Dogs off the menu in China
DOGS were officially removed from the menu across China yesterday after decades of campaigning by a British charity.
Beijing issued its official livestock – and dogs were omitted.
The move, which follows suspected links between wildlife and coronavirus, means that selling live dogs and dog meat for food is now outlawed.
China’s Ministry of Agriculture said: “With the progress of the times, people’s civilisation ideas and eating habits are constantly changing, and some traditional customs about dogs will also change.”
Concern
list of at last
The ban has been announced ahead of a notorious midsummer festival where thousands of dogs are eaten in Yulin, southern China.
Cats have never been on the National Catalogue of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources so they too should be protected, said Animals Asia.
In 2008 I went with the charity to witness the horror of the dog meat trade in Guangzhou.
On the outskirts of town was a large shed with a concrete floor and
Cruel trade…dogs that are to be eaten are kept in cages in Yulin market
a metal roof which had hundreds of dogs waiting inside, thankfully unaware of what lay in store.
Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson, 61, said: “This is a landmark decision that reflects the growing concern for animal welfare in China.”
But the ban may make the trade go underground such is the demand for cat and dog meat. Millions of cats and dogs are eaten each year in China, and some customers believe that the more brutal the death, the better the taste.
Ms Robinson has also campaigned for an end to the bear bile industry where bears are kept in cages and milked for bile to supply traditional Chinese medicine.
She has persuaded Vietnam outlaw the practice by 2022. to