It’s extraordinary to me, but I’ve just discovered that this UK government has decided not to ban the eating of cat and dog meat in the country because they believe that it would be culturally insensitive towards South East Asian nations. Shame on the British government.
For me, this is indirectly supporting the brutal cat and dog meat trade in south-east Asia. It is condoning it. It is saying is all right to do it. Well, it is clearly not all right to do it. If the UK government knew anything about cat and dog meat in south-east Asia they would know that the animals are brutally slaughtered in the most inhumane way. To allow cat and dog meat to be eaten in this country is, as stated above, condoning this brutal practice.
It is not a question of being culturally insensitive. It is a question of being morally correct and doing the right thing by animal welfare. The British pride themselves in setting high standards of animal welfare and yet here we are condoning the brutal practices behind cat and dog meat. It a horrible abdication of the duties of government.
Apparently, ministers in the UK government had drawn up a new law making it a criminal offence to possess dog and cat meat in Britain. The former secretary of the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, had ordered the ban earlier in 2019.
The UK Ministry of Justice has blocked this order for the reasons stated above. Animal welfare groups had persuaded Michael Gove to match the US law which bans cat and dog meat in that country. They also argue that it will be difficult to implement and enforce the new ban. Further, they say that the current law against transporting or exporting cat and dog meat already imposes restrictions on the practice. I would suggest that this is a poor argument.
South Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Austria and Germany have banned consuming dog meat. Why haven’t they banned cat meat as well?
A number of British parliamentarians backed the UK ban. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said:
“We currently have some of the strongest animal welfare laws in the world. The government is currently considering whether any changes are needed in this area in the UK and will set out any plans in due course.”
As I read that, it is a coded message to say that the government intends to do nothing about it. It is kicking it into the long grass. Eating cat and dog meat in the UK is rare and, to be honest, it is the first time that I have heard about it.
In the UK there is a high degree of political correctness with respect to how people discuss the cultures of ethnic minorities in the country. You simply can’t discuss it. It is not permissible because you are liable to be branded a racist.
Source: UNILAD.
