The story, set in a near futuristic Japan, shows the rise and sudden decline and rejection of dogs after a strain
of dog flu threatens even humans and the dogs are sent from Megasaki City to a nearby «Trash Island.»
Such traditional medicinal practices, known to
threaten primate species as well as tigers and bears, also pose a shocking danger to wild
dogs: Half
of all known wild canid species, including two endangered ones, are harvested for use in folk treatments.According to the BBC, a team
of researchers led by Professor Romulo Alves
of the State University
of Paraiba in Brazil «found evidence that canids are used in the treatment
of at least 28 medical conditions, including asthma, arthritis, back ache, bronchial illnesses, chicken pox, eczema, epilepsy,
flu, kidney diseases, measles and mumps, as well as the treatment
of stomach complaints, snake bites, and warts.»