Dog Meat for Exotic Dishes: Inhumane Or Tradition?

A vast number of petitions against the illegal dog meat trade, particularly in Vietnam, is making rounds online. This really isn’t a new issue as dog meat trading has been one of the core problems of many animal rights groups and activists. Although in some countries, eating dog meat is legal (even thought as an “exotic delicacy”), majority still believes that eating dog meat is illegal and inhumane.

Petitions such as this are circling the World Wide Web as a cry for help to stop the inhumane killing of dogs to gather their meat for exotic dishes.

Dogs are stolen from loving families and off the streets in Thailand. These poor dogs are then thrown into overcrowded crates, which are stacked and illegally transported by truck and by boat into other countries; particularly Vietnam, where dog meat has become a sought-after delicacy.

Poor treatment, dehydration, and starvation lead to rampant injury, disease, and death among the dogs during transport. Rabies, cholera, E. Coli, and distemper are all spread by this brutal trade, threatening animal and human populations. On arrival, surviving dogs are met with an inhumane death, their bodies sold to markets and restaurants for profit. [source]

Just recently, Reuters made a report about Dogs for Dinner in Vietnam. While some finds this act disturbing and alarming, others insists that dog meat is one of the country’s delicacy.  Even if you don’t own a dog or not particularly a dog lover, will you be able to eat dog meat and pass it as an exotic delicacy?