How Popular Is The Dog Meat Trade
The dog meat trade is wildly unpopular throughout Asia, with more than 80 percent of South Korean citizens saying they will not eat dog meat in the future and nearly 75 percent of Chinese citizens supporting the recent ban on dog meat in Shenzhen.
Activists throughout Asia have been working to shut down the cruel trade for years, and with the recent coronavirus-related developments, it seems more achievable now than ever.
Lady Freethinker encourages and supports the brave local activists and rescuers working to save dogs in their communities. Those on the ground are the true heroes to the animals suffering in the meat trade.
Do Chinese People Eat Cats
omg not being mean to just u but holy crap im so fricken sick of that judgement i have heard enough of it at school ok no most do not but i heard my mom say that people ate dogs only the ones breed for food and thats rarely only in the very poor places and definitely NOT cats i love them to death and wouldnt ever eat them gross ok and you shouldnt always believe what u hear thats what i hate about most americans u hear something and u automatically think its true so if i spread a rumor around saying that whites eat cow **** and kill fat people IDK will u believe me and no its only illegal in america i think?
The Chinese are not the only people to eat dog or cat. While living in Italy I ate meat sauce made from dog and it was quite good tasting. Some countries do it for economical reasons, others cultural. Personally I don’t see the difference in that and some Americans eating turtle or squirrel. Maybe they just like it!!
They are domestic animals? So are cows and sheep and pigs.Do you instead mean they are pets?In your culture maybe. Don’t apply your culture to others.”poor little cats and dogs” is a perfect example of emotional discrimination. Give me one example of how eating dogs is different from eating cows.That said, very few Chinese eat cat. Dog is more popular.
I’m sure some do. Dogs are more common to hear about than cats though. I don’t like it either but I just prefer not to think about it.
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Most of the dog meat stalls and vendors had moved to the outskirts of the city. A recent government crackdown had also made it difficult for traders to transport dogs from outside the province.
There have been longer-term changes in the city as well. In recent years, the city has seen an influx of younger, middle-class Chinese who are less defensive than the older generation about the local dog meat eating tradition. Grooming shops and pet clinics have begun to pop up alongside new wine bars and steak restaurants.
Peoples lives have improved, said Tang Laixi, who opened a two-story pet-themed restaurant and grooming business in Yulin in 2017. Since last year, Tang said he had noticed an increase in the number of pet dogs particularly poodles, golden retrievers and Border collies in the city.
Having a pet keeps you in a good mood, he said.
Bella Huang contributed reporting.
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Shenzhen Becomes First Chinese City To Ban Dog And Cat Meat
Shenzhen is now the first city in China to ban the consumption of dog and cat meat.
According to the Humane Society International , the law, which was proposed last February, comes into effect on May 1. Dog and cat meat will no longer be allowed to be sold at restaurants as well as live markets. The new legislation also includes a permanent ban on the consumption, breeding, and sale of wildlifeincluding snakes, lizards, and other wild animalsfor human consumption.
Announcing the ban, a spokesperson for the Shenzhen government said: dogs and cats as pets have established a much closer relationship with humans than all other animals, and banning the consumption of dogs and cats and other pets is a common practice in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan. This ban also responds to the demand and spirit of human civilization.
The ban also clarifies which animal meat may be eaten: pig, cattle, sheep, rabbit, and chicken.
Dr. Peter Li, China policy specialist for HSI spoke to the bans significance: With Shenzhen taking the historic decision to become mainland Chinas first city to ban dog and cat meat consumption, this really could be a watershed moment in efforts to end this brutal trade that kills an estimated 10 million dogs and 4 million cats in China every year.
Is the dog meat trade coming to an end? | HSI
The Day My Dog Was Cooked For Dinner
Hong Kong correspondent, BBC News
This week about 10,000 dogs and a number of cats were killed at an annual dog-meat festival in south-western China, to celebrate the longest day of the year. For the BBC’s Juliana Liu it was a reminder of one of the most traumatic days of her childhood, in the Chinese city of Changsha.
When I was three years old, after months of begging, my parents finally gave in to my pleas for a puppy.
The day that my uncle, a lorry driver, brought me a fuzzy yellow mongrel from my grandmother’s mountainous, faraway home was the happiest of my young life.
I named him “Doggie”, and we immediately became inseparable.
As an only child born in 1979 at the beginning of China’s one-child policy, I had always been alone, and Doggie became my best friend. He loved running around outside our one-room flat, gobbling up left-over rice and snuggling near the coal fire.
But these halcyon days did not last. After just one winter, my parents told me Doggie had to go.
In Chinese cities in the early 1980s owning a pet was considered highly undesirable, bourgeois behaviour. None of my neighbours had one. It was also not entirely legal. There was no access to animal vaccines or vets, so pets could pose a public health risk.
One day, my mother announced we were going shopping – and when we returned a few hours later Doggie was no more. He had been strung up by the legs in our communal yard, and was soon turned into a stew, complete with herbs and hard-boiled eggs.
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In Fight To Ban Dog Meat Chinas Activists Find An Ally In The Coronavirus
For years, animal rights activists in China have lobbied policymakers, organized education drives and staged protests to persuade the government and the public to support banning the eating of dogs and cats. They scored few concrete wins.
The coronavirus, which spread from a food market in China, changed everything.
After the national government suspended the sale of wildlife in February, the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai became the first in the country to ban the consumption of cats and dogs. Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture, in a major step, removed dogs from its list of approved domesticated livestock, referring to dogs for the first time as companion animals.
Even in the southern Chinese city of Yulin, a dog meat festival that has long courted controversy opened on Sunday to less fanfare than in past years, as fears of the virus kept revelers away.
We have been working on this issue for years, but the government kept passing the buck, said Cynthia Zhang, a Guangzhou-based animal welfare activist. So we are using the epidemic as an opportunity to try to push through as much legislation as possible.
It is long-fought validation for a loose but fast growing network of local animal welfare activists.
It remains to be seen how the new guidelines will be enforced. China still lacks national laws banning animal cruelty and the consumption of dogs and cats all of which activists say are crucial to fully eliminating the practice.
Saving Dogs From Korean Dog Meat Trade
In the searing heat of the brutal Boknal Dog Eating Days, Lady Freethinker founder Nina Jackel traveled to Gimpo, South Korea to support LFT partner Save Korean Dogs in their work rescuing dogs from slaughter.
Seeing the animals sweet faces at the rescue shelter brought her to tears of both sorrow and hope. These gentle pups had barely escaped the butchers noose. They were so traumatized that they cowered in fear if you raised your hand. But they were still so loyal, after all theyd been through.
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Bus And Taxi Ads In South Korea
To raise awareness of the dog meat industry in Korea, Lady Freethinker sponsered 20 taxi ads, in conjunction with LFT partner Save Korean Dogs, in the city of Paju with a clear message: dogs are not food, but family.
At the end of 2018, LFT sponsored two bus ads in the city of Gimpo, nicknamed The Valley of Dog Meat in South Korea, also in partnership with Save Korean Dogs. LFT;extended the bus ad campaign;through the end of 2020 because of positive responses to the ads, which read dogs are not food, but family and please do not eat me.
Chinas History Of Dog
Dogs have been a part of Chinese households for at least 7,000 years, archaeologists say. The mythological ruler Fu Xi was said to have domesticated six wild animals: the pig, ox, goat, horse, fowl and dog, indicating that dogs were often kept even in ancient times.
Records show that back then dogs were kept mainly to assist with hunting. As the Chinese people became more engaged with agriculture, the dogs role as hunter became less important but it was not cast aside. Its loyalty to its owner made it valued for its role as a guard.
Those who advocate the eating of dog maintain it is a Chinese tradition, claiming that historical documents tell of dog butchers who specialised in preparing the meat. Others quote from works by founder of the Han dynasty Liu Bang and Qing dynasty painter Zheng Banqiao as proof that the Chinese have always enjoyed dog meat but this is not enough to prove it is a tradition or custom.
The San Zi Jing, a text used to teach children since the 13th century, describes dog as one of the six animals raised by people. This is generally taken to mean that these animals were a source of meat. But as agriculture developed and eating habits changed cows, sheep, chickens and pigs became the main sources of meat for Chinese people. Dogs gradually stopped being used as food and the reasons behind this are complex.
People came up with a dog-meat and lychees tradition to attract tourists and investment
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Wet markets are locations where live animals are sold and butchered for meat, with the understanding being the sites allow viruses to cross between species in the cramped conditions before jumping to humans.
Lawmakers in Shenzhen have passed Chinas first ruling to ban the sale of meat from cats and dogs – which will come into effect on May 1.
It also bars other animals from consumption such as snakes, frogs and turtles.
Animal rights campaigners have long demanded the government ban cat and dog meat.
Activists have now hailed the historic decision which they hope will pave the way for a nationwide ban.
The annual Yulin dog meat festival in China sees thousands of pooches cruelly killed and skinned before being eaten.
Yulin is 300 miles from Shenzhen, but campaigners hope a precedent will be set following this new law.
Dr Peter Li, from the Humane Society International , said: With Shenzhen taking the historic decision to become mainland China’s first city to ban dog and cat meat consumption, this really could be a watershed moment in efforts to end this brutal trade that kills an estimated 10 million dogs and 4 million cats in China every year.”
He added: The majority of these companion animals are stolen from people’s backyards or snatched from the streets, and are spirited away on the backs of trucks to be beaten to death in slaughterhouses and restaurants across China.
Dogs, cats and the other animals are included to further satisfy the daily needs of the people.
Inside The Cat And Dog Meat Market In China
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Chinese government is considering legislation that would ban eating cats and dogs
- Cat meat can be found on menus in China, Vietnam, parts of South America
- Ban on eating dog, cat meat part of a larger proposal to toughen animal welfare laws
- Dog and cat meat has become more difficult to find in anticipation of the new ban
Guangzhou, China — Dogs bark and whine behind high chain-link fences, some of them gnawing the wire so hard they bleed at the mouths while cats packed into crowded cages cower in fear if anyone approaches.
This isn’t a pet store — it’s a meat market in Guangzhou, a city in southern China where eating cats and dogs is common practice.
At the Han River Dog Meat Restaurant in central Guangzhou, diners can choose from a long list of menu items, including dog soup, dog steak, dog with tofu and more. In the kitchen, the chef chops up meat for dog hot pot, one of the more popular dishes. Most customers like it spicy.
“Dog meat is good for your health and metabolism,” explains Li, the hostess who declined to give her first name. “In the summer it helps you sweat.”
But these local restaurants may have to find a new specialty. The Chinese government is considering legislation that would make eating cats and dogs illegal.
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Eating dog meat is a long-standing culinary tradition not just in China, but also Korea. Cat meat can be found on the menu in China, Vietnam and even parts of South America.
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Attitudes To Dog And Cat Meat In China
All year round, Animals Asia is fighting the dog and cat abuse. And our approach is working. After many years of high-profile public awareness campaigns about the cruelty, criminality, and health risks with dog and cat meat, people in China are increasingly turning their backs on it. Even Chinese authorities are disassociating themselves with the trade and preventing restaurants from advertising dog meat.
As dog and cat companionship becomes more common, there are more and more people, particularly the younger generation, turning their backs on this cruelty. In 2016, nine million people in China signed an online vote for proposed legislation to end cat and dog meat eating.
Not only that, but there are now over 150 grassroots groups in China responsible for numerous dog and cat rescues every year. A decade ago, there was only one grassroots animal activist group.
Chinese People Are Maths Wizzards
Weve already mentioned the role of Hollywood in reinforcing Chinese cultural stereotypes. How? By casting Chinese actors as glasses wearing nerds and mathematic geniuses.
This stereotype is likely to be driven by our belief that the Chinese Communist authorities have engineered a society in which creativity is stamped out, coupled with our exposure to some truly exceptional students choosing to study at some of the top academic institutes in the West.
Photo by Kirill Sharkovski shows Chairman Mao. Politics and networks are both important to understand in Chinese society.
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About The Dog & Cat Meat Trade In Asia
It’s estimated that in China alone,10 million dogs and 4 million cats, are slaughtered for their meat each year.
Dog and cat eating in China is nowhere near as commonplace or widespread as it is often made out to be. But nevertheless, it’s still a huge cause for concern due to the tortuous transport and inhumane slaughter methods suffered by these each and every one of these innocent dogs and cats.
Dogs and cats of all shapes and sizes, many of them family pets still wearing their collars, are snatched from the streets and forced into tiny cages. Many suffer broken limbs as they are transported vast distances, without food or water, to meat markets.
You can help end this horror. A gift from you today could help Asia’s most desperate animals from unimaginable abuse. Will you help?
The Valley Of Dog Meat
In a groundbreaking investigation, Lady Freethinker teamed up with Save Korean Dogs to capture the first known footage of a cruel dog meat farm run by South Koreas Dog Farmers Association. Located in Gimpo, an area known as the Valley of Dog Meat, the commercial, factory-style farm is fully legal, but operating behind closed doors; until now.
LFTs footage reveals;row after row of filthy, rusted metal cages holding up to 1,000 dogs doomed for slaughter. The farmland property was well hidden behind metal walls and decaying tarps. The conditions were deplorable a literal hell on earth for the captive dogs.
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The Stereotypes We Perpetuate
It is the stories that we listen to and tell that shape our perspective of a country. In my career as a Chinese food writer, Iâve consistently been bombarded with the dog-eating question. Itâs widely used as an ad hominem attack against Chinese people as a whole.
The conversations surrounding dog-eating are so loud and so impassioned that they have managed to stereotype an entire countryâs citizens, who account for roughly 20 percent of the world’s population.
Some Ecuadorians eat guinea pigs. Some Scandinavians consume reindeer and moose. Some Americans and Canadians eat bear. These unconventional proteins are not at the center of the culinary conversations of these respective cultures. Certainly not for latter three, at the very least.
People have a tendency to see Chinese people as a monolithic mass.
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Many people have a tendency to see Chinese people as a monolithic mass, and the problem of obsessing over this fear-mongering topic are the stereotypes that result.
It is also not up to the West to be a moral compass for the East. Yes, animal cruelty is an undeniable issue that goes hand-in-hand with dog consumption. Because of the lack of oversight and regulation, many dogs are kidnapped and slaughtered in horrendous conditions.
But ponder the living conditions of meat animals in the West, who undergo just as egregious conditions.
So to everyone asking about Chinese people eating dog: