Dog and Cat Meat and Fur Trades Laos

The dog and cat meat trade in LAOS (Asia):

Most people in Laos do not eat dog or cat meat, but many live and dead dogs, and dog meat, are smuggled from Laos into Vietnam for the dog meat trade.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, Dogs are man’s best friend yet they are being cruelly killed for food)  It is illegal to import or transport dogs or dog meat into Vietnam.  Despite this law, up to 500,000 dogs a year are smuggled from Laos into Vietnam through the Cao Treo border crossing between Laos and Vietnam.  Authorities in Cao Treo posted signs at the Cao Treo border crossing warning traffickers of the consequences of smuggling dogs and dog meat into Vietnam.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2015, Vietnamese Authorities Clamp Down on Illegal Importation of Dogs and Dog Meat)

Laos is considered a high-risk area for rabies from dogs.  (CDC, 2021, High-Risk Countries for Dog Rabies) 

Article 353 of the Laos Penal Code, put into effect in November 2018, makes the abuse and mistreatment of animals a criminal offense in Laos.  (Yap, 2019, Laos Criminalizes Animal Abuse in Updated Penal Code)