Dog Meat Trade in the Philippines

[Annces]

From Humane Society

The majority of Filipinos do not agree with the consumption of dog meat. A growing fondness for man's best friend and an expanding pet-keeping culture have added to the disdain for this practice. But while the dog meat trade has been illegal since the passage of the Animal Welfare Act in 1998, a lack of strong penalties and enforcement has allowed the industry to flourish.

HSI has joined forces with Network for Animals, Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Animal Welfare Coalition and local authorities to crack down on the dog meat trade through funding for training to enforce the law, immediate care for confiscated animals, and a public awareness campaign about the cruel trade.

HSI also coordinated the sending of letters, signed by members of Congress, to the U.S. Secretary of State and the Philippines president requesting that the U.S. discuss with Philippine officials how the U.S. can assist in the enforcement of the Anti-Rabies Act, e.g. through police training, or otherwise support efforts to ensure the law's effectiveness.

You Can Help
- Write to the mayor of Baguio City, a notorious hotspot for dog meat.
- Make a donation to support HSI's efforts to end this cruel trade for good.

For more information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on this issue.

http://www.hsus.org/hsi/confronting_cruelty/philippines_dog_meat/the-dog-meat-trade-in-the-philippines-frequently-asked-questions.html

http://www.hsus.org/hsi/confronting_cruelty/philippines_dog_meat/







(Apparently International Fund for Animals started working on this cause in the 1980s.)

[MADem]

1. Large dogs are crossbred with St Bernards in China to provide the dogmeat delicacy over that way.

I used to see fat little dogs, about the size of pugs only with way more meat on their little bones, in the markets in Osan Korea, too. They were in the "butcher shop" area, too--not the "Gee, let's buy a little pet" section.

You really need to put a "graphic image" warning on your headline. That picture is profoundly disturbing.

[MercutioATC]

2. I hope you're vegan.

A dog is no different than a pig when it comes right down to it.

They're both sources of meat.


If your argument is that we shouldn't eat ANY animals I'd disagree...but you'd have an ethical leg to stand on. Saving just the "cute" animals might be socially popular, but it's silly.

[phantom power]

3. Is that a dog trussed up with a can tied to its muzzle?

Because, fuck me.
:puke:

[Chulanowa]

4. And is it any more immoral than any other kind of meat?

I don't see that the mutts are treated any worse than cattle, swine, or fowl.

I'm not saying it's right, but it IS a little goofy for Americans to get worked up about it when we saw off chicken beaks, cram them into cages without the room for one bird, and then pump them full of hormones to keep the eggs a'coming.

[Nihil]

5. If it's raised like on the OP photo then damn right it is more immoral.

It is immoral in *EXACTLY* the same way that battery farmed chicken is immoral.

If you are comparing "free range dog" to "free range pig" or "free range
chicken" then both you and Merc (earlier post) are correct in that they
are a source of meat - not one that I'd choose but that is (as you both
say) a cultural preference rather than a humane/moral one.

My objection is to "factory farmed" meat (of any kind) and I really don't
think that you'd get away with producing pork/beef/whatever with the
animal tied & treated like the above. (If that's different where you live,
I'm not sure what to say other than I'm glad I don't live there.)

:shrug:

[Chulanowa]

6. More immoral, or exactly as immoral?

Which is it?

But yes, you CAN get away with equivalent treatment of livestock here in the states. That dog is muzzled and tied. Uncomfortably tied, of course. Here, if a pig doesn't move, it's scooped up in a motor shovel and lobbed into the slaughterhouse anyway. Cattle are regularly killed without even the benefit of the anal tazing.

I object to factory meat as well. My point is, it's just hypocritical to get up in arms over slaughtering dogs for food with all the shit our own livestock goes through. What it looks like to me is people going "Those Chinese bastards eat puppies, but OH! Veal is on sale!"

[Nihil]

7. Yes: More immoral than some, exactly as immoral as others.

Your original question was "more immoral than any other kind of meat?"
(my italics) and so my answer was "Yes" as it is "more immoral" than free range
meat (regardless of which creature you are intending to eat) but I see your
point that is is "exactly as immoral" as the factory farming of any animal.

> What it looks like to me is people going "Those Chinese bastards eat
> puppies, but OH! Veal is on sale!"

Philippino but WTH ... I doubt the people who'd make that comment would be
able to differentiate ... :-)

I agree that there will be some of that going on but don't agree that they
should get a free pass simply because we haven't managed to stamp out the
last of the cruelty in our own countries yet. YMMV.

:shrug:

[Chulanowa]

8. "Free Range" is a lie

Under the regulations, so long as a facility has outdoor access, it can be "free range" - There's no rule about the animals having to have access to the outdoors, just that the potential for access has to be there' Also included in "free range" are the gigantic fenced-in sheds that they cram thousands of turkeys into - Wind can blow in one side and out the other, so legally, it's "open range." There are exceptions of course, but these sort of loopholes do get used.

Myself, I used to only eat what meat I hunted, or that I could get from hunters I considered reputable. But, that was in Alaska. Living in the Sea-Tac area, it's a bit harder to get reputable meat, so I have to break down and shell out for the nasty stuff - My local stores consider organic and vegan items "specialty" and prices accordingly.

I'll be honest, I don't have much against the idea of eating dog. When it really comes down to it, meat is meat, and I see no moral issues with eating another animal - so long as it is treated humanely and killed with as little pain and as much respect as possible.