Love or eat felines?

Can a society's worth, among other things, be judged by how it treats its animals?

At least pet lovers think so. That explains why an online photo that showed a girl kicking a cat to death outraged many Internet users. A protest by some 40 pet lovers outside the Guangdong office in Beijing on Thursday against the killing of cats for food, too, sends the same message.

The fact is there are no legal codes that prohibit people from killing animals such as cats and dogs for consumption. But many traditionally believe that both are man's friends. And it is immoral to butcher your friends and eat them.