Dog Meat Trade

Hi everybody, my name is melanie from wiki wiki wa wa. Today I’m going to share with you guys on a recent article from the Sunday Times about the Dog Meat Trade. The title of the article is Dogs End up in cooking pot at CNY. During the festive season, dogs smuggling went up as it was said that dog meat bring good luck and medicinal qualities to them. It is estimated that people eat 20 million dogs in China, 2 million dogs in South Korea and 5 million in Vietnam. Dogs of all breeds are bought, bartered or stolen mostly in Thailand. They are sometimes sedated, packed into plastic chicken cages concealed below the floorboards of the pick-up trucks destined for the restaurants in Vietnam. I chose this article because I personally own a dog and I felt that such dog trading is unethical and a form of cruelty to animals especially when dogs are also deem as a man’s best friend. The dogs are hit over the head, stabbed in the neck and bled out, hanged and beaten alive or electrocuted. Some dogs are thrown into boiling water while they are still alive.

Some are purposely slaughtered in front of other dogs, to increase their fear and stress level, to boost the adrenaline and thus enhance the flavor in their meat. Actual physical torture and bleeding them out slowly are routine methods used for this purpose. The suffering of the dogs is heart wrenching. Dogs bred for the meat trade possibly will spend their entire lives in wire cages. They are often caged tightly and kept in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. They do not feel what walking on the ground is like, they don’t get to mingle with other dogs other than those cramped in cages beside them; they suffer summer heat and freezing winters outdoors; they are not given water or suitable food; they get no exercise; some even have their eardrums burst to prevent them from barking – every natural instinct they have is disturbed by the inhumane and tortuous conditions they must live under.

Luckily there are animal activists who disagree with such trade who share information through the STOP DOG MEAT TRADE Facebook page who are up against traditional practices and beliefs, apathy, corruption and greed. Most of the world views dogs as trusted companions, but in Asia, millions of them are still consumed for meat. If you are an animal lover or even if you are not, any person with a conscience would not like to have an innocent dog ending up in the dog meat trade. The moral of the story is that cultural practices are cultural practices and they vary from civilization to civilization, but it should not be an excuse to cruelty.