GMS countries pledge to end dog meat eating

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ANIMAL PROTECTION
GMS countries pledge to end dog meat eating
The Nation


A file photo shows a large number of dogs being trafficked from Thailand to Vietnam.

BANGKOK: -- Government officials from the countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have pledged to end the inhumane, commercial trade in dogs for meat.

Government officials agreed to work to end the trade at a recent meeting in Hanoi with animal welfare coalition Asia Canine Protection Alliance. Concerned about the spread of rabies, officials said they would enact a moratorium on the commercial transport of dogs from one country to another for the next five years. In that time, authorities will measure the impact of a moratorium on rabies transmission in the region. In Thailand, where the trade is illegal, authorities agreed to improve the enforcement of existing regulations.

"We cannot change culture or habit, but we should stop the smuggling of dogs. This meeting was important to urge government agencies to see the problems caused by the dog meat trade and discuss a platform to stop the spread of rabies," said Pornpitak Panlar, an official of the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health.

The alliance estimated that the trade is responsible for slaughtering an estimated 5 million dogs for human consumption per year. Thailand, Cambodia and Laos supply dogs for the trade into Vietnam, where they are slaughtered and consumed.

Dog meat production has evolved from small-scale household businesses to a multi-million dollar industry of illicit dog traders causing pain and suffering to the dogs involved and posing health risks to humans. The trade in dogs for meat involves movement of dogs of unknown disease and vaccination status, impeding rabies elimination efforts in the region.

Countries are failing to comply with their own national animal disease prevention measures, and are not following recommendations for rabies control and elimination by organisations such as the World Health Organisation and the World Organisation for Animal Health and the trade has been linked to outbreaks of trichinellosis, cholera and rabies. The World Health Organisation recently cited the trade as a contributing factor in recent outbreaks of rabies in Indonesia and cholera in Vietnam.

"The [rabies] situation has become more severe - especially this year. One of the main reasons is the illegal cross-border trade of dogs," said Nguyen Thu Thuy, deputy director of Vietnam’s Department of Animal Health.


-- The Nation 2013-09-03

[Tatsujin]

Great news, let's hope everyone follows through on the promises.

[PhoenixRising]

Good news, but what about the cats? They also smuggle tens of thousands of cats into Vietnam every year.

[ChrisY1]

Never stop....dogs, cats, rats....anything with a vestige of meat will continue to be eaten.....

[Yunla]

Dogburgers taste awful & afterwards you feel a bit ruff.

But yeah, human digestive system = herbivore. We descended from plant-eating monkeys, and we don't need meat at all in our diets, so theres even less reason to eat dog meat. Was a good study a few decades back on obesity/cholesterol levels globally and Thailand was in the very lowest bracket, at about 250x lower than western nations, and this is largely because of traditional papaya salads and other vegetable based cooking, fish and poultry etc. but mainly the vegetable-oriented diet. Obviously Thais do eat meat, much more so now with KFC/MCd. All animals suffer the same, cows pigs dogs etc. if you eat one you might as well eat the lot. I'm vegetarian and so I don't distinguish, ppl think dogs are cute but I had a pet pig and he was gorgeous.

[jalansanitwong]

Why stop it for heavens sake !

Its the most efficient method of getting rid of all these filthy dogs and cats.

Every day in BKK we have to step around puddles of dog urine and poo. It runs everywhere after a spell of rain.

As soon as Thais get rid of the dogs another pack rolls up and makes our street their home. They just keep coming. Eating,barking,vomiting and belching.

Its disgusting. Round up every dog and send them off to Vietnam ASAP.

Fortunately this trade will continue as there's money to be made and hungry mouths to feed.

[toybits]

GMS pledges to end dob meat eating. Will there be a parallel pledge by Western countries to stop eating caviar or something in the same vein?

[angiud]

A troll post and a civil answer deleted.

[ETatBKK]

the OP photo suggested the dogs were transported on a uncovered truck. does it mean that it is completely legally allowed and socially acceptable on the way from Thai to Vietnam ?

OMG, a dog on lower left, it still has a bell on

[noitom]

GMS pledges to end dob meat eating. Will there be a parallel pledge by Western countries to stop eating caviar or something in the same vein?

And Thais could care less about this truck humming along the highway.

[jmccarty]

Karma will get anyone that is cruel to man's best friend!

[Nickymaster]

Never stop....dogs, cats, rats....anything with a vestige of meat will continue to be eaten.....

meanwhile.....hundreds of tons of rice is rotting in storage as we speak.

[monkey4u]

Why not make the traffickers eat meat from rabies infected dogs

Allow them the experience of being locked in a small cage for a week or 2 with no water to drink, and NO medical help

If nothing else the number of traffickers will decrease

If their families protest give them the same treatment

[djayz]

I love animals, especially dogs, but something really does have to be done about all the stray dogs, cats, rats, etc. running around the streets and roads.

A lot of them look sick, some of them are down right vicious and they're breeding non-stop.

[simple1]

the words of Mahatma Ghandi on the subject:

“A roving dog without an owner is a danger to society and a swarm of them is a menace to its very existence... If we want to keep dogs in towns or villages in a decent manner no dog should be suffered to wander. There should be no stray dogs even as we have no stray cattle... But can we take individual charge of these roving dogs? Can we have a pinjrapole for them? If both these things are impossible then there seems to me no alternative except to kill them... it is an insult to the starving dog to throw a crumb at him. Roving dogs do not indicate compassion and civilization in society; they betray instead the ignorance and lethargy of its members... that means we should keep them and treat them with respect as we do our companions and not allow them to roam about.” -- quoted from www.Karmayog.com

[fakename]

How do you "smuggle" a truck load of dogs across the border?

[smoochy]

Mmmmmmm. Dog for dinner.

It's better than having to listen to barking all night long.

[geriatrickid]

I love animals, especially dogs, but something really does have to be done about all the stray dogs, cats, rats, etc. running around the streets and roads.

A lot of them look sick, some of them are down right vicious and they're breeding non-stop.

Then please support spaying and neutering. it is the most cost effective means of dealing with the problem.

[geriatrickid]

the words of Mahatma Ghandi on the subject:

“A roving dog without an owner is a danger to society and a swarm of them is a menace to its very existence... If we want to keep dogs in towns or villages in a decent manner no dog should be suffered to wander. There should be no stray dogs even as we have no stray cattle... But can we take individual charge of these roving dogs? Can we have a pinjrapole for them? If both these things are impossible then there seems to me no alternative except to kill them... it is an insult to the starving dog to throw a crumb at him. Roving dogs do not indicate compassion and civilization in society; they betray instead the ignorance and lethargy of its members... that means we should keep them and treat them with respect as we do our companions and not allow them to roam about.” -- quoted from www.Karmayog.com

With Ghandi's logic, towns and villages filled with roaming Indians should kill the Indians. Not very good.

Mind you, this comes from a man who slept with young(preteen) girls to test his self discipline to remain "proper".

It also is also the same man that though drinking one's urine was a good idea.

Let's move beyond hackneyed sloganeering do what is shown to work: Spay and neuter.

[sunshine51]

I love animals, especially dogs, but something really does have to be done about all the stray dogs, cats, rats, etc. running around the streets and roads.

A lot of them look sick, some of them are down right vicious and they're breeding non-stop.

Then please support spaying and neutering. it is the most cost effective means of dealing with the problem.

I'm outta likes GK...however...this is the most sensible answer there is to the problem.

[tcris52]

Damn! I've still got 5 or 6 around the neighborhood I'd like to offer.

[FiestyFarang]

"We cannot change culture or habit" - there was slavery in the US of culture and habits can be changed. Look at smoking etc in the West. This is a disgusting o be happening in the 21st Century but any reason to slow it down is good. How does the world look at Vietnam eating dogs. I would never visit on that basis alone.

[jpeg]

Every day in BKK we have to step around puddles of dog urine and poo. It runs everywhere after a spell of rain.

As soon as Thais get rid of the dogs another pack rolls up and makes our street their home. They just keep coming. Eating,barking,vomiting and belching.

Soi Cowboy?

[lee b]

good news

[PhoenixRising]

All other arguments aside, eating dogs that are infested with parasites and disease can't be a good idea. And to think many of these dogs are stolen pets, how do they eat it? It's not safe or ethical based on those grounds. I'm glad Vietnam's government has finally seen the light of day and done something to protect their citizens. Same goes for Lao and Cambodia.

[PhoenixRising]

"We cannot change culture or habit" - there was slavery in the US of culture and habits can be changed. Look at smoking etc in the West. This is a disgusting o be happening in the 21st Century but any reason to slow it down is good. How does the world look at Vietnam eating dogs. I would never visit on that basis alone.

Yeah, it's really horrible to ride around on a motorbike seeing roasted dog everywhere in Hanoi and disturbing to hear the live dogs in the background while seeing the people dine in a dog meat restaurant with a live dog or two in there sniffing around the tables for scraps... of dog meat. You don't want to go there, believe me. You might need therapy after that type of culture shock.

[JungleBiker]

How do you "smuggle" a truck load of dogs across the border?

Drive the truck to a place on the bank of the Mekong River. Unload the cages onto a boat. Cross the river. Load the cages onto the truck waiting on the Lao side. Continue on to the Vietnamese border. Pangolins, etc, go the same way but they go by the pick-up load, not truck load.

[toybits]

It is a cultural thing. Just like Foie Gras.

[thaiclan]

Maybe some body can educate me but why does Vietnam need to smuggle/import dogs to eat? Aren't they super easy and cheap to breed?

Seems it would be more humane (and economical) to just set up dog breeding and slaughter facilities within Vietnam and let them eat as much dog as they want?

I'm a veggie personally but if someone wants to eat meat its their choice, whatever that "meat" may be. Just seems crazy spending all that money transporting an animal as "cheap" as a dog hundreds of miles across land when you could just have a facility that breeds them.

[Kruzon]

Since most all of Thailand nationals are religiously forbidden from putting down their pets Thailand nationals have adopted the discard unwanted animal at wats and parks as the alternative "using the I didn't kill them" religious theory which frees them religiously. This results in thousands of unwanted animals being released into the wats. DON,T walk in the soi's of Pattaya without a dog stick or you may well be taking rabies shots! If you ask me, eating these unwanted and discarded animals sounds like a fair way for these animals to proceed onto the next life as opposed to the alternative being a death by starvation and or injury and or disease killing them. I have a collection of Pattaya wild dogs pictures and videos somewhere on line, just ask to see them and I will locate them. Hundreds of discarded animals!