Dog meat
Dog meat is the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically, human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world. In the 21st century, dog meat is consumed in China, South Korea, Vietnam, Nigeria, and Switzerland, and it is eaten or is legal to be eaten in other countries throughout the world. Some cultures view the consumption of dog meat as part of their traditional, ritualistic, or day-to-day cuisine, and other cultures consider consumption of dog meat a taboo, even where it had been consumed in the past. Opinions also vary drastically across different regions within different countries. It was estimated in 2014 that worldwide, 25 million dogs are eaten each year by humans.
Dog breeds used for meat
Nureongi
The Nureongi is a yellowish landrace from Korea. Similar to other native Korean dog breeds, such as the Jindo, nureongi are medium-sized spitz-type dogs, but are larger with greater musculature and a distinctive coat pattern. They are quite uniform in appearance, yellow hair and melanistic masks. Nureongi are most often used as a livestock dog, raised for its meat, and not commonly kept as pets.Polynesian Dog
Hawaiian Poi
The Hawaiian Poi Dog or ʻīlio is an :Category:Extinct dog breeds|extinct breed of pariah dog from Hawaii which was used by Native Hawaiians as a spiritual protector of children and as a source of food.Tahitian Dog
The Tahitian Dog or ʻūrī Mā’ohi were a food source, and served by high ranking chiefs to the early European explorers who visited the islands. Captain James Cook and his crew developed a taste for the dog, with Cook noting, "For tame Animals they have Hogs, Fowls, and Dogs, the latter of which we learned to Eat from them, and few were there of us but what allow'd that a South Sea dog was next to an English Lamb."Xoloitzcuintli (Mexican Hairless)
The Xoloitzcuintli, or Xolo for short, is a hairless breed of dog, found in toy, miniature and standard sizes.The Xolo also comes in a coated variety and all three sizes can be born to a single litter. It is also known as Mexican hairless dog in English speaking countries, is one of several breeds of hairless dog and has been used as a historical source of food for the Aztec Empire.Pet breeds
In 2015, The Korea Observer reported that many different pet breeds of dog are eaten in South Korea, including labradors, retrievers and cocker spaniels, and that the dogs slaughtered for their meat may include former pets.By region
Africa
Algeria
Algeria has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Angola
Angola has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso it is not illegal to kill dogs for any reason, including for consumption.Benin
Benin has no law against killing dogs for consumption.Cameroon
Cameroon also has no law against killing dogs for consumption. Among the Vame people, domestic dogs are only eaten for specific rituals.Central African Republic
The Central African Republic has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for food.Chad
Chad has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire also has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for food.Congo
Congo has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Democratic Republic of the Congo
In spite of tests showing 156 dogs were infected with Ebola, the consumption of dog meat is no longer taboo.Egypt
Egypt has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Eritrea
Eritrea has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea also has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Gabon
Gabon has no laws against killing dogs for consumption.Gambia
In Gambia it is not illegal to kill dogs for any reason, including for consumption.Ghana
The Tallensi, the Akyims, the Kokis, and the Yaakuma, one of many cultures of Ghana, consider dog meat a delicacy. The Mamprusi generally avoid dog meat, and it is eaten in a "courtship stew" provided by a king to his royal lineage. Two Tribes in Ghana, Frafra and Dagaaba are particularly known to be "tribal playmates" and consumption of dog meat is the common bond between the two tribes. Every year around September, games are organised between these two tribes and the Dog Head is the trophy at stake for the winning tribe.It was reported in 2017 that increasing demand for dog meat has led politician Anthony Karbo to propose dog meat factories in three northern regions of Ghana.
Guinea
In Guinea it is not illegal to kill dogs for any reason, including for consumption.Guinea Bissau
Guinea Bissau has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for food.Liberia
Liberia also has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for food.Libya
Libya has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Madagascar
Madagascar has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Mali
Mali has no animal welfare laws, including the prohibition of killing dogs for consumption.Mauritania
Mauritania has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Morocco
as does the government of Morocco. The consumption of dog meat still occurs particularly in poorer regions, often being passed off as other meats as was the situation in 2009 and 2013 cases. Morocco has no law against killing dogs for consumption.Mozambique
Mozambique has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Nigeria
Dogs are eaten by various groups in some states of Nigeria, including Ondo State, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Plateau, Kalaba, Taraba and Gombe of Nigeria. They are believed to have medicinal powers.In late 2014, the fear of contracting the Ebola virus disease from bushmeat led at least one major Nigerian newspaper to imply that eating dog meat was a healthy alternative. That paper documented a thriving trade in dog meat and slow sales of even well smoked bushmeat.
Senegal
In Senegal it is not illegal to kill dogs for any reason, including for consumption.Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Sudan
In Sudan it is not illegal to kill dogs for any reason, including for consumption.Somalia
Somalia has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.South Sudan
South Sudan has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Togo
Togo also has no animal welfare laws, so in Togo it is not illegal to kill dogs for any reason, including for consumption.Americas
Ancient Mexico
In the time of the Aztec Empire in what is now central Mexico, Mexican Hairless Dogs were bred for, among other purposes, their meat. Hernán Cortés reported when he arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519, "small gelded dogs which they breed for eating" were among the goods sold in the city markets. These dogs, Xoloitzcuintles, were often depicted in pre-Columbian Mexican pottery. The breed was almost extinct in the 1940s, but the British Military Attaché in Mexico City, Norman Wright, developed a thriving breed from some of the dogs he found in remote villages.Bolivia
has no animal welfare laws, including the prohibition of killing dogs for consumption.Canada
It is not explicitly illegal to kill dogs for consumption or sell and serve dog meat. In order to be able to serve any meat at all for human consumption in a restaurant and for the public, the meat has to have come from a provincially licensed meat plant operator and meet the standards of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for meat inspection — and there are no provincially licensed plants approved to slaughter dogs. If a dog is killed without justification the killing could be considered cruelty, which would violate the Criminal Code, and those convicted may be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.Chile
In 2017, Chile passed Law 21.020, known locally as "Ley Cholito", that forbids cruelty towards dogs, making killing a dog illegal.Cuba
has no animal welfare laws, including the prohibition of killing dogs for consumption.Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic has no animal welfare laws, including the prohibition of killing dogs for consumption.El Salvador
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Ecuador
has no animal welfare laws, including the prohibition of killing dogs for consumption.Haiti
has no animal welfare laws, including a prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Honduras
has no animal welfare laws, including the prohibition of killing dogs for consumption.Native North Americans
The traditional culture surrounding the consumption of dog meat varied from tribe to tribe among the original inhabitants of North America, with some tribes relishing it as a delicacy, and others treating it as a forbidden food. Native peoples of the Great Plains, such as the Sioux and Cheyenne, consumed it, but there was a concurrent religious taboo against the meat of wild canines.During their 1803–1806 expedition, Meriwether Lewis and the other members of the Corps of Discovery consumed dog meat, either from their own animals or supplied by Native American tribes, including the Paiutes and Wah-clel-lah Indians, a branch of the Watlatas, the Clatsop, the Teton Sioux, the Nez Perce Indians, and the Hidatsas. Lewis and the members of the expedition ate dog meat, except William Clark, who reportedly could not bring himself to eat dogs.
The Kickapoo people include puppy meat in many of their traditional festivals. This practice has been well documented in the Works Progress Administration "Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma".
United States
Reports of families eating dog meat out of choice, rather than necessity, are rare and newsworthy. Stories of families in Ohio and Newark, New Jersey, who did so made it into editions of The New York Times in 1876 and 1885. In the early 20th century, dog meat was consumed during times of meat shortage.On 20 December 2018, the federal Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act was signed into law as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. It is now illegal to slaughter a dog or cat for food in the United States, with exceptions for Native American rituals.
Although Hawaii has outlawed commercial sales of dog meat, until the 2018 federal legislation it technically still is legal to slaughter an animal classified as a pet if it is “bred for human consumption” and done in a “humane” manner. This allowed an underground dog meat trade to legally continue, with stray, lost, or stolen dogs most often the victims. It was reported that a dog butcher back in 2004 would purportedly stab or bludgeon stolen pets, then set them on fire while still alive.
Arctic and Antarctic
British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition became trapped, and ultimately killed their sled dogs for food. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's party ate sled dogs during his expedition to the South Pole. This allowed the party to carry less food, thus lightening the load. When comparing sled dogs to ponies as draught animals he also notes:There is the obvious advantage that dog can be fed on dog. One can reduce one's pack little by little, slaughtering the feebler ones and feeding the chosen with them. In this way they get fresh meat. Our dogs lived on dog's flesh and pemmican the whole way, and this enabled them to do splendid work. And if we ourselves wanted a piece of fresh meat we could cut off a delicate little fillet; it tasted to us as good as the best beef. The dogs do not object at all; as long as they get their share they do not mind what part of their comrade's carcass it comes from. All that was left after one of these canine meals was the teeth of the victim – and if it had been a really hard day, these also disappeared.
Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were part of the Far Eastern Party, a three-man sledging team with Lieutenant B.E.S. Ninnis, to survey King George V Land, Antarctica. On 14 December 1912 Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse along with most of the party's rations, and was never seen again. Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. They had one and a half weeks' food for themselves and nothing at all for the dogs. Their meagre provisions forced them to eat their remaining sled dogs on their return journey. Their meat was tough, stringy and without a vestige of fat. Each animal yielded very little, and the major part was fed to the surviving dogs, which ate the meat, skin and bones until nothing remained. The men also ate the dog's brains and livers. Unfortunately eating the liver of sled dogs produces the condition hypervitaminosis A because canines have a much higher tolerance for vitamin A than humans do. Mertz suffered a quick deterioration. He developed stomach pains and became incapacitated and incoherent. On 7 January 1913, Mertz died. Mawson continued alone, eventually making it back to camp alive.
Asia/Pacific
Armenia
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Azerbaijan
laws do not explicitly prohibit killing dogs for consumption.Afghanistan
has no animal welfare laws. As an Islamic nation, consumption of dog meat is strictly prohibited.Cambodia
Animal welfare NGO Four Paws estimates that 2-3 million dogs are slaughtered annually for their meat in Cambodia. Methods of slaughtering the dog can range from strangulation, drowning, stabbing, or clubbing the head. The country has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption. According to a market research study in 2019 on the dog meat trade in Cambodia, overall a total of 53.6% of respondents indicated that they have eaten dog meat at some time in their livesMainland China
Estimates for total dog killings in China range from 10 to 20 million dogs annually, for purposes of human consumption. However, estimates such as these are not official and are derived from extrapolating industry reports on meat tonnage to an estimate of dogs killed. Consuming dog meat is not illegal in mainland China, and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has never issued quarantine procedures for slaughtering dogs. Selling dog meat as food is against the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China. According to the Animal Epidemic Prevention Law of the People's Republic of China, dogs need to be vaccinated. Dogs for eating are not vaccinated, so they are illegal to transport or to sell.The eating of dog meat in China dates back thousands of years. Dog meat has been a source of food in some areas from around 500 BC and possibly even earlier. It has been suggested that wolves in southern China may have been domesticated as a source of meat. Mencius, the philosopher, talked about dog meat as being an edible, dietary meat. It was reported in the early 2000s that the meat was thought to have medicinal properties, and had been popular in northern China during the winter, as it was believed to raise body temperature after consumption and promote warmth. Historical records have shown how in times of food scarcities, dogs could also be eaten as an emergency food source.
In modern times, the extent of dog consumption in China varies by region. It is most prevalent in Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi, as well as the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. It was reportedly common in 2010 to find dog meat served in restaurants in Southern China, where dogs are reared on farms for consumption. In 2012, Chinese netizens and the Chinese police intercepted trucks transporting caged dogs to be slaughtered in localities such as Chongqing and Kunming.
Since 2009, Yulin, Guangxi, has held an annual festival of eating dog meat. In 2014, the municipal government published a statement distancing itself from the festival, saying it was not a cultural tradition, but rather a commercial event held by restaurants and the public. The festival in 2011 spanned 10 days, during which 15,000 dogs were consumed. Estimates of the number of dogs eaten in 2015 for the festival ranged from as high as 10,000 to lower than 1,000 amid growing pressure at home and abroad to end it. Festival organizers state that only dogs bred specifically for consumption are used, while objectors say that some of the dogs purchased for slaughter and consumption are strays or stolen pets. Some of the dogs at the festival are alleged to have been burnt or boiled alive or beaten out of the belief that increased adrenaline circulating in the dog's body adds to the flavor of the meat. Other reports, however, state that there have been little evidence of those practices since 2015.
Prior to the 2014 festival, eight dogs sold for 1,150 yuan and six puppies for 1,200 yuan. Prior to the 2015 festival, a protester bought 100 dogs for 7,000 yuan. The animal rights NGO Best Volunteer Centre commented that the city had more than 100 slaughterhouses, processing between 30 and 100 dogs a day. The Yulin Centre for Animal Disease Control and Prevention states the city has only eight dog slaughterhouses selling approximately 200 dogs, and this increases to about 2,000 dogs during the Yulin festival. There have been several campaigns to stop the festival, with the first one reportedly having started among locals in China. In 2016, a petition calling for an end to the festival garnered 11 million signatures in the country. More than 3 million people have also signed petitions against it on Weibo. Prior to the 2014 festival, doctors and nurses were ordered not to eat dog meat there, and local restaurants serving dog meat were ordered to cover the word "dog" on their signs and notices. Reports in 2014 and 2016 have also suggested that the majority of Chinese on and offline disapprove of the festival.
The movement against the consumption of cat and dog meat was given added impetus by the formation of the Chinese Companion Animal Protection Network. Having expanded to more than 40 member societies, CCAPN began organizing protests against eating dog and cat meat in 2006, starting in Guangzhou and continuing in more than ten other cities following a positive response from the public. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, officials ordered dog meat to be taken off the menu at its 112 official Olympic restaurants to avoid offending visitors from various nations where the consumption of dog meat is taboo. In 2010, draft legislation was proposed to prohibit the consumption of dog meat. In 2010, the first draft proposal of it was introduced, with the rationale to protect animals from maltreatment. The legislation included a measure to jail people for up to 15 days for eating dog meat, but there were few expectations for it to be enforced.
As of the early 21st century, dog meat consumption is declining or disappearing. In 2014, dog meat sales decreased by a third compared to 2013. It was reported that in 2015, one of the most popular restaurants in Guangzhou serving dog meat was closed after the local government tightened regulations; the restaurant had served dog meat dishes since 1963. Other restaurants that served dog and cat meat in the Yuancun and Panyu districts also stopped serving these dishes in 2015. Close to 9 million Chinese in 2016 also voted online for proposed legislation to end the consumption of dog and cat meat, but the legislation was not taken forward.
In April 2020, Shenzhen became the first Chinese city to ban consumption and production of dog and cat meat. This came as part of a wider clampdown on the wildlife trade which was linked to COVID-19 outbreak. Citing examples of Hong Kong and Taiwan, the Shenzhen city government said, "Banning the consumption of dogs and cats and other pets is a common practice in developed countries...This ban also responds to the demand and spirit of human civilization". This decision was applauded by World Protection for Dogs and Cats in the Meat Trade and other animal welfare groups.
In the same month, The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said it considers dog as 'companion animals', not as livestock, signalling that dog meat consumption may not remain legal for long.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, the Dogs and Cats Ordinance was introduced by the British Hong Kong Government on 6 January 1950. It prohibits the slaughter of any dog or cat for use as food by fine and imprisonment. In February 1998, a Hong Konger was sentenced to one month imprisonment and a fine of two thousand HK dollars for hunting street dogs for food. Four local men were sentenced to 30 days imprisonment in December 2006 for having slaughtered two dogs.Taiwan
In 2001, the Taiwanese government imposed a ban on the sale of dog meat, due to both pressure from domestic animal welfare groups and a desire to improve international perceptions, and there were some protests. In 2007, another law was passed, significantly increasing the fines to sellers of dog meat. Animal rights activists have accused the Taiwanese government of not prosecuting those who continue to slaughter and serve dog meat at restaurants.In April 2017, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to officially ban the consumption of dog and cat meat as well as jail time for those who torture and kill animals. The Animal Protection Act amendments approved by the Legislative Yuan aims to punish the sale, purchase or consumption of dog or cat meat with fines ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$2 million. The amendments also stiffen punishment for those who intentionally harm animals to a maximum two years' imprisonment and fines of NT$200,000 to NT$2 million.
In October 2017, Taiwan's national legislature, known as Legislative Yuan, passed amendments to the country's Animal Protection Act which "bans the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat and of any food products that contain the meat or other parts of these animals."
Georgia
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.India
Killing dogs for meat is illegal under Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Section 11 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 Also, Food Safety and Standards Regulation, 2011 does not allow dogs, cats and other animals to be slaughtered for food.Dog meat is a delicacy among certain Tibeto-Burman communities. It is mainly consumed in some states of Northeast India, particularly Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur.
In March 2020, the Government of Mizoram passed the Animal Slaughter Bill 2020 which effectively bans dogs from being slaughtered in the state.
In Nagaland, dog lovers had launched a campaign to end Nagaland's dog meat trade. The Government of Nagaland banned the consumption and trading of dog meat in the state on 3 July 2020.
Indonesia
is predominantly Muslim, a faith which considers dog meat, along with pork, to be haram. The New York Times has reported that in spite of this, dog meat consumption has been growing in popularity among Muslims and other ethnic groups in the country due to its cheap price and purported health or medicinal benefits.Although reliable data on the dog meat trade is scarce, various welfare groups estimate that at least 1 million dogs are killed every year to be eaten. On the resort island of Bali alone, between 60,000 and 70,000 dogs are slaughtered and eaten a year, in spite of lingering concerns about the spread of rabies following an outbreak of the disease there a few years ago, according to the Bali Animal Welfare Association. Marc Ching of the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation claimed in 2017 that the treatment of dogs in Indonesia was the “most sadistic” out of anywhere they were killed for their meat. Rappler also reported in 2015 that the slaughter process for dogs in Tomohon, Sulawesi resulted in some of them being burned alive.
The consumption of dog meat is often associated with the Minahasa culture of northern Sulawesi, Maluku culture, Toraja culture, various ethnic from East Nusa Tenggara, and the Bataks of northern Sumatra. The code for restaurants or vendors selling dog meat is "RW" abbreviation for rintek wuuk or "B1" abbreviation for biang.
Popular Indonesian dog-meat dishes are Minahasan spicy meat dish called rica-rica. Dog meat rica-rica specifically called rica-rica "RW" which stands for Rintek Wuuk in Minahasan dialect, which means "fine hair" as a euphemism referring for fine hair found in roasted dog meat. It is cooked as Patong dish by Toraja people, and as Saksang "B1" by Batak people of North Sumatra. On Java, there are several dishes made from dog meat, such as sengsu, sate jamu, and kambing balap. Asu is Javanese for "dog".
Dog consumption in Indonesia gained attention during the 2012 U.S. Presidential election when incumbent Barack Obama was pointed out by his opponent to have eaten dog meat served by his Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro when Obama was living in the country. Obama wrote about his experience of eating dog in his book Dreams of My Father, and at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner joked about eating dog.
According to Lyn White of Animals Australia, the consumption of dog meat in Bali is not a long-held tradition. She said the meat first came from a Christian ethnic group coming to Bali, where a minority of the immigrants working in the hospitality industry have fuelled the trade.
In June 2017, an investigative report discovered that tourists in Bali are unknowingly eating dog meat sold by street vendors.
Iran
has no law to protect animals. The government kills dogs to control the food chain in nature and protect people from wild dogs to in cities.Iraq
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Japan
Although the vast majority of Japanese do not eat dog meat, it has been reported that more than 100 outlets in the country have been selling it imported, mainly to foreign customers. There has been a belief in Japan that certain dogs have special powers in their religion of Shintoism and Buddhism. In 675 AD when Emperor Tenmu decreed a prohibition on its consumption during the 4th through 9th months of the year. According to Meisan Shojiki Ōrai published in 1760, the meat of wild dog was sold along with boar, deer, fox, wolf, bear, raccoon dog, otter, weasel and cat in some regions of Edo.Jordan
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Kazakhstan
laws do not specifically prohibit killing dogs for consumption.Korea
Gaegogi literally means "dog meat" in Korean. The term itself is often mistaken as the term for Korean soup made from dog meat, which is actually called bosintang .The consumption of dog meat in Korean culture can be traced through history. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo Tombs complex in South Hwangghae Province, a World Heritage site which dates from the 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse. The Balhae people also enjoyed dog meat, and the modern-day tradition of canine cuisine seems to have come from that era.
People in both Koreas share the belief that consuming dog meat helps stamina during the summer.
South Korea
The Humane Society International says that an estimated 0.1 million or 0.5 million dogs are reared on "dog meat farms" in South Korea. According to the Korea Animal Rights Advocates, approximately 780,000 to 1 million dogs are consumed per year in South Korea. The number is lower based on estimates of sales from Moran Market, which occupies 30–40% of dog meat market in the nation. Sales at Moran Market have been declining in the past few years, down to about 20,000 dogs per year in 2017. In recent years dog meat consumption has declined as more people have been adopting dogs as pets. Dog restaurants are also closing down, with reports saying the country's 1,500 dog meat restaurants have almost halved in recent years. Some restaurants have reported declines in consumption of 20–30% per year. A poll conducted by Gallup Korea in 2015 reported that only 20 percent of men in their 20s consumed dog meat, compared to half of those in their 50s and 60s. According to the Korean Animal Rights Advocates, there are approximately 3,000 dog farms operating across the country, many of which receive dogs from overflow from puppy mills for the pet industry. With declining demand for dog meat in Korea, a more serious problem now is the puppy mill industry.Dog meat is often consumed during the winter months and is either roasted or prepared in soups or stews. The most popular of these soups is bosintang and gaejang-guk, a spicy stew meant to balance the body's heat during the summer months. This is thought to ensure good health by balancing one's "qi", the believed vital energy of the body. Dog meat is also believed to increase the body temperature, so people sweat more to keep one cool during the summer. A 19th-century version of gaejang-guk explains the preparation of the dish by boiling dog meat with vegetables such as green onions and chili pepper powder. Variations of the dish contain chicken and bamboo shoots.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recognizes any edible product other than drugs as food. South Korean Food Sanitary Law does not include dog meat as a legal food ingredient. In the capital city of Seoul, the sale of dog meat was outlawed by regulation on 21 February 1984, by classifying dog meat as "repugnant food", but the regulation was not rigorously enforced except during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2001, the Mayor of Seoul announced there would be no extra enforcement efforts to control the sale of dog meat during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was partially hosted in Seoul. In March 2008, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its plan to put forward a policy suggestion to the central government to legally classify slaughter dogs as livestock, reigniting debate on the issue.
The primary dog breed raised for meat is a non-specific landrace, whose dogs are commonly named as Nureongi or Hwangu. Nureongi are not the only type of dog currently slaughtered for their meat in South Korea. In 2015, The Korea Observer reported that many different pet breeds of dog are eaten in South Korea, including labradors, retrievers and cocker spaniels, and that the dogs slaughtered for their meat often include former pets. Some of them have reportedly been stolen from family homes.
There is a large and vocal group of Koreans who are against the practice of eating dogs. Popular television shows like 'I Love Pet' have documented, in 2011 for instance, the continued illegal sale of dog meat and slaughtering of dogs in suburban areas. The program also televised illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, showing the unsanitary and horrific conditions of caged dogs, several of which were visibly sick with severe eye infections and malnutrition. There remain some in Korea that do not eat or enjoy the meat, but feel that it is the right of others to do so, along with a smaller but still vocal group of pro-dog cuisine people who want to popularize the consumption of dog in Korea and the rest of the world. A group of pro-dog meat individuals attempted to promote and publicize the consumption of dog meat worldwide during the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, which prompted retaliation from animal rights campaigners and prominent figures such as Brigitte Bardot to denounce the practice. Opponents of dog meat consumption in South Korea are critical of the eating of dog meat, as some dogs are beaten, burnt or hanged to make their meat more tender.
The restaurants that sell dog meat, often exclusively, do so at the risk of losing their restaurant licenses. A case of a dog meat wholesaler, charged with selling dog meat, arose in 1997 where an appeals court acquitted the dog meat wholesaler, ruling that dogs were socially accepted as food. According to the National Assembly of South Korea, more than 20,000 restaurants, including the 6,484 registered restaurants, served soups made from dog meat in Korea in 1998. In 1999 the BBC reported that 8,500 tons of dog meat were consumed annually, with another 93,600 tons used to produce a medicinal tonic called gaesoju. By 2014 only 329 restaurants served dog meat in Seoul, and the numbers are continuing to decline each year. On 21 November 2018, the South Korean government closed the Taepyeong-dong complex in Seongnam, which served as the country's main dog slaughterhouse.
In 2018, Humane Society International stated that South Korea was now the only country in Asia where dogs were reported to be routinely and intensively farmed for human consumption.
North Korea
Daily NK reported that in early 2010, the North Korean government included dog meat in its list of one hundred fixed prices, setting a fixed price of 500 won per kilogram.Kyrgyzstan
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Laos
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Malaysia
The consumption of dog meat has not been made illegal in Malaysia. The issue was brought to light in 2013 after the Malaysian Independent Animal Rescue group received a report alleging that a restaurant in Kampung Melayu, Subang had dogs caged and tortured before slaughtering them for their meat.Mongolia
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Oman
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Philippines
The European Society of Dog and Animal Welfare estimates that half a million dogs are slaughtered for food each year in the Philippines.In the capital city of Manila, Metro Manila Commission Ordinance 82-05 specifically prohibits the killing and selling of dogs for food. More generally, the Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998 prohibits the killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles, with exemptions for religious, cultural, research, public safety and/or animal health reasons. Nevertheless, the consumption of dog meat is not uncommon in the Philippines, reflected in the occasional coverage in Philippine newspapers.
According to the Animal Welfare Institute, stray dogs have been rounded up off the street for the dog meat trade and shipped to the Benguet province without food or water while steel cans are forced onto their noses and their legs are tied behind their backs. Nearly half the dogs reportedly die before reaching their final destination, with many of them having been people's pets. They are usually then killed via clubbing or having their throats cut, after which their fur is scorched off with a blow-torch and their bodies are dismembered. A book in 2007 on animal welfare documented that in some rural areas, dogs and other animals could risk getting beaten before slaughter, out of the belief it would create better meat.
Asocena is a dish primarily consisting of dog meat originating from the Philippines. The province of Benguet specifically allows cultural use of dog meat by indigenous people and acknowledges this might lead to limited commercial use.
In the early 1980s, there was an international outcry about dog meat consumption in the Philippines after newspapers published photos of Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, with a dog carcass hanging beside her on a market stall. The British Government discussed withdrawing foreign aid and other countries, such as Australia, considered similar action. To avoid such action, the Filipino government banned the sale of dog meat. Dog meat is the third most consumed meat, behind pork and goat and ahead of beef. The ban eventually became wholly disregarded and unenforced.
Singapore
The sale of dog meat is illegal in Singapore.Saudi Arabia
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs, but consumption of dog's meat is prohibited in the religion of Islam, which is the religion of 93 percent of the population.Syria
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.United Arab Emirates
In the UAE, killing of dogs for any purpose, including consumption, is illegal under the Federal Law No. 16 on Animal Welfare adopted in 2007, which forbiddens any type of animal cruelty.Tajikistan
also has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Thailand
Unlike other countries where dog meat consumption has been shown to have historical precedents, Thailand does not have a mainstream culture of dog eating. In recent years, the consumption of dog meat in certain areas of the country, especially in certain northeastern provinces like Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom, notably Sakon Nakhon province's Tha Rae sub-district, which has been identified as the main center for the country's lucrative, dog meat trade, has attracted widespread condemnation from the Thai population and local news media. This has led large groups of animal activists to become increasingly vocal against the consumption of dog meat and the selling of dogs that are transported through Laos to neighbouring Mekong countries, including Vietnam and China. According to news reports, a considerable number of these dogs continue to be stolen from people's homes by illegal carriers. This was also the case following the 2011 Thailand Floods. CNN has reported that broken bones and crushed skulls have been a common injury for the smuggled dogs.Animal activists have now formed several informal animal welfare and rescue groups, particularly online, in an attempt to stop the illegal trade, with the collective attitude being that "Dogs are not food". Established not-for-profit animal charity organizations like the Soi Dog Foundation have also been active in raising awareness and to rehabilitate and relocate dogs rescued from trucks attempting to transport live dogs from Thailand to nearby countries. The issue has slightly impacted the nation's animal rights movement, which continues to call on the Thai government to adopt a stricter and more comprehensive animal rights law to prevent the maltreatment of pets and cruelty against all animals.
Timor-Leste
Dog meat is a delicacy popular in Timor-Leste.Turkmenistan
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Uzbekistan
Not commonly eaten, dog meat is sometimes used in Uzbekistan in the belief that it has medicinal properties.Vietnam
Around five million dogs are slaughtered in Vietnam every year, making the country the second biggest consumer of dog meat in the world after China. The consumption has been criticized by many in Vietnam and around the world as most of the dogs are pets stolen and killed in brutal ways, usually by being bludgeoned, stabbed, burned alive, or having their throat slit. Vietnam does not have strong regulations to stop the practice. Dog thieves are rarely punished, and neither are the people who buy and sell stolen meat. Dog meat is particularly popular in the urban areas of the north, and can be found in special restaurants which specifically serve dog meat.A 2013 survey on VietNamNet, with a participation of more than 3,000 readers, showed that the majority of people, at 80%, still supported eating dog meat. Up to 66 percent of the readers said that dog meat is nutritious and has been a traditional food for a very long time. Some 13% said eating dog meat is okay but dog slaughtering must be strictly controlled in order to avoid embarrassing images.
Dog meat is believed to bring good fortune in Vietnamese culture. It is seen as being comparable in consumption to chicken or pork. In urban areas, there are neighbourhoods that contain many dog meat restaurants. For example, on Nhat Tan Street, Tây Hồ District, Hanoi, many restaurants serve dog meat. Groups of customers, usually male, seated on mats, will spend their evenings sharing plates of dog meat and drinking alcohol. The consumption of dog meat can be part of a ritual usually occurring toward the end of the lunar month for reasons of astrology and luck. Restaurants which mainly exist to serve dog meat may only open for the last half of the lunar month. Dog meat is also believed to raise men's libido. There used to be a large smuggling trade from Thailand to export dogs to Vietnam for human consumption. A concerted campaign between 2007 and 2014 by animal activists in Thailand, led by the Soi Dog Foundation, convinced authorities in both Thailand and Vietnam that the dog meat trade was a hindrance to efforts to tackle rabies in Southeast Asia. In 2014, Thailand introduced a new law against animal cruelty, which greatly increased penalties faced by dog smugglers. The trade is now a trickle, with no major criminal organisations involved.
In 2009, dog meat was found to be a main carrier of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, which caused the summer epidemic of cholera in northern Vietnam.
Prior to 2014, more than 5 million dogs were killed for meat every year in Vietnam according to the Asia Canine Protection Alliance. There are indications that the desire to eat dog meat in Vietnam is waning. Part of the decline is thought to be due to an increased number of Vietnamese people keeping dogs as pets, as their incomes have risen in the past few decades. " used to raise dogs to guard the house, and when they needed the meat, they ate it. Now they keep dog as pets, imported from China, Japan, and other countries. One pet dog might cost hundreds of millions of dong ."
In 2018, officials in the city of Hanoi urged citizens to stop eating dog and cat meat, citing concerns about the cruel methods with which the animals are slaughtered and the diseases this practice propagates, including rabies and leptospirosis. The primary reason for this exhortation seems to be a fear that the practice of dog and cat consumption, most of which are stolen household pets, could tarnish the city's image as a "civilised and modern capital".
Yemen
has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Europe
Generally speaking, the consumption of dog meat is taboo in Europe. This has been the case for many centuries, and exceptions have occurred in times of scarcity, such as sieges or famines.Expeditions and emergencies
There are occasional accounts of Europeans travelling in remote areas who get lost and have to eat their companion dog to survive. The explorer Benedict Allen has said he did this, and a case in Canada was reported in 2013. This is distinct from Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, where the sled dogs were factored into the rations.Austria
Section 6, Paragraph 2 of the law for the protection of animals prohibits the killing of dogs and cats for purposes of consumption as food or for other products.Britain and Ireland
It is not currently illegal to slaughter dogs for food in the UK. Eating dog meat is considered entirely taboo in modern times. Brittonic and Irish texts which date from the early Christian period suggest that dog meat was sometimes consumed but possibly in ritual contexts such as Druidic ritual trance. Sacrificial dog bones are often recovered from archaeological sites; They were typically treated differently, as were horses, from other food animals. One of Ireland's mythological heroes, Cuchulainn, had two geasa, or vows, one of which was to avoid the meat of dogs. The breaking of his geasa led to his death in the Irish mythology.Belarus
Belarus has no animal welfare laws, including any prohibition on killing dogs for consumption.Belgium
A few meat shops sold dog meat during the German occupation of Belgium in World War I, when food was extremely scarce. According to The New York Times, in the 19th century the Council of the Veterinary School of Belgium occasionally recommended dog meat for human consumption after being properly inspected.Denmark
Denmark's animal welfare laws do not specifically prohibit killing either dogs or cats for consumption. In 2008, a Danish farmer slaughtered his cat for consumption within the limits of Danish law, which prompted calls for the laws to protect cats and dogs, but this did not happen.France
French laws do not currently ban the slaughter of dogs for consumption. Consumption of dog meat is uncommon in France, and is now considered taboo. Dog meat has been consumed in the past by the Gauls. The earliest evidence of dog consumption in France was found at Gaulish archaeological sites, where butchered dog bones were discovered. French news sources from the late 19th century carried stories reporting lines of people buying dog meat, which was described as being "beautiful and light". During the Siege of Paris, food shortages caused by the German blockade of the city caused the citizens of Paris to turn to alternative sources for food, including dog meat. There were lines at butchers' shops of people waiting to purchase dog meat. Dog meat was also reported as being sold by some butchers in Paris in 1910.Germany
Dog meat has been eaten in every major German crisis since, at least, the time of Frederick the Great, and was commonly referred to as "blockade mutton". In the early 20th century, high meat prices led to widespread consumption of horse and dog meat in Germany.In the latter part of World War I, dog meat was being eaten in Saxony by the poorer classes because of famine conditions.
The consumption of dog meat continued in the 1920s. In 1937, a meat inspection law targeted against trichinella was introduced for pigs, dogs, boars, foxes, badgers, and other carnivores. Dog meat has been prohibited in Germany since 1986.
Netherlands
During severe meat shortages coinciding with the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, sausages found to have been made of dog meat were confiscated by authorities in the Netherlands.Poland
Dog meat is not commonly eaten. In some rural areas of Poland, especially Lesser Poland, dog fat can be made into lard, which by tradition is believed to have medicinal properties. Since the 16th century, fat from various animals, including dogs, was used as part of folk medicine, and since the 18th century dog fat has had a reputation as being beneficial for the lungs. The consumption of such meat is considered taboo in Polish culture, and making lard out of dogs' fat is illegal. In 2009, a scandal erupted when a farm near Częstochowa was discovered rearing dogs to be rendered down into lard. According to Grazyna Zawada, from Gazeta Wyborcza, there were farms in Czestochowa, Klobuck, and in the Radom area, and in the decade from 2000 to 2010 six people producing dog lard were found guilty of breaching animal welfare laws and sentenced to jail. there have been new cases prosecuted.Switzerland
In 2012, the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported that dogs, as well as cats, are eaten regularly by a few farmers in rural areas. Commercial slaughter and sale of dog meat is illegal, and farmers are allowed to slaughter dogs for personal consumption. The favorite type of meat comes from a dog related to the Rottweiler and consumed as Mostbröckli, a form of marinated meat. Animals are slaughtered by butchers and either shot or bludgeoned.In his 1979 book Unmentionable Cuisine, Calvin Schwabe described a Swiss dog meat recipe, gedörrtes Hundefleisch, served as paper-thin slices, as well as smoked dog ham, Hundeschinken, which is prepared by salting and drying raw dog meat.
It is illegal in Switzerland to commercially produce food made from dog meat.