Blowing Water | New law set to pass in the US Congress should give the impetus to end the slaughter of dogs for food worldwide
- Eating dog meat may be taboo in the West but a lack of legal sanctions means dogs can be killed for food
- There is a long way to go in Asia, where at least 30 million dogs are killed every year to be eaten
I heard a heart-warming dog-related story the other day. A businessman chartered a private jet to transport his three sick dogs back to Hong Kong from his Los Angeles home to receive life-saving treatment.
It was because the pets were too sick to make the 12,000-km journey in the cargo hold of a commercial flight. The rescue mission cost more than HK$2 million.
As insane as it might appear to most people, the owner thought he had to do it to save the dogs’ lives; he also wanted to make sure he would be close to his beloved companions.
This lovely story has miraculously restored my faith in humanity, because in Asia at least 30 million dogs are slaughtered for food every year. Dog charities and animal welfare groups put the number of dogs in the world at between 500 and 600 million.
In mainland China, about one-fifth of the population still eat dog meat, which is sometimes referred to as “fragrant meat”. A significant portion of the Chinese population hold a superstitious belief that eating it is a tonic.
