Inside the Cat and Dog Meat Market in China

WARNING - viewers may find some images in this report disturbing. Dogs bark and whine behind high chain-link fences, some of them gnawing the wire so hard they bleed at the mouths while cats packed into crowded cages cower in fear if anyone approaches.

This isn't a pet store -- it's a meat market in Guangzhou, a city in southern China where eating cats and dogs is common practice.

At the Han River Dog Meat Restaurant in central Guangzhou, diners can choose from a long list of menu items, including dog soup, dog steak, dog with tofu and more. In the kitchen, the chef chops up meat for dog hot pot, one of the more popular dishes. Most customers like it spicy.

"Dog meat is good for your health and metabolism," explains Li, the hostess who declined to give her first name. "In the summer it helps you sweat."

Should cat and dog meat be banned?

But these local restaurants may have to find a new specialty. The Chinese government is considering legislation that would make eating cats and dogs illegal.

Professor Chang Jiwen of the Chinese Academy of the Social Sciences is one of the law's top campaigners. "Cats and dogs are loyal friends to humans," he said. "A ban on eating them would show China has reached a new level of civilization."
Eating dog meat is a long-standing culinary tradition not just in China, but also Korea. Cat meat can be found on the menu in China, Vietnam and even parts of South America.

The Chinese government has signaled a willingness to take the meat off the market. To avoid upsetting international visitors during the Beijing Olympics, officials ordered dog meat off the menus at local markets. Officials in Guangzhou have warned vendors to stop selling it ahead of the Asian Games which will be held there later this year.

The ban on eating dog and cat meat is part of a larger proposal to toughen laws on animal welfare. Individual violators could face up to 15 days in prison and a small fine. Businesses found guilty of selling the meat risk fines up to 500,000 yuan ($73,500.)

The legislation is gaining support from China's growing number of pet owners. With living standards rising and disposable income growing, more Guangzhou residents are investing in house pets.

"I would never eat dog meat," said Louisa Yong, as she clutches her pet cocker spaniel. "It's so cruel!"

Meat vendors have a different view.

"The dogs you raise at home, you shouldn't eat," said Pan, a butcher who also declined to give his first name. "The kind raised for eating, we can eat those."

Many of the dogs and cats sold for meat are specially raised on farms. But Chang said there is always a chance they're someone's lost or stolen pet.

In anticipation of the new ban, dog and cat meat has become more difficult to find, though some vendors say they will keep selling it as long as they can.

"The legislation will definitely affect our restaurant," said Li. "We'll just wait to see the result."

And it seems restaurants don't necessarily need to change their menus anytime soon. According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the law prohibiting cat and dog meat could take as long as a decade to pass. Until then it's a la carte, from the cage into the kitchen.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• cat
• and
• dog
• meat
• market
• in
• China

[jitangoburka]

It's their dog not yours... so leave them alone. I hate Western bullying.

What if Hindus forces you not to eat beef in your own country, or muslim forces you not to eat pork. Think you morons.

[I0o]

Wonder if they have hot-dogs there (made of dogs, of coruse) yum

y

[M0nk3yboi]

Why does every country have to live up to 'Western standards'? At the end of the day i wouldn't eat dog meat, i don't like the idea of it. But that's because i've been brought up in England - i just don't agree with some of the ways of killing them...

[halofanproductions1]

@jitangoburka pork and beef are eaten all around the world, cows provide meat and milk, while pigs are omnivores, and will eat ANYTHING, and we have a huge supply of both, the kanine species is said around the world to be mans best friend, and when you have the majority of a country fighting against it, they most likely will win... yes i understand what your saying but these people should feel guilty about what they are doing...

[WurfelWaffles]

Why is the double standard??

If you criticise other's foods? Why can't they ask THE SAME on you eating PIGS, CHICKENS, COW and FISH?

Debate this.

Assholes should stop to pokie their noses in other's cultures. And hey, I'm a native Austrian, 'Westerner' like you said.

[slicker9996]

@WeKnowTheTruth2012 these dogs aren't even pets, they are grown for food, like cows and pigs. Its just that dogs are considered pets and have "feelings" but infact all animals have feelings.

[mustafaaziz6464]

@jitangoburkadog as i said to you before "moron" is your ancestor and your family name.

i know americans were eat dog before thats why "hotdog" name created ,also in india,new zealand,france,germany,saxony,­belgium,ghana,indonesia,mexico­,nigeria,poland,switzerland it was dog meat shop and sold in all those countiries if anyone search on wikipedia"dog meat" so they can get these info ...

BTW yes cows and pigs cruelties common in usa ,all abusers in the world has to suffer same pain as animals.

[mustafaaziz6464]

@WeKnowTheTruth2012 is that what your mean those dogs is not your dogs so they can torture them alive so u dont care????they are dog too doesnt whose dogs so they r dog just like your dog.

[jitangoburka]

@mustafaazi Hey moron, in USA pigs are cramped to the electrocution room where hundreds of volt shock them to semiconsciousness, then hanged in conveyor and stabbed in semi conscious stage. Dogs in Asia die quicker with a knife to the throat.

The abuses you heard are from few old Korean butchers. Dog advocates overblow black propaganda on Asian abuses to fool ignorants like you to anger so they can justify intrusion into internal affairs of Asian countries. Wake up you dumb ass.

[jitangoburka]

@mathei ha haha shut up you retard. Your English is not only shameful but pitiful. You don't fool anyone you idiot. You're a low income recent Immigrant to the USA. Don't pretend like you don't know how dogs are eaten in the Philippines, Vietnam, Korean, China etc. Worldwide your ass haha ha ha. Go shove a dog penis on your mom's pussy but don't expect us to follow your stupidity

Go home you Immigrant, you're giving Real Americans a bad name. And try to learn proper engwiiiish ha ha ha ha .