Eating Dog

I realise this is a pretty deep and difficult topic. I'd be interested to know what you think about dogs bred and butchered for meat. I think China gets a lot of hate for this despite dogs being farmed for meat for thousands of years, even in BC. I can understand why a lot of westerners would be outraged by it. In our cultures, dogs are domesticated, often touted as "man's best friend". Over here, in our countries, dogs are loved as more than just another mammal.

However, cows and pigs and lamb are farmed and slaughtered for meat, leather, etc. Consumption of dog meat doesn't just happen in China. It happens in Vietnam, South Korea, (possibly, not 100%) Thailand, and other countries too. When you take the cute image of dogs out of the picture, and consider them as farmed in a similar manner to our own dead animals walking, what makes the dogs superior to pigs/cows/sheep/etc.? I'm discussing this because I watched a lot of videos tonight on YouTube about the topic. Most people can't back up the arguments and just cuss or say things like "YOU SHOULD BE EATEN YOU SICK ****ERS!"

Note: I am not supporting the dog meat industry. I'm just trying to understand both sides as I normally do and I'd like to hear your thoughts.

If you visit China, you will have a hard time to find any dog meat. It is not common at all.
How do I know it? I am currently on a trip there. Shanghai to be exactly. A city of over 20 million people. Dogs are pets here. I had been eating at restaurants every day since I got here. I haven't seen any restaurant menu with anything out of ordinary by western standard. Yes, I know it exist somewhere, but I have never seen it.

There is a stereotype in China about people in a southern province, Canton. "They eat everything with four legs, except for tables and chairs". Even that is a generalization.

I know such practice exist in most Asian countries, but it is not common. Definitely less common than you can see a man kissing another man in public.

China's very large. I talk to a few people online from different regions of China. A couple confirm dog meat at restaurants. The government have put in place laws against such sales, but it is a grey area in many parts of China from what I have heard and laws against it are sometimes not enforced at all. I know China has a lot of generalisations it has to deal with often spread by self-righteous westerners, but for the sake of the argument and the topic of the discussion, let's just assume that consumption of dog meat does happen in some regions of China and other countries.

I have nothing against China as I have some plans (that are in no way certain but a possibility) to move there one day. I just wanted to discuss the ethics of the topic. I also realise it's not a common practice. I just acknowledged its existence. Out of interest, how are you able to access YouTube in China?

To tell the truth, I couldn't care less what people eat. It's their business. Hindu Indians forbidden eating beef, Jews and Muslims won't eat pork. Some tribal people in central Africa think eating fish is disgusting. Every culture has some "norm" of their own. Keep an open mind is the better idea. I respect everyone's culture and religion practice.

Youtube is indeed blocked. Most other sites are not. All the major news site, wikipedia, etc. are available here.
I still ended up paying for a high bandwidth proxy server located in CA for watching Netflix. Not because it is blocked here, but rather Netflix does not have the license to send movie data to anywhere outside of the U.S. But that is another topic.

Not saying that I'll eat dog, but what makes them so different from other animals to eat? I think the main reason is because there isn't that much meat on most dogs (I say as I look at my italian greyhound lol). Other dogs like mastifs or pitbulls have a ton more meat to eat so I can see those being used. But then you look at cows and lamb which are much easier to raise in large numbers (because they don't usually have to worry about them getting along and killing eachother for one) and yield more food per body. Christian belief is that animals were put here for us to eat so why NOT dogs? Why NOT cats? It's not a moral thing that we haven't made them a main part of our delicacy, but animals are sub human so it does not matter. If someone eats dog so be it.

Because they're cute, and we're as a society taught to love them, along with many other domesticated pets. It makes me think of the sensationalist controversy created about dolphins. It's sad what happens sometimes, but much worse things happen to different animals that face extinction, but because they're not "beautiful" they are ignored. I also heard that the dolphin farming that went on actually increased their population, but I guess I'm derailing the topic here. It's relevant however since the fact of the matter really is about favouritism.

Does the west even have a right to police nations for their actions? China is often made to look far worse than it is.

(05-27-2012 02:05 PM)Mantis Wrote:  Because they're cute, and we're as a society taught to love them, along with many other domesticated pets. It makes me think of the sensationalist controversy created about dolphins. It's sad what happens sometimes, but much worse things happen to different animals that face extinction, but because they're not "beautiful" they are ignored. I also heard that the dolphin farming that went on actually increased their population, but I guess I'm derailing the topic here. It's relevant however since the fact of the matter really is about favouritism.

Does the west even have a right to police nations for their actions? China is often made to look far worse than it is.

Animals have gone extinct every day since before we started recording animal extinction. Over 90% of life that has existed is already extinct and we are constantly finding new stuff.


I think no country has any right to "police" other nations for trivial maters like that. If however a country is building weapons of mass destruction or are plotting to invade someone or our allies, or are genociding their own people, yes I think they should be stopped, if not by the west, by anybody! But like I think you said, self righteous westerners are the ones who condemn dog eating.

I agree with Kyle. There are people in Hindu cultures that think we are weird because we eat cattle. People who have pet rats think I am mean feeding them to a snake so it can live, while they eat their hamburger, and people of a Hindu descent think they are mean for eating it so they can live. It is all relative to person's beliefs. I am with the slogan: "Meat, it's what food is made of." And on that note, what makes a dog, a cow, a pig, or a sheep any better than a head of lettuce? It is alive, it produces seeds to propagate itself, and if it were a sentient being it would probably prefer not to die. But, it isn't a sentient being, therefore we do not feel bad about killing and consuming it. But, it is still killing a living creature. How many vegetables have to die to make one salad?

Again, it is all relative to one's experience and belief. For one creature to live, another must die.

I realize I'm late with this, so please excuse my tardiness, but I felt compelled to answer. I usually am a pretty defending person when it comes to different cultures, beliefs etc. (Me being Jewish myself, I can understand a lot of generalization and stereotypes can and do hurt one's feelings) I guess being largely an animal person though, I have my own limits.

If I had the option to, I would be a vegetarian myself, unfortunately, with my illness it's really not an option for me so I have to eat some meat in order to sustain me and keep me out of the hospital, or worse. Here in Australia, it's common to eat emu eggs, kangaroo meat and as I know so far "crocodile burgers." I'm sure that crocodile burgers aren't the only form of crocodile dishes, but that's the only one I know of, as my mother once ate one on an outing once in front of me...I didn't like the idea very much.

I'm very limited and particular in the types of meat that I eat. They're the traditional ones, and yes, being Jewish, they are rather kosher. So there's beef, lamb, and guiltily, even pork. Chicken or battered fish is an occasional treat but mainly because white meat really doesn't serve much purpose to me. I've even had duck a few times. However, even though kangaroo meat is largely sold at the meat aisle at grocery stores, I've never tried it, and have absolutely no desire to. I once lived with a family in my teens who had to cook me a separate meal of beef sausages while they ate "scrambled sheep brains on toast." I was mortified the first time I was made to watch them eat it at the table, personally.

However, I don't disagree with the people who enjoy the dishes, it's moreso the practice. Kangaroos and crocodiles aren't "cute" to me. Kangaroos in fact are known to brutally attack people and have actually killed in some cases. Crocodiles...well, they're definitely not cuddly. And Emu eggs? I won't even drink goat's milk or eat their cheese. But on principle, I still don't eat them. It's the boring traditional stuff for me, or I'd rather become iron deficient so much that it kills me before I could ever do that. There's just something about eating a "non-common" animal that I can't stand. Belief, culture or not, I just don't like it.

I don't care if it's culture or belief really, it's the actual practice of it that irks me. Of course, I would never, ever judge a person on it at all. I'm a little more liberal, and I try not to make too many displeased comments about it when say...my mother eats a crocodile burger in front of me, or some kangaroo steaks, but she knows I have no intention to be in the same room with her while she does it.

Yes, I believe some animals were provided to us for food, but then, some of them were prohibited too, for whatever reason. I'm not a highly religious person of my faith (hence the pork eating) but I've always stood my ground when I've stated that I can't recall dogs or other animals besides poultry, fish, cow, and sheep/goat being eaten in any religious text. (Even being Jewish, I've still seen the other versions of the Bible, must admit, I haven't read the Qu'ran)

Even disregarding the biblical or religious sense though, I just personally don't like it. Eat it sure, I can't stop them. But I'm not going to sit there in the same room while they do so, and I probably will mention that personally, I don't agree with it. When I was forced to sit at the table with the family who were eating the sheep brains (if they wanted to cook lamb, fine...but its BRAINS? Gross and disrespectful to the animal I feel) I swore to myself I wouldn't let someone force me to do such a thing again. In fact, a few years later while my mother was eating that crocodile burger at the carnival/fair/show, I actually walked away and looked around and came back when she was finished. And she still knows I disapproved of it even now. I can't help but bring it up in our many discussions about animals, but I just think there's some animals that are the exception to be eaten, the rest, should be left alone.

Besides, crocodiles and kangaroos and emu's are native Australian animals, (and globally represent Australia for the most part) so I think that should draw the line here too. It confuses me though, they're okay with crocodiles and kangaroos, but how come I never see anyone selling koala meat or fried kookaburra. Not that I even WANT to. Lol. And considering the fact that Emu eggs aren't like chicken eggs and more likely to HAVE baby emus in them...that's even worse to me. I even have a problem with veal, but that's a whole other rant on my part.

I think that the more common aspect of all of this is that we look at certain animals as a source for food. Cows, lamb, duck, turkey, alligator and crocodile among some others. While other animals we don't see as being appetizing, dog, cat, kangaroo, snake, horse, and ostrich. While certain cultures that have largely remained in their surrounding areas or have limited interaction with another culture tend to have in what we perceive as having strange or even disgusting dishes, they on the other hand view it as normal and as a delicacy.

Before the modern age, we had to spend countless weeks, months or even years in visiting far off places. Now we can spend a few hours and dine on intestine stew in India (made up food, not sure if real) and return back home to have a hamburger.

Guessing what I'm getting at here in my rambling post is that for the first people that looked at a certain animal and thought "that would be a tasty meal", and to have it spread as more and more people tried it and enjoyed it. There will always be a segment of the population that would enjoy the meat from one animal as the other portion would look at them with some level of disgust.

I have to say it, kangaroo is delicious Sorry OriJas So is ostrich. I've never eaten crocodile, but alligator is damn tasty as well. It all comes back to a persons, or a cultures, belief system. And everybody is different. Which, in my opinion, is what makes the world interesting. If everyone believed exactly what I believe, or what anybody else believes, all with the exact same opinions, the world would be a pretty boring place.

Most people here seem to be quite open mind on this subject.
There are people out there talking like if it is murder when some people from other culture eating certain animals that are not normally eaten in their own.

I won't eat certain stuff, but I respect every culture norm.

I want to eat kangaroo myself. It sounds great. But I know I'll hear the Skippy the Bush Kangaroo theme song in my head as I'm digging into it.





I found a website that sells kangaroo, ostrich, croc, python, zebra, and many other tasty animals.

I've had lion as well, it was ground and mixed with some type of antelope. It was good, but very gamey. I've never had any python, (I have to type covertly since my female bredl python Cinnamon is around my neck ), but I have had rattlesnake. It was noting special honestly, it tasted a little like chicken. Seriously.

I know I'm very late in responding to this thread but I'd also like to share my insight coming from a country who also eats dog meat. Firstly, they aren't publicly accepted but some villages and other regions in my country do offer dog meat as a delicacy. Fortunately, due to the creation of the Animal Welfare Society, dog meat trading is already illegal. However, this does not stop some people on picking up stray dogs and preparing them as beer snacks. It is harsh but that's the reality of it.

Compared to cows, lambs and chickens, you may be wondering why dog meat eating isn't encouraged. Well, aside from them being cute, adorable and loving, dogs tend be aggressive on people who eat their fellow species especially when the stench or smell of dog is still emanating from them.

Am I against eating dog meat? Yes. However, I will not be a judge of those who do because I know how impoverish our country can be and it's no surprise how people are willing to resort to this to survive.

I would like to share some news information I have recently read. In 2002, a police intercepted three vans which carried 175 caged and muzzled dogs en route to an illegal slaughterhouse. Out of this 175 dogs, only 91 survived.

Every country has its own cultures and beliefs. I personally am not one for eating dog meat but I can't judge others for doing so. We eat things here in the US that other cultures won't eat so I think it is to each their own. I also wouldn't eat horse, goat, lamb, ostrich or some other meats but it's not my business what other people eat.

Interesting discussion. Yes there are a multitude of countries who still eat dog. I live in New Zealand which is located in the South Pacific. Tonga is also a country in the South Pacific and one of their delicacies is .. you’ve guessed it dog.

In social anthropology we briefly studied one day the debate on eating dog and whether it's right or wrong. You're right humans breed other animals for slaughter including cows, pigs and chickens. What makes eating dog any different. It seems to be our culture and upbringing. Although perhaps our long history with dogs and wolves may also make eating dog seem wrong.

Personally I'd never eat dog, I'm vegetarian afterall. I also admit I don't think kind thoughts about companies who mass breed dogs for consumption. I know I'm being unfair but I saw a documentary about St Bernards being bred for consumption and it made me physically ill.

(06-13-2012 04:18 PM)tajnz Wrote:  Personally I'd never eat dog, I'm vegetarian afterall. I also admit I don't think kind thoughts about companies who mass breed dogs for consumption. I know I'm being unfair but I saw a documentary about St Bernards being bred for consumption and it made me physically ill.

Might I just add that Chow Chows were also meant to be eaten. They're also known for their purple colored tongues. Anyway, luckily, the Chinese eventually saw them as wonderful pets and are no longer breeding them to be eaten as meals.

I must admit that this issue is full of booby-traps. What's food for some people is taboo for others. Some of the prohibitions against each certain animals seem to be logical to those who agree with not eating it. For example, I have talked to some Hindu friends and they told me the reason why they don't eat beef was that the cow was a very useful animal which helped man to do a lot of work while it was strong. So they considered it to be a very bad thing to reward a cow for its service to man by eating it.

The same argument, in my view, should apply to dogs, too. Dogs are very faithful companions and they would, literally, lay down their lives for their masters. So it's really unthinkable to reward their loyalty by eating them. However, this may not apply to dogs which are bred specifically for food. The problem was that, from what I have read so far, a lot of dogs that were eaten were not actually bred for food but rather were stolen. Which meant that those dogs being slaughtered were actually pets.

One other thing, from what I understand about eating dog meat, it's not a regular kind of food even for the people who eat it. In Chinese, it's called by the euphemism "fragrant meat" and it's believed that dog meat is some kind of aphrodisiac. So what's needed here is to have an ongoing campaign to dispel the myths about dog meat. Then we can look forward to the day, when a dog would be in no danger of being eaten by man anywhere in the world.

I thought in china the "disgusting" thing people ate was cat.

This is a little unrelated, but not really. I used to live in Joliet Illinois, and there was an "All You Can Eat" style chinese restaurant there called "Joyce Lee China Buffet". They got shut down because health inspectors found dead cats un-skinned, as well as skinned and prepared cat meats in their coolers. This sounds like a total urban legend, right? Well I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was about 10 years ago now. My stepmom and I would go there almost every weekend while we did our shopping, and it was horrifying to read about what we had been eating. Yeah, the whole thing was written up in the local Herald newspaper. The owners were arrested, a couple were deported...and I didn't eat chinese food from a restaurant until I moved to Europe, 8 years later... where the food laws are more intense than most drug laws.

Let this be a little bit of a cautionary tale to you all. It's a commonly told story, "how's the cat?", but it's not funny when you find out you've actually been eating the neighborhood pets for a few years running.

This also reminds me of the Cheech and Chong bit from "Up in smoke", when Chong gets a burrito in mexico:

"Hey man, how can you eat that stuff? You know it's probably dog in there"
"Good dog, man."

Well, I don't like to eat any animal so eating a dog is out of the question for me. I'm trying to become a vegetarian and slowly transitioning from a carnivore by limiting by daily intake of meat (half of half a chicken breast between my fiancee and I).

I don't think cuteness has anything to do with, but rather the moral structure of taking an innocent life just to feed your indulgence.

(06-21-2012 09:45 PM)reydempto Wrote:  I thought in china the "disgusting" thing people ate was cat.

This is a little unrelated, but not really. I used to live in Joliet Illinois, and there was an "All You Can Eat" style chinese restaurant there called "Joyce Lee China Buffet". They got shut down because health inspectors found dead cats un-skinned, as well as skinned and prepared cat meats in their coolers. This sounds like a total urban legend, right? Well I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was about 10 years ago now. My stepmom and I would go there almost every weekend while we did our shopping, and it was horrifying to read about what we had been eating. Yeah, the whole thing was written up in the local Herald newspaper. The owners were arrested, a couple were deported...and I didn't eat chinese food from a restaurant until I moved to Europe, 8 years later... where the food laws are more intense than most drug laws.

Let this be a little bit of a cautionary tale to you all. It's a commonly told story, "how's the cat?", but it's not funny when you find out you've actually been eating the neighborhood pets for a few years running.

This also reminds me of the Cheech and Chong bit from "Up in smoke", when Chong gets a burrito in mexico:

"Hey man, how can you eat that stuff? You know it's probably dog in there"
"Good dog, man."

I haven't had any experience with Chinese who ate cats. However, there was a time when I lived near a factory which employed quite a lot of Vietnamese laborers. Cats disappeared mysteriously. People suspected that the Vietnamese were responsible. I am not too sure because I haven't heard of anyone catching them red-handed. I do know that someone had stolen my ducks, though. Maybe it was the Vietnamese. Maybe it was just some other people.

The point I am trying to make is that when strange things happen, strangers are the first suspects.

I haven't and I probably wouldn't. I'm all for trying new things but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat dog meat, just because it was available.


Saying that, if it was prepared and cooked and in a buffet say, then I might try some. I find it hard to associate a cooked meat with it's original animal.

All of this "never did never will" talk seems like wishful thinking to me. Don't expect to find advertisements for non-orthodox animal meat...they just kind of put it into their foods without telling you.

So never say never--you may have already savored the flavor of man's best friend O.O