.
Merchant: Dyeing does not affect health.
On July 5th, Shanxi Evening News reporter saw those two little turtles whose lives were in danger in Xixi’s home! There is still a smell of decay ten paces away from the turtle tank. Xixi’s mother, Ms. Chen, said that since the little turtle was ill, it would give off this smell. She specially bought turtle liquid to soak the sick turtle, but it didn’t help at all. The turtle was not good, and the pale yellow turtle liquid turned black soon after it was put into the turtle tank!
Approaching the turtle tank, the Shanxi Evening News reporter saw the two sick little turtles lying feebly at the bottom of the tank, their eyes tightly closed. Ms. Chen said that they have not eaten for two or three days! "A few days ago, I would take them out and feed them by hand. In the past two days, their back shells have cracked, and I dare not hold them by hand. The children are too scared to look at them." The Shanxi Evening News reporter saw that there was indeed a deep crack on the turtle’s back, which looked shocking, but the pattern of the butterfly on the turtle’s back was still bright and dazzling. Ms. Chen said that the merchant told her at the time that this pattern was non-toxic and harmless. I didn’t expect the tortoise to die so soon.
Subsequently, the Shanxi Evening News reporter came to a flower and bird and fish market in jiancaoping district, the provincial capital, to learn about the situation. In many shops selling turtles, the reporter saw that little turtles with patterns are very common, with bright colors and fashionable patterns. "How did you get these patterns?" Shanxi Evening News reporter asked. "Those are all made by laser and nano-new technology. It won’t fade or affect the turtle’s health. Don’t worry!" The shopkeeper who sells turtles said.
The reporter of Shanxi Evening News picked up a small turtle with Altman patterns printed on its back and observed that those patterns really seemed to grow on the turtle’s back, but the patterns were closely attached to the lines of the turtle’s shell and could not be erased by hand! The shopkeeper said, "I don’t believe it when I tell you it won’t fade. It lives in the water every day. If it fades, it will be gone long ago!" "
Later, the reporter visited several other stores and saw the same patterned turtle. The boss’s reply and rhetoric were mostly the same.
Merchants are flocking to it.
Dyed animals sell well in the market.
So, are there any colored animals like this? What is their health status?
At the school gate of a primary school in Taiyuan, the Shanxi Evening News reporter saw that many children were holding chickens with different colors and bright colors in their hands. A child told reporters that it was an uncle who was selling it, and it was 3 yuan each. Chickens have various colors and are particularly cute!
Under the guidance of the children, the Shanxi Evening News reporter found this booth selling chickens. As the children said, the chickens here can be said to be colorful. They are put in a big paper box, and they are furry, like a group of colorful hair balls. They are really cute from time to time.
The vendor who sells chickens said that the colors of these chickens are all dyed with hair dye, which is very safe. As the chickens grow up, these colors will naturally fade.
A little girl who bought chickens here three times told the Shanxi Evening News reporter: "These chickens are difficult to raise and always die in a few days." During the interview, the Shanxi Evening News reporter also found that many of these dyed pets sell more online and in physical stores than ordinary pets. For example, there is a parrot fish with plum blossoms. In fact, the plum blossoms on its body are colored by artificial laser. This kind of fish depends on drugs to maintain its life in the hands of merchants, otherwise it will die soon. There are also very common dyed puppies, whose ears and tails are often dyed with bright colors, which look very cute, but many dogs also suffer from skin diseases and are in pain.
Animals are good friends of human beings.
Please don’t hurt if you don’t love.
What harm do these dyes do to animals?
On this issue, Shanxi Evening News reporter interviewed Dr. Zhang Meiling from Taiyuan Shengyuan Pet Hospital. Zhang Meiling said that she had seen many dyed turtles suffer from onychomycosis. This disease will cause the little turtle to stop growing, its shell will rot, and in severe cases, it will die soon. I have also seen those dyed parrots, whose skin will be poisoned, and then their hair will fall off and they will stop eating.
Zhang Meiling said that these dyed animals, which the merchants said would not affect their health, were actually rhetoric. In fact, dyeing did great harm to animals. For example, most of the patterns on the turtle’s back are printed with paint and oil, which is difficult to remove. Only when the turtle changes its shell will it fall off. However, the tortoise can grow only by breathing, and the shell of the tortoise is sealed with paint. The tortoise is already sick before it grows to change its shell. There are also chickens that have been dyed. Because the dye is cheap, the toxins invade through the hair, and the young chickens can’t resist these toxins, and their lives are greatly threatened.
There are also some owners of puppies. In order to make the puppies look more lovely, they take them to the barber shop to dye the puppies. But dogs and people are different. Puppies often lick their hair, and the toxicity of these pigments is often licked by puppies, which will lead to poisoning after a long time. "I once saw the most serious puppy, because it was often dyed around the eyes, which led to the blindness of one eye of the puppy. The owner regretted it afterwards, but it was too late." Zhang Meiling said regretfully.
The reason why merchants dye animals is to attract customers’ attention and to raise the price of animals. The price of an ordinary Brazilian tortoise is usually around 3 yuan, but the price can be increased several times after it is dyed with the pattern of Piggy Peggy, and a Brazilian tortoise can be sold to one in 10 yuan. Similarly, an ordinary chicken costs only 1 yuan, but after dyeing, it can be sold to 3 yuan and 5 yuan. Merchants rely on this means to make huge profits, but let small animals bear the unbearable pain of life.
"Animals are good friends of human beings. Please don’t hurt if you don’t love them." Zhang Meiling said that the best way to resist this kind of harm is for consumers to stop buying. As the saying goes, there is no harm without buying and selling. As long as consumers understand that such pets are extremely expensive and difficult to survive, they will not buy them again. Without a market, naturally there will be no businesses to continue to do so.
Written by Yao Jia, an all-media reporter from Shanxi Evening News.
Intern Yuan Yanan
Editor: Yan Ting, all-media editor of Shanxi Evening News
