Dog Meat On The Run
Posted on 03. Dec, 2009 by Stenberg-Tendys W.L. in Society
Be warned. Many will find this report very disturbing.
A recent report shows that dog meat is a favourite food in countries such as China, Thailand, Vietnam and Korea, in what is now classed as Asia’s booming dog-meat market.
The meat vendor in a remote Thailand village cries out “Delicious”, to the passer bys, having just openly pared the meat off in neat flanks. While her menu uses only a cryptic Thai word for ‘meat’, the vendor is not backward in revealing the truth about the meat she sells.
“It’s all dog meat, from those dogs that just roam around.” During the cold winter months the meat is even more popular, as it is ceremoniously consumed in the belief it is a source of warmth for the body.
The ritual of eating dog meat began as a religious practice in the Philippines, where dogs were sacrificed and eaten when a family was faced with bad luck, or after a death. The Filipinos believed the spirit of the sacrificed dog protected and guarded the living family.
Proponents of ‘no dog meat eaten’ say that in the past, dogs were killed humanely, whereas today they are treated cruelly and inhumanely. The trade in dog meat generates around US $3.8m annually, in a crime-ridden, corrupt and underground industry.
The vast majority of the dog meat trade is carried out by illegal traders, who think little about a small fine if they are caught. There is even a group known as the Dog-Meat-Mafia.
Dog traffickers are known to smuggle roughly between 1000 – 2000 dogs across the Mekong River each night. No fees, no customs, no inspections. Just cage after cage of stray dogs, freshly caught from the Thai countryside, secretly transported to Laos and trucked to Hanoi-area abattoirs. It is believed the network involves both low and high level politicians.
“With drugs, even a small amount can ruin lives. With illegal immigrants, they take jobs from Thais,” says Maj. Gen. Panamporn Eithiprawert, chief of Nakhon Phanom province.“But stray dogs? Is anyone taking something from us that we value?”
At $10 per dog, the price Laos or Vietnamese distributors are said to pay Thai traffickers, a night’s profit can easily reach into the tens of thousands. Is this the price for trash, or is Asia’s booming dog meat market something more sinister?
During the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government forbade restaurants to serve dog meat on the menu, in spite of dog meat being part of the local cuisine.
