The week isn’t turning out to be a great one on the Pack News Wire – in terms of news from the animal-welfare front.

IN CHINA: The New York Times reports protections for animals are still far down the road in China, where torturing animals is commonplace and the government looks the other way – entirely. The No. 2 economy on the planet gets a huge F in caring for animals.

The China Animal Protection Law, proposed in 2009, is gathering dust on a shelf somewhere.

The NY Times blog post linked above details the horrible dog trade, where they are tortured – stuffed into small cages without food for water for days on the back of trucks, before being thrown off the trucks and beaten to death. The people who engage in this practice are part of an evil club that includes poachers, dog fighters, bear bile farmers, puppy mill operators and anyone who tortures animals for profit or entertainment. Members of Club Evil also include individuals who abuse kids.

How anyone can be this evil is beyond comprehension. As is the case in other countries, I’m sure the majority of the people of China do not support the abuse of animals. But the government seems hell-bent on allowing the suffering to go on.

INTERNATIONAL: At an international summit held in Bangkok, a proposal to grant more protections for polar bears was rejected. This happened at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

The United States and Russia supported a ban on the cross-boarder sale of the body parts of killed polar bears But the Brandon Sun reports Canada, the European Union and Norway opposed the ban. What the hell is wrong with the Canadian government? Why do we keep reading where elected officials there reject protections for animals?

It’s Canada, a country that largely seems to stay out of trouble. But for some reason, the government wants to take its frustrations out on animals. I don’t get it.

EUROPE: The Ivory trade is booming online in Europe, as completely uneducated people continue to buy ivory products. One question: If they have the Internet, can’t they do a bit of research on the horrors inflicted on the elephants? If they’re smart enough to figure out how to buy something on the Web, why are these people so otherwise brainless?

The latest report was released Wednesday by INTERPOL and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The IFAW states ivory is most widely traded wildlife product on the Internet.

MISSOURI: And back home here in the United States, we still have a long way to go as well. I found a letter to the editor on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website from Wednesday that reports the Missouri State House slipped in a bill amendment that prevents citizens from petitioning for ballot initiatives for animal welfare measures.

Bob Baker , the executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation wrote the letter and in it noted the state’s  cockfighting prohibition was enacted into through a ballot initiative.