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

It is estimated that 5 million dogs are slaughtered for human consumption in Vietnam each year.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, Dogs are man’s best friend yet they are being cruelly killed for food)  Eating cat meat was banned in Vietnam in 1998.  Despite the ban, people still eat cat meat in Vietnam.  Many of the officials who are supposed to enforce the ban against eating cat meat consume cat meat themselves.  (Red Door News, 2015, Cruel trade: the flourishing cat-meat restaurants of north Vietnam)

The majority of the live dogs in the dog meat trade in Vietnam come from Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, Dogs are man’s best friend yet they are being cruelly killed for food)

Article 21 of Vietnam’s 2016 Law on Animal Health states that organizations and individuals who “use animals” must treat them humanely, and minimize pain and fear to animals during production, such as transportation and slaughter.  (Huong & Ward, 2015, Vietnam National Assembly Passes Animal Health Law)  The Law on Animal Health does not contain any provisions to punish organizations and individuals who violate this law.  (Animals Asia, 2018, PETITION: Urge the Vietnam government to outlaw cruelty to animals)  The dogs destined for the meat trade in Vietnam suffer horrific conditions starting from the beginning when they are obtained for the meat trade, to when they are transported, sold, and slaughtered.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, ACPA’s Work)  As with other dogs transported for the meat trade in Asia, many dogs die of suffocation, dehydration, or heatstroke during transport.  The dogs are transported for days in cramped cages piled on top of each other, while being deprived of water, food, and rest.  Many of the dogs suffer from disease.  Many are injured by rough handling.  They are handled with iron pincers, which are clamped around their neck or leg.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, The Dog Meat Trade: A Severe and Prevalent Animal Welfare Concern)  Slaughterers kill dogs in many different ways, including bludgeoning them with a heavy metal pipe, slitting their throats, stabbing them in the chest with a large knife, boiling them alive in hot water, and burning them with a blowtorch, while in front of other dogs.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, Dogs are man’s best friend yet they are being cruelly killed for food)

Many pets are stolen for the dog and cat meat trade in Vietnam.  (Nikkei, 2018, Hanoi’s plan to ban dog meat puts pressure on hundreds of vendors)  The number of pet dogs being stolen for the dog meat trade in Vietnam continues to increase.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, The Dog Meat Trade: A Severe and Prevalent Animal Welfare Concern)  It is estimated that 70% of the dogs slaughtered for their meat in Vietnam are stolen pets or strays.  (Hyams, Lee, Garcia, 2017, Dog Meat Professionals, Investigative Documentary about Korea’s Dog Meat Trade)  Criminals can make huge profits on stolen dogs.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2015, Take URGENT action to stop the brutal slaughter of dogs for their meat!)  Cats are also taken from homes and streets all across Vietnam for the meat trade.  (Red Door News, 2015, Cruel trade: the flourishing cat-meat restaurants of north Vietnam)  Many cat owners are afraid of having their pet cats stolen.  (Time, 2014, Vietnam Cat Owners Must Live With Fear of Pets Getting Stolen and Eaten)

In North Vietnamese live animal meat markets, hundreds of live and dead dogs are sold for human consumption.  (NY Times Post, 2020, Inside the horrific, inhumane animal markets behind pandemics like coronavirus)

Cat meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam, and is believed to be a source of strength and potency.  (Red Door News, 2015, Cruel trade: the flourishing cat-meat restaurants of north Vietnam)  Vietnamese who eat cats believe eating cat meat at the beginning of every month “wards off bad luck, boosts libido, and gives them the agility of the cat.”  (Hodge, 2018, Drowned Like Rats. Gruesome pictures show a cat meat market in Vietnam where terrified pets are caged, killed and cooked.)  Rich people, military leaders, police, lawyers, and heads of big companies are some of the customers who regularly eat cat meat.  Some tourists eat cat meat as a novelty meal.  (Red Door News, 2015, Cruel trade: the flourishing cat-meat restaurants of north Vietnam)

Many cats are smuggled from Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in southern China into Thai Binh Province in northern Vietnam for the cat meat trade, including pets and strays.  Cats are also smuggled into Thai Binh Province from Laos.  It is estimated that around 50,000 cats smuggled from China and Laos into Thai Binh Province are taken to Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam in the northern part of the country.  There is also a thriving trade in live cats in Quang Ninh Province in north central Vietnam, and transporters often bring these cats to Va Town in Bac Ninh Province in northern Vietnam.  Cat meat is very popular in Vietnam, especially in Va town, where the trade operates openly.  (Red Door News, 2015, Cruel trade: the flourishing cat-meat restaurants of north Vietnam)

Cats are crammed into cages and bags for transport, with cats often piled on top of each other.  The cats endure brutal treatment in order to put them under duress, which causes them to release adrenaline.  The butchers of the cats believe the meat is better because of the adrenaline.  Some cats are drowned in cages.  (Hodge, 2018, Drowned Like Rats. Gruesome pictures show a cat meat market in Vietnam where terrified pets are caged, killed and cooked.)  The butchers throw the cats from cages into boiling water, often while they are still alive.  The butchers then put the cats into a rotating machine that removes their skins, and then cut them up.  (Red Door News, 2015, Cruel trade: the flourishing cat-meat restaurants of north Vietnam)

In January 2015, police authorities intercepted a truck from Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam jammed with several thousands of cats bound for the meat trade in Hanoi, Vietnam.  Although rescue organizations were available to rescue the cats and provide veterinary care, Government officials ordered the cats to be killed the next day, saying it would prevent the spread of disease.  The cats were crushed in their cages by a dump truck and buried.  (Red Door News, 2015, Cruel trade: the flourishing cat-meat restaurants of north Vietnam)

Hanoi, Vietnam, has a large consumer base for dog and cat meat.  (Soi Dog Foundation, 2019, End of Year Report 2018)  City officials in Hanoi plan to ban the slaughter and consumption of dogs and cats in central districts by 2021, and plan to shut down all dog meat restaurants in the city by the same time frame.  Hanoi officials announced that the dog and cat meat trade “does not present a modern image of the capital,” and that the trade is offensive to expatriates and tourists visiting Vietnam.  A Hanoi resident suggested that the dog and cat meat ban will be impossible to enforce because of the popularity of dishes containing dog and cat meat.  Vietnamese people who are opposed to the ban say that the practice of eating dog and cat meat is a vital part of Vietnamese culture, and they plan to subvert law enforcement in order to continue eating dogs and cats.  There are approximately 1,000 or more dog and cat meat vendors and restaurants in Hanoi.  Some Vietnamese people believe that eating dog meat at the end of each month eliminates any bad luck suffered in previous weeks in that month, and eating cat meat at the beginning of each month brings good luck for that month.  Many people in Vietnam slaughter and consume dogs and cats in their homes, especially for family gatherings.  (Nikkei, 2018, Hanoi’s plan to ban dog meat puts pressure on hundreds of vendors)

Vietnam is considered a high-risk area for rabies from dogs.  (CDC, 2021, High-Risk Countries for Dog Rabies)  Vietnamese officials made the importation and transportation of dogs and dog meat into Vietnam illegal in an attempt to eliminate rabies.  It is also illegal to transport dogs between provinces in Vietnam without the proper paperwork because of the threat of rabies.  Vietnamese officials do not always enforce these laws.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2015, Vietnamese Authorities Clamp Down on Illegal Importation of Dogs and Dog Meat)  Rabies virus isolates from dogs in the meat trade in China were found in Vietnam.  (Garba, 2013, Evaluation of dog slaughter and consumption practices related to the control of rabies in Nigeria)  Despite the Vietnamese law against the importation and transport of dogs and dog meat, up to 500,000 dogs a year have been known to be smuggled into Vietnam through the Cao Treo border crossing between Laos and Vietnam in north central Vietnam.  Authorities in Vietnam posted signs at the Cao Treo border crossing with Laos 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)

Soi Dog Foundation is working with the Vietnamese national government to increase laws that prohibit the dog meat trade, and with Vietnamese law enforcement to enforce any laws enacted in regards to the dog meat trade.  Soi Dog Foundation is also working with Vietnamese television broadcasters to inform the Vietnamese public of the brutality of the dog meat industry and the human health risks associated with the industry.  (Soi Dog Foundation, 2020, Ending the Dog Meat Trade)  There is over 20 years of evidence that points to the dog meat trade as posing a risk to human health due to the transmission of rabies, cholera, and other deadly diseases.  There is also a high incidence of dogs with rabies being found in restaurants, slaughterhouses, and markets throughout the region.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, The Dog Meat Trade: A Risk to Human Health?)

In December 2021, officials in the city of Hoi An in Vietnam signed an agreement with Four Paws International to phase out dog and cat meat in a two-year timeframe.  The agreement also included the eradication of rabies and the improvement of animal welfare in the city.  City officials said the abolishment of dog and cat meat in Hoi An will be good for tourism.  (Four Paws International, 2021, Vietnam Establishes First Ever Dog and Cat Meat-Free Tourist-Friendly City)

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)

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

Thailand passed its first animal welfare bill in 2014, which included a ban on the trade of dogs and cats for consumption.  (Bangkok Post, 2014, First animal welfare law passed)  Humane organizations say the law lacks specificity in its definition of what constitutes cruelty to animals.  The animal welfare bill covers domestic pets, therefore it does not mention anything about the treatment of stray dogs, many of which end up in the dog meat trade.  (Bangkok Post, 2014, First animal welfare law passed)

The majority of the live dogs in the dog meat trade in Vietnam come from Thailand, along with Laos, and Cambodia.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, Dogs are man’s best friend yet they are being cruelly killed for food)  The amount of live dogs going to Vietnam from Thailand has decreased in recent years.  (The Nation Thailand, 2018, Soi Dog Foundation welcomes plan to ban dog meat trade in Hanoi)

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

Soi Dog Foundation, based in Phuket, Thailand, is monitoring the situation in Thailand in an effort to prevent the reemergence of the dog meat trade in that country.  (Soi Dog Foundation, 2019, Ending the Dog Meat Trade)

The dog and cat fur trade in THAILAND:

Thailand has an underground dog skin industry.  When one slaughterhouse is closed, another secret slaughterhouse opens up in its place.  (Brown, 2016, China:  Dog Meat, Fur and Leather Trade)

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

Cambodia has no animal protection laws.  (Animal Rescue Cambodia, 2020, Home page)  There are high rates of neglect and abuse against animals in Cambodia and “animals are often considered as a nuisance, as food, or as property.”  (Animal Rescue Cambodia, 2020, The Issues)

Cambodia is considered a high-risk area for rabies from dogs.  (CDC, 2021, High-Risk Countries for Dog Rabies)  Human dog meat consumption in Cambodia is in violation of the Cambodian Law on Animal Health Production.  In spite of this law, approximately 3 million dogs are brutally slaughtered for human consumption in Cambodia each year.  Siem Reap alone has 20 dog meat restaurants, resulting in the estimated slaughter of 35,000 dogs each year to supply meat for the restaurants.  Although some people in Cambodia eat dog meat for supposed health benefits and male virility, there is no scientific proof or any other evidence that validates the common myths that dog meat is healthier than other meats, cures diseases, warms the body, or makes a man “more manly.”  On the contrary, there are large numbers of rabies-infected dogs in the dog meat supply chain in Cambodia, and there are risks from other diseases and maladies, such as Cholera and Trichinosis.  Some dog meat suppliers use poison to catch dogs, and the poison stays in the meat, even after the dog is dead.  (Animal Rescue Cambodia, 2019, Dog meat – the myths and health risks of this cruel practice)

Dog catchers who supply meat for the dog meat industry in Cambodia catch stray dogs and buy other dogs from their owners.  The dogs are transported in cramped cages, with dogs often dying from suffocation, dehydration, starvation, and injury.  The dogs are killed by clubbing them on the head, mass drowning, and strangling, with some dogs struggling to survive for nearly 30 minutes.  (Animal Rescue Cambodia, 2019, Dog meat – the myths and health risks of this cruel practice)  Some dogs are stabbed and others are hung by the neck, gasping for air until they eventually die.  Some butchers slice dog’s throats.  (AFP, 2019, ‘It’s a sin’: Cambodia’s brutal and shadowy dog meat trade)

Some Cambodians kill and eat their own dogs.  They sometimes trade dogs with their neighbors to slaughter and eat.  (Soi Dog, n.d., Dog Meat Trade Cambodia Dogs Killed At Home)

As of 2018, the demand for dog meat in Cambodia is growing and has spread throughout the country, including the capital of Phnom Penh.  New restaurants are opening to meet the demand.  The sale of dog meat is a lucrative business and is more profitable than the sale of beef and pork.  Some restaurants that sell dog meat have a loyal customer base, and have been operating for a decade or more.  One restaurant owner sells 40 kilograms (approximately 88 pounds) of dog meat a day, mostly to Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Chinese customers, and claims that “some important people also buy it.”  An activist, who is a medical doctor, found that restaurants that serve dog meat are filthy and riddled with disease.  There are no formal dog meat farms in Cambodia, so dog brokers usually purchase or capture dogs to sell to restaurants.  Some brokers travel around Cambodia to obtain dogs, as well as frequenting areas around the Vietnamese border with Cambodia.  Brokers pay dog owners around $2.25 (US dollars) per kilogram (approximately 2 pounds) of weight.  These brokers can sell around 50 to 60 kilograms (approximately 110 to 132 pounds) of dog meat to restaurants at one time.  The dogs taken for the dog meat trade in Cambodia are treated inhumanely.  Restaurant workers in Siem Reap commonly bludgeon dogs to death.  Activists believe the first course of action to stop the dog meat trade in Cambodia is to map out supply routes used by dog meat brokers, and spay and neuter mass numbers of dogs around particular slaughterhouses to make it hard for suppliers to find dogs.  This will damage dog meat industry profits and hopefully make the industry less viable as a business.  Additional courses of action are to find alternative businesses for people who are in the dog meat industry, and to educate people about the negative health aspects of eating dog meat and about the inhumane treatment of the dogs.  (Board, 2018, Disease, disgust and dollars: Growing demand for dog meat in Cambodia)

In 2003, Phnom Penh city officials encouraged city residents to eat dog meat because it helped reduce the number of stray dogs and provided meat to poor residents.  The governor of Phnom Penh at the time, Kep Chuktema, tried to persuade the opposition, saying “come on, dog meat is so delicious.”  (Mueller, 2015, City Hall Shuts Down Rally Against Consumption of Dog Meat)

Workers on construction sites in Phnom Penh, who are usually very poor, catch and eat dogs and cats.  They usually beat the dogs and cats over the head or drown them.  (Soi Dog, n.d., Dog Meat Trade Cambodia Cats Killed on Construction Sites)

Cambodia supplies many live dogs to the meat trade in Vietnam.  (Asia Canine Protection Alliance, 2020, Dogs are man’s best friend yet they are being cruelly killed for food)

Please see the bibliography page for the citations given on this page.