Eating Dogs and Cats


by Michael
(London, UK)

I would like briefly to bring up this very difficult subject again as it is in the news. I don’t wish to upset the Chinese and/or other Asian people some of whom eat dog and cat but I think it needs to be stopped because to me it seems very wrong.

I have already addressed this subject before. A story in the Times has prompted me to write about it again because I think that it will stop one day but that day is in the distance.

There are a fine group of at least 200 animal rights activists in China who wish that the eating of dogs and cats stop. They appear to be brave people because we know that both animal and human rights are almost non-existent in China. Eating dogs and cats is legal and acceptable in parts of China. On this occasion a consignment of 450 dogs were being transported by lorry from Henen province (central China) to a restaurant in Jilin.

dogs in lorry being taken to market to be slaughtered for human consumption
Lorry transporting dogs
See pictures of animal abuse.

The activists stopped the lorry in east Beijing and refused to let it pass. There was a 15 hour standoff until the activists bought the 450 dogs for a reputed £12,000 – almost £27 per dog. That is a large sum of money in China. It seems that the activists are well funded. The price must reflect the value of the dogs to the restaurant owner. There is a lot of money in dog and cat meat. If the entire consignment was for a single restaurant they must have a very large storage facility to keep the dogs (and cats?) alive until slaughtered.

An estimated 200,000 dogs and cats are eaten in Shanghai yearly.

There have been other similar cases of cat and dog rescue by I presume the same group.

The culture or mentality that allows a kitten to be tied to a pole for its life is the same one that allows dogs and cats to be maltreated before being often slaughtered in a brutal manner and eaten for some mistaken medical benefit.

My argument as to why it is wrong to eat dogs and cats is this. Dogs and cats are recognized the world over as companion animals. We have agreed to that state of affairs as have the animals. To turn on them and kill them for food is a breach of that moral agreement. They are not livestock. If they were they would be better treated probably, although in China they even farm tigers, the proud and popular biggest cat species.

Eating dogs and cats is supported by a similar mentality to that which allows cats to be declawed. There is a complete lack of empathy with animals and a culture that says that the human is king and he can do as he pleases. He cannot.

Michael Avatar

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Eating Dogs and Cats

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Apr 21, 2011 How cruel
by: OJ

How very cruel some people are!

Imagine sitting down to roast cat or dog,although I don’t suppose meat eaters would know the difference as they turn a blind eye that their meal was once a sentient being.

I’m glad to see there are more vegetarians than me here on PoC,we are the people who can honestly say we love animals.


Apr 21, 2011 Set a good example
by: Rose

You must understand that some people think they can’t live without eating meat,they justify it by saying the animals are dead anyway.
The same mentality exists in pet eating countries,they accept that animals are badly treated and die for their benefit.
We can only pass on our good examples.
I had a Quorn fillet for my dinner yesterday,crispy on the outside and tender as chicken on the inside.
I can remember the taste of chicken and I truly think a person eating a Quorn fillet and who didn’t know it wasn’t real chicken would be astonished and maybe converted to vegetarianism.
There is so much choice nowadays.My children are being brought up veggies and are much healthier than I was as a child.
I know someone who when abroad ate a roast guinea pig,everyone was shocked at the photo of her enjoying it.
But why?
Most of those same people eat cows,sheep,pigs,chickens,turkeys and fish without a second thought.


Apr 21, 2011 ALL life is sacred
by: Fran

Well said Ruth and even better said Maggie!
Where are all the other visitors who are usually quick to jump on an animal abuser with their comments?
Do you all eat animals and birds fully knowing how they suffer?
All forms of life are sacred whether they be human or animal.
Eating flesh is not essential to a healthy life.
Maggie is right,the eating of any kind of flesh needs to be stopped by anyone criticising other flesh eaters.


Apr 21, 2011 Eating dogs and eating pigs, what’s the difference?
by: Maggie

The world is one very sick place when it comes to animals. And I am frustrated that people are sickened when they hear of eating cats and dogs, but are perfectly fine with eating chickens, sheep, pigs, cows, turkeys, fish, rabbits and so on.

At what point in time did humans decide which animals live and which animals die? What is so bad about certain animals that they have to unwillingly die? And let me assure you, their deaths are not humane, they are painful, slow and cruel.

To be perfectly honest, anyone who eats meat and thinks it’s okay, while saying that eating cats and dogs is wrong, is a hypocrite, and their views are invalid. Every second millions of animals face death, imagine if it was you waiting in line, watching your friends and family have their throats cut…

It’s not killing and eating cats and dogs that needs to end, it’s killing and eating ALL animals that needs to end. Cats and dogs are wonderful animals, my cat is sitting with me as I type this, but their lives are in no way superior to the lives of any other animal. All life is precious, you can’t be sickened by one animal’s death while support another’s.

There’s no such thing as an animal lover who eats meat.

(Watch this if you really care about animals)

I am vegan, and my lifestyle is designed to stop animal exploitation, and as a result, end animal cruelty and suffering.


Apr 20, 2011 My thoughts
by: Ruth

Eating cats and dogs is dreadful and unthinkable to me but so is eating ‘food’ animals and birds.
The cultures eating what we know as pets could turn around and say to us ‘But you eat animals too and cats and dogs are animals’
The picture of those dogs crammed in that lorry is what happens to many ‘food’ animals.
‘Food’ animals are not always treated kindly, I’m sure everyone has read about the way some animals and birds live in terrible conditions and the way they are abused in slaughter houses.
They are living beings and feel fear and pain just like we do.
People are just hypocrites ! For example we look at lambs jumping happily around in a field and say ‘Ahh how sweet’ then sit down later and eat a part from another lamb which was not long ago happy in a field too.
I’m vegetarian now and have been for a long time but I still feel ashamed that I used to say I love all animals but then sit and eat them.
Humans are supposed to be the highest form of life on this earth but sadly we are the lowest !

Kattaddorra signature Ruth


Apr 20, 2011 eating cats and dogs.
by: Rudolph.A.Furtado

“One humans food is another humans poison” is true.The photograph of the dogs being transported in cages to “slaughter houses” reminds me of “Broiler chickens” being cruelly transported for slaughter in Mumbai’s markets.
Among certain religions and cultures, its taboo to consume certain livestock, hence consumption of beef is taboo amongst hindu’s in India as also pork by muslims and jews.
Consumption of cats and dogs is common in China,Korea and vietnam although all pet owners would find it disgusting and unthinkable.
I once owned a pet “asil hen”, a fighting breed of fowls for almost a year in Mumbai as i got fascinated with “Fighting Cocks” during my visit to a “Cock-fight stadium” in Manila in 1995. Although a chicken consumer, i finally donated it to the ‘S.P.C.A” to be retired as a pet bird and not a “food bird” since my residence was small for its upkeep and maintenance.To me the chicken was a pet bird whereas for others it was a common edible fowl.Similarly, dogs and cats are just “Food Products” to chineese, Koreans, Vietnameese and tourists, hence as “pet owners” we can just advice people from stopping the consumption of cats and dogs.


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