To wonder how eating dog meat is any different to eating any other kind of meat?

[xiaozhu]

Just that, really.

[xiaozhu]

And you believe all of this Iknow? Because it's on Google therefore it's true?

OK, assuming that Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean people are just inherently more cruel and nasty than everyone else in the world (which is exactly what certain powers would have you believe), it still makes absolutely no sense to boil or skin a dog alive or hang it by the neck, or anything else that would make the slaughtering process more difficult or costly. A lot of these pictures are completely fake, circulated by animal rights extremists who actually do their 'cause' a lot more harm than good.

Yes, you get cruel sadists in every country in the world and I'm sure some animals have been tortured or killed in horrific ways. But just because you saw some pictures on the internet doesn't mean a large part of an entire continent should be tarred with the same brush. As other posters have commented elsewhere, actually very few people in these countries eat dog, so it's a pretty 'specialised' food - rather like eating ostrich in the UK. Many people there would never eat dog for the same reasons that westerners wouldn't, and there is a big campaign in China especially to ban the practice. It was Wayward's comment that got me snarkey: 'I wouldn't consider living in any country where this is acceptable". Why is it assumed that this treatment of animals is 'acceptable' to an entire country, and that Wayward, as such a right-thinking person, is somehow above an entire population?

[WaywardOn3]

Given that the vast majority of people around the world are unable to say how their meat is killed, prepped for them or even lived before they bought the end product it doesn't surprise me that some of you also have no idea how meat that isn't eaten in your own country is sourced or prepped for food. Seriously do a bit of research on dog and cat meat then tell me if you'd eat it.

We eat a very small amount of meat compared to the average home in the UK. We raise our own pigs, cows, chickens and sheep, take them to a small local slaughter house and watch as they give their life to put food on our table. The slaughterhouse treats them with nothing but calm, patient respect (probably because it's small and doesn't have massive numbers of animals pass through so has the time to respect the animal). Once they're slaughtered they go to the local butcher to be butchered, then to our freezer and to friends/family.

I know the animals from birth to death, what they've eaten, who they prefer for company, what their favourite biscuit is, how many times its escaped or got stuck in a fence ect.

If I can't say that about a type of meat them I'm not eating it. As I'm a firm believer in knowing how that animal had lived and been slaughtered before it gave its life to feed my family.

[WaywardOn3]

Well I am allowed to pick which country I choose to live in and a big factor in that is how humans and animals are treated.

Don't see why that choice makes you snarky

[xiaozhu]

I don't care where you live. It's your assumption that the practice of torturing animals is 'acceptable' to an entire country that I doubt you have any experience of whatsoever, that annoys me.

[BarbarianMum]

I always think that any criticism of eating dog meat should be based on welfare grounds, and should therefore not be exclusive to dogs but take in other animals. Oh, and that we should put our own house in order before criticising others.

Dog is also widely eaten in SE Nigeria (legacy of the Biafran war) where it is known as J5 after the vehicles that commonly (but unintentionally) run them over. IMO it doesn't taste good but I guess if you are hungry...

[worridmum]

actully it is different carnivore meat is actully very dangerous to eat (just as is eating carrion eating animals like ravens etc) it is due to the fact these animals eat raw meat (sometimes spoiled meat too) while it doesnt make these animals sick because they have evoled to do so the toxins (i cannot rember scientific name for them) are accumilated with the meat of carnivores (not carnivorish fish for some reaon just mamals / birds) and those even cooked pose a massive danger for humans to eat.

(i wish my brother was here he could explain it alot better than me since his has a masters in animal biology)

[WaywardOn3]

Meh I've seen feral cats caught put into sack and beaten until dead and stray dogs shot or poisoned to reduce their numbers. It was heart breaking to watch but is the reality in some countries with limited funding to spend on ferral/stray domestic animals that pose a risk to native plants, animals and humans

Those animals never entered the food chain btw - and I paid to go to that country to help with a conservation project while at university a few years ago. We were invited to go on those trips to see the reality of some types of conservation and the constraints of limited funding

[LadyDeadpool]

A lot of the dogs that are eaten are people's stolen pets which are then crammed into very full cages before being dumped alive into boiling water to make it easier to then skin them still alive.

[xiaozhu]

Wayward, I'm not sure I see your point.

I think you are very lucky indeed to be in a position to raise your own animals and have them humanely slaughtered. I think a huge number of people (including those in the nasty barbaric dog-eating countries) would do the same if they were able to.

And as for not knowing where your food is coming from: ignorance, or systematic cover ups by food manufacturers and governments who have an interest in seeing them make profits?

[xiaozhu]

OK Lady. I'll take your word for it.

[however]

I imagine they'd be expensive to raise to be slaughtered to be eaten. They are meat eaters, after all.

Hence, Lady's point - cheaper to steal them.

[however]

There should be a question mark there. I was thinking aloud. Not stating a fact.

[Mandolinamandolin]

It's nice to read about someone who takes good care of their animals before having them slaughtered, but these animals did not willingly "give their life" so that your family would have food on the table. It's perfectly possible to live a long and healthy life without ever having to kill another sentient being.
There is nothing respectful about killing a living being just because you happen to like the taste of meat.

[xiaozhu]

Stealing a pet is one thing. Boiling and skinning it alive is another.

[xiaozhu]

I just read the bit about 'giving their lives'... Wayward, I mean this in the nicest way, but what planet are you on?

[IKnowIAmButWhatAreYou]

And you believe all of this Iknow? Because it's on Google therefore it's true?

If you could be bothered to do a little research yourself you'd find out, not all of it is lies & propoganda.

It's may not be the "whole country" that's doing these things, but they do happen and the powers that be turn a blind eye.

You seem awfully determined that this doesn't happen, to the point that you're just being arsey with anyone you don't agree with, not conducive to discussion or continuing to engage with you.

I'll leave you with this thought though - I bet I can find more videos of dogs being skinned alive, boiled, electrocuted, hung or beaten to death than you can of them being humanely killed in an environment similar to a UK abattoir....

[xiaozhu]

UK abattoirs are not 'humane'.

And I'm not saying this doesn't happen - in all countries and in some more than others. But that doesn't make it generally 'acceptable' to people in those countries.

[BreakingDad77]

When I was in Vietnam I was told only one specific breed is eaten as dog meat is generally sour.

Though if your worried about animal welfare its Halal butchers that need the scrutiny right her in the UK.

[xiaozhu]

I'm talking about dogs, not halal butchers and no I do not want to open that can of worms.

[fortyfide]

CUSTOM is the word. The French eat horses. Most of us do what we are born into (But people like me are a bit radical) Oh Cactus, we dont have tiny lifeforms as pets.

[Feminine]

Does anyone think cat might be nice with a salad?

[fortyfide]

Yes Xiaoz abbatoirs dont have open days or invite TV in .I wonder why?(well I dont really)

[Squirrelsmum]

Xiaozhu, there is usually a big shit storm over the annual dog meat festival in Yulin, China due to the horrifying treatment of the dogs and often cats, huge on site protests, petitions, lobbying of the Chinese government etc etc. it's not just google's imagination.

[BarbarianMum]

Isn't that the point though Squirrelsmum? Is the treatment given to cats and dogs more horrifying than that meted out to pigs/sheep/cows/chickens? Probably not. So why does this receive special attention? Because we see them as pets. It is inconsistent. Snakes are also skinned alive in several parts of the Far East (and also Texas) but not many people in the west raise an outcry over that.