There is an old Chinese saying: “眼不见心为净” (Out of sight, out of mind). It is said to trace back to an era where street vendors flavored dried shrimp with urine—people knew, yet continued to eat because the taste outvalued the truth. This same mindset serves as a protective mechanism in the commodification of animals today.
In China’s hyper-B2C e-commerce landscape, this reaches another level: live pets can be shipped as standard parcels. Under “7-day unconditional return” and “death compensation” policies, living beings are treated just like any other product shopped online.
Driven by the question—“If those who buy animals are supposed to love them, why do they allow them to suffer in transit alongside tons of parcels?”—I attempt to unpack what is hidden beneath this selective blindness.