China’s dog meat trade back in spotlight after celebrity canine reportedly stolen and eaten
Consuming dog meat is not explicitly banned, but the country has introduced some regulatory changes in recent years.
A food stall in China selling noodles with dog meat. (Photo: CNA/Tan Si Hui)
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BEIJING: The reported theft and consumption of a celebrity pet dog has reignited debate in China over the country’s dog meat trade, prompting renewed discussion about animal protection laws and shifting public attitudes over the practice.
According to local reports, a border collie named Chutou was stolen while its owner was overseas, before being sold to a dog meat restaurant in central China for about US$25 and later eaten.
The internet-famous canine had more than 1.5 million followers on Chinese social media.
Its owner has filed a police report and is seeking legal redress, but experts say pursuing the case could be challenging.
While China currently has no national law explicitly banning the consumption of dog meat, it has introduced some regulatory changes in recent years.
In 2020, dogs were removed from the country’s livestock catalogue and reclassified as pets. Major cities including Shenzhen and Zhuhai have also banned the consumption of dogs and cats.
“The broader issue is that because there is no legal supply chain for dog meat, many dogs entering the trade come from theft,” said animal rights lawyer An Xiang from Beijing Dexiang Law Firm.
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REHOMING DOGS
The case has also drawn attention to the work of animal welfare groups seeking to rescue dogs from the trade and rehome them.
On Jun 7, 11 dogs were transported from Yulin in southern China to an animal shelter in Beijing after being removed from a slaughterhouse linked to the dog meat trade.
Two of the canines did not survive the 30-hour journey.
The remaining nine dogs are now receiving care at the shelter, where they will undergo health checks, testing for infectious diseases and parasites, and treatment for existing medical conditions. The long-term goal is to prepare them for adoption.
One of the rescued dogs, Taishan, is estimated to be around two years old and is in particularly poor condition, suffering from mild eye discharge and severe skin disease.
It will need at least three months of rehabilitation before it can be put up for adoption.
“Right now, many of them are very afraid of people. Getting them out of their cages is difficult,” said Cao Jinwei, secretary-general of the Capital Animal Welfare Association, a non-governmental organisation that is helping to house the dogs at the shelter.
“Later on, because we hope to have them adopted, we’ll work on modifying some of their behaviours. We have trainers who specialise in behavioural and socialisation work. They’ll help the dogs become more comfortable around people.”
For the Humane World for Animals, another non-profit that worked with its local partner VShine to transport the dogs, the Yulin rescue operation represents more than just saving a handful of animals.
Members said they worked with the slaughterhouse owner to shut down the facility, with the owner agreeing to leave the dog meat trade altogether.
The organisation hopes the closure can serve as a model for similar efforts elsewhere in China as attitudes toward companion animals continue to evolve.
EVOLVING REGULATIONS
China is currently revising legislation to strengthen penalties for pet abandonment and abuse, amid renewed calls for tougher punishment for animal abusers.
Earlier this month, rare public protests broke out in the southwestern city of Chongqing after videos circulated on Chinese social media sites, purportedly showing a man abusing dogs on a balcony at night.
In terms of dog meat consumption in China, while there are no official national statistics tracking the issue, past reports suggest that consumption has declined in recent years.
At its peak in 2012, more than 10,000 canines were reportedly slaughtered annually for the controversial dog meat festival in Yulin. By 2015, that figure had fallen to around 2,000.
Animal welfare advocates say further legal reforms are needed.
“We do hope that fundamentally, the Chinese government can legislate a special act to outlaw dog and cat meat trade,” said Peter Li, China policy advisor at Humane World for Animals.
“Importantly, China has a huge community of pet lovers, so it is time for the Chinese government to outlaw the trade once and for all,” added Li, who is also an associate professor of East Asian politics at the University of Houston-Downtown.
An Xiang the lawyer concurred, saying he would “much rather live in an environment where no one abuses animals; where everyone agrees that such behaviour should be punished by law”.
“Once this view is shared by a certain proportion of society, it creates the foundation for legislation, then it’s up to policymakers to act on it,” he added.
Some Beijing residents told CNA that public attitudes towards eating dog meat have changed significantly. This comes as pet ownership in the country has been on the rise in recent years.
“It seems that people in Beijing used to eat it more often in the past, but now it’s basically disappeared. Hardly anyone eats dog meat in Beijing,” said one resident.
Another said: “I have a dog myself, so I can’t accept it. The little dogs and pets are part of our everyday lives.”
Source: CNA/lt(mp)
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