To follow on from my dog leather post that I released, below is a post about the dog meat trade that is prevalent throughout Asia.
If you have read my previous post on dog leather, you will know that dogs in China are in great danger of being stolen from their families or from the streets and taken to be brutally slaughter for their skin. Yet there is also another great threat to these innocent animals. The dog meat trade is very lucrative and widespread throughout numerous countries in Asia; its estimated that the trade is ‘worth around 20 million a year in Thailand alone and is driven by highly organised criminal gangs involved not only in the dog meat business but in narcotics and human smuggling. These gangs terrorizes families who try to protect their pets and have even resulted in attacks and murder to continue this trade..
Thousands of dogs every year are stolen from family homes, owners and from the streets. They are thrown into steel cages along with a large number of other dogs already captured and there can be as many as 10-20 dogs stuffed into one cage. Sometimes their mouthes are tapped shut so they cannot bark. This continues until their captors have filled an entire truck with dog cages stacked on top of each other, at which point they are transported to either a local restaurant, slaughter house or to neighboring countries. This means that the dogs can be left in the trucks for days, or even weeks, without being able to move and given no food or water. Many die on this trip from the heat, starvation, dehydration or even suffocation due to the number of dogs in one cage, but are left in the cages with the live dogs. Unfortunately, its sad to say that these are probably the lucky ones who escape the torment that awaits the other dogs. Sometimes dogs are bound with rope and dragged behind motorcycles through the street before beginning their journey to neighboring countries.
Once they arrive at their destination, they are clubbed on the head with metal pipes or blocks of wood until they are unconscious and their throats are slit. The dogs will struggle for minutes to stay alive whilst their skin is torn off and they are hung from hooks through their mouths or flung into the back of trucks to be taken to restaurants.
Some dogs are not stolen, but reared in puppy farms similar to what we have here in the UK and across Europe. However, these dogs are not sold on to loving families; they will spend their whole lives in cages and be force fed rice through a tube which is viciously shoved down the dogs throat to increase its weights. The dogs will then be sold on to tortured, killed and eaten. Even puppies are at risk; dog meat traders breed and then slaughter week-old puppies to then be smuggled out of Thailand to be sold as single-meal delicacies’ across Asia.
18 million dogs are eaten every year in Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Philippines and China. This barbaric practice of eating dog meat has become fashionable in these countries, as a sign of wealth but also for its supposed effects; young men in Vietnam believe that eating dog meat will make them more potent, whilst others believe it can purge you of bad luck. Yet it cannot be denied that eating dog meat has health concerns; it can lead to the spread of rabies across these countries as well as the spread diseases such as such as cholera and trichinellosis, both of which can be fatal.
Whats worse is that many people within Asia believe that fear, adrenaline and pain make the dog meat taste better, so the dogs are tortured before they are killed. This involves such things as burning them with blow torches, dunking them in acid, boiling them and being stabbed, all whilst they are still alive. Much of Asia eat dog meat all year but such practices are popular at dog meat festivals such as the Yulin Festival, in the Guangxi province in China, which begins during the summer solstice, around 21st June to the 30th June when tourism booms and the demand for dog meat rises.
But festivals involving eating dogs are not just limited to the Yulin festival; almost all celebrations in Vietnam, particularly at the end of the lunar month calls for a trip to one of many dog meat only restaurants. Locals say they dont know and they dont care about where the meat comes from, only that it tastes good and they love to eat it.
During the Yulin festival alone, at least 10,000 dogs are eaten, if not more. The streets are crowded with cages stuffed with live dogs, and, after queing to get in,people can go and choose their dog they would like to eat. The vendor then performs any number of tortures on the dogs, as detailed above before they are either clubbed and have their throats slit or are burnt to death with a blow torch. The dogs are then cut up, cooked how the person likes it, as braised dog meat, dog casserole or deep fried dog, and served up for only £2 for half a kg.
It should be noted that this festival is not limited just to dogs though; cats are also rounded up and tortured before they are served up as meals.
This festival has been criticized widely for its cruel nature, but some people say that this is just a cultural difference, in the same way we have eaten cattle for a very long time Asia has eaten dogs. However this festival is not a long standing tradition, nor is it a cultural issue due to its relatively new. There is no reason for the extreme brutality they perform, nor for the intense suffering they cause these dogs. One reason that this festival is allowed to happen, even though there are health risks and animal welfare issues, is that there are no health and safety or hygiene regulations, nor are there welfare laws protecting the animals. It is completely legal to eat dog in China, yet the Guangxi province has the highest number of rabies related deaths whilst the highest penalty for animal cruelty in Thailand, for example is £20. This small fee doesnt compare to the highly profitable trade that is rampant through Asia, and the gangs that steal the dogs can simply pay the fee and move on to their next shipment. The dog meat trade, and the dog meat festivals are doing better and better every year, despite the outrage from Western countries.
Celebrities have spoken out against this festival, including Kim Basinger, Simon Cowell and Ricky Gervais who have spoken strongly against it and has even saved a number of dogs and cats from the festival itself.
If you would like to stand against this awful, barbaric practice please sign the petitions below or donate to these animal welfare charities. Please be aware that some parts of these websites may have distressing images.
Humane Society International – This charity does raids on dog meat smugglers and shuts down puppy farms within Asia. They are doing fantastic work to save the dogs who would otherwise be slaughtered and change or punish those people who rely on the dog meat trade. You can donate or sign their pledge. There is also an article from them specifically addressing the Yulin Festival seen here. You can also see a blog post from the US part of the HSI covering the Yulin festival here.
Voiceless Friends – This charity is carrying out investigations and taking action against the dog meat industry and exposing the truth that those dog meat traders try to hide from their own countries and the rest of the world. You can their dog meat campaign here, donate or sign their petition on their website.
Stop Dog Meat – This charitys only mission is stop the dog meat industry. They carry out special investigations to shutting down the dog meat industry and . They have a lot of information, images and videos. You can donate or sign their petition.
Change.org – Stop the Dog Meat Smuggling Trade
Change.org – Stop the torture of dogs in the annual yulin festival (this is to stop 2016 and future yulin festivals)
For more information, please see the below links;
Soi Dog
Daily Mail – An article on the dog meat trade in Thailand and Vietnam (Warning; Some distressing images)
Mirror – The horrors of Vietnam’s meat trade (Warning; Some distressing images)
Daily Mail – An article on the Yulin Festival
BBC – Video and article covering the Yulin Festival
Independent – Article on the Yulin Festival
Daily Mail – A puppy plays at the Yulin Festival
However it should be pointed out that whilst a large number of people in China do partake in the eating of dog and cat meat, and in festivals that celebrate this, that not ALL Chinese people do eat this and many abhor this practice as much as we do. The people who torture, kill and eat these dogs and cats are cruel, brutal and barbaric beings who I cannot understand, however we cannot assume that all Chinese people are like this and we do no good by condemn the entire country. One key way to truly stop this is by changing the opinions of those who live in Asia, and those in the next generation who will change these laws that allow such cruelty to happen.
This practice is barbaric and horrific. I cannot understand how anyone can do these things to innocent dogs, and cats, and I cannot understand how people can idly stand by and let this happen, and then eat the dog meat! I don’t believe this is a cultural difference, this is cruel, abhorrent and evil. We have to show our disgust for this, and solidarity with those in and out of Asia who shun this suffering. We must do everything we can to end this practice and bring the consumption of dog meat, and intense dog suffering to an end.
I beg you to do anything you can to stop this trade. Sign petitions, donate, protest, do anything but please do not ignore this. We have to stop this trade and these dogs suffering these obscene tortures and cruel deaths. Please, please help them.
To the dogs and cats of Asia x
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