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THE DOG CAT MEAT TRADE
The Dog and Cat Meat Trade takes place throughout SE Asia on a daily basis where people abuse and torture animals for consumption.
The largest DCMT nations are China, S. Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand (through Illegal dog smuglling)
Many countries have underground dog meat markets including Switzerland, USA and Canada
The Dog Cat Meat Trade - DCMT- is the most important animal welfare issue across the
Asia Pacific
It takes the lives of an estimated 30 million dogs and 10 million cats every year.
To learn more about this issue
Please visit the Stop Yulin Podcast on YouTube
CHINA
China is home to the largest dog meat trade in the world. Estimates for total dog slaughter range from 10 to 20 million dogs annually, for purposes of human consumption for food and in the production of dog leather, a bi-prouduct of the trade.
The eating of dog meat in China dates back to around 500 BCE, and possibly even earlier. It has been suggested that wolves in southern China may have been domesticated as a source of meat. Mencius (372–289 BCE) talked about dog meat as being an edible, dietary meat. It was reported in the early 2000s that the meat was thought to have medicinal properties, such as increasing virility in men, warding off evil and and had been popular in northern China during the winter, as it was believed to raise body temperature after consumption and promote warmth.
The following video is a brief summary of the Dog Meat Trade by Livekindly
WARNING- The following video depicts graphic footage- viewer discretion is advised
CHINA - A dichotomy from its roots in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism philosophy
In modern times, the extent of dog consumption in China varies by region. It is most prevalent in Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi, as well as the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. It is reportedly common to find dog meat served in restaurants across mainland China.
Since 2009, Yulin, Guangxi, has held an annual festival of eating dog meat (purportedly a celebration of the summer solstice). In 2014, the municipal government published a statement distancing itself from the festival, saying it was not a cultural tradition, but rather a commercial event held by restaurants and the public.
The Covid-19 global pandemic gave way to many changes, the most notable being that on April 4th 2020, China's Ministry of Agriculture set a directive that dogs were explicitly removed from the country's livestock catalog and on May 1st 2020, the city of Shenzhen, soon followed by Zhuhai and Laixi, enacted an outright ban on both the sale & consumption of dog meat.
WARNING- The following video depicts extreme violent graphic footage- viewer discretion is advised
SOUTH KOREA
S. Korea is the only country in the world that systematically breeds and farms dogs for their meat at an industrial level. There are an estimated 20,000 dog meat farms in S. Korea, from the very large factory style farms to the smaller backyard breeder farms.
The conditions for dogs on these farms is appalling, with dogs forced to live in wire cages with no flooring, causing deformation and painful ulcers on their paws; They are exposed to the elements 365 days a year - subject to the winter's freezing temperatures and the suffocating heat in the summer.
Dogs are fed food waste from local city composting services and often die of disease and illness prior to slaughter at 9-10 months old when the dog is considered to have reached its full size. It is common to find frozen dead dogs on farms that end up recycled into food mix for the other dogs.
Smaller farms, "rogue farms'' is where dogs suffer the most due to the misguided belief that the more torture is inflicted on the dog prior to slaughter, the better tasting, more virtuous its meat will be.
The Korean Dog Meat Expose film below captures footage from the most in-depth undercover investigation of the dog meat farms in S. Korea. The film was directed by James Hyams and AJ Garcia.
VIETNAM
Dog meat is also known as Thịt chó in Vietnamese.
Roughly 5 million dogs are killed for their meat each year. The country is home to the largest cat meat trade in all of SE Asia.
In fact, in recent years, cat meat consumption has been on the rise, and this among the younger population.
Cat meat is often consumed in a popular dish called little tiger soup or in a tonic called goyangi soju that is made from cats being boiled down in large pressure cookers along with herbs to create a thick tonic that is believed to cure a variety of ailments including rheumatism and neuralgia. It is touted as a youth elixir to middle-aged women.
Below is a short documentary of Vietnam's dog meat trade-, Stealing pet dogs for meat in Vietnam | Unreported World
INDONESIA
Indonesia's DMT is upheld by criminal gangs that use extreme measures to source dogs for the trade. People's family pets are often stolen at gun point to supply the dog meat trade.
Indonesia is home to one of the most extreme live animal markets in the world, where dogs are routinely set on fire whilst alive in Tomohon, a city in North Sulawesi Province, in central Indonesia.
Below is Change for Animals Foundation's mini-docuemntary of Indonesia's dog meat trade
Cambodia
In Cambodia, the dog meat trade takes the lives of three million dogs including stray dogs every year, with many dogs kept as pets also stolen to meet market demand.
Methods of slaughtering the dog can range from strangulation, drowning, stabbing, or clubbing the head.
According to a market research study in 2019 on the dog meat trade in Cambodia, overall a total of 53.6% of respondents indicated that they have eaten dog meat at some time in their lives (72.4% of males and 34.8% of females).
Siem Reap is the only province in Cambodia that has taken an official stand to ban the dog meat trade.
Below is a report by South China Morning Post on the closure of a Cambodian large scale dog slaughterhouse on
March 4th 2021
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