Should There Be a worldwide Moratorium on eating dog meat ?

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ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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18 Jun 2015, 4:52 pm

Now of course I know in the US and Europe, eating dog meat is strictly taboo and I have a beloved pet dog and would never eat dog meat because I would just feel uncomfortable eating dogs or cats, for that matter. For the record, I couldn't eat wild squirrels or any kind of rabbits either but I might be able to tolerate venison.

So this post doesn't reflect what I personally would do or want to do.

This post is about others who aren't me and what they want to do and what they want to eat and it has an ethical component about what we should and shouldn't eat.

A festival in Yulin China is about to go underway and it draws a lot of fire because this particular region has traditionally eaten dog meat and this festival celebrated the consumption of canines. I am not going to post links because it's too graphic and upsetting so I am going to avoid that.

Now keep in mind, we, in the US eat plenty of cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and fish. Buffalo and mutton are sometimes consumed to quench our delicate palates and it's not always pretty, what happens in the food chain, yet some would be appalled by the idea of eating dog meat. Right now this Yulin Festival (Yulin is a dog eating town) over in China is getting a lot of publicity because some want it to cease. But my question is, what about the consumption of dog meat in general? Does the world have a right to say to these people who have eaten it for generations they cannot eat it even though the majority of the world insists on eating animals and would not tolerate being told they must give up the consumption of beef, pork, chicken or turkey? Isn't it hypocritical and controlling to dictate what one culture will eat while refusing to be told what you will eat yourself?



Dillogic
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18 Jun 2015, 5:25 pm

What should be done is to make sure animals don't suffer when they're farmed.

What animal is farmed doesn't really matter.



mr_bigmouth_502
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18 Jun 2015, 6:52 pm

Dillogic wrote:
What should be done is to make sure animals don't suffer when they're farmed.

What animal is farmed doesn't really matter.


This. Also, there's no way a worldwide moratorium would work, there are still going to be people out there eating dogs, and I am not opposed to it so long as it is done in a humane manner. I eat pork, and I know that pigs are just as smart as, if not smarter than dogs. Now, that's not to say I approve of the methods of slaughter used during that festival in China; I've heard of dogs being burned and boiled alive there, and that is something I am opposed to.



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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18 Jun 2015, 7:24 pm

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:
Dillogic wrote:
What should be done is to make sure animals don't suffer when they're farmed.

What animal is farmed doesn't really matter.


This. Also, there's no way a worldwide moratorium would work, there are still going to be people out there eating dogs, and I am not opposed to it so long as it is done in a humane manner. I eat pork, and I know that pigs are just as smart as, if not smarter than dogs. Now, that's not to say I approve of the methods of slaughter used during that festival in China; I've heard of dogs being burned and boiled alive there, and that is something I am opposed to.


What if the entire Chinese system of obtaining meat were inhumane? Maybe it's much more than just this and they do not have humane practices for any of it?



Dillogic
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18 Jun 2015, 7:32 pm

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
What if the entire Chinese system of obtaining meat were inhumane? Maybe it's much more than just this and they do not have humane practices for any of it?


That's what international politics are for, but you sometimes can't do anything.

I've found, contrary to Western ideals (the world I grew up in), a lot of the world and its cultures don't hold much empathy for the suffering of animals.

Not much you can do.



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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18 Jun 2015, 8:09 pm

Dillogic wrote:
ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
What if the entire Chinese system of obtaining meat were inhumane? Maybe it's much more than just this and they do not have humane practices for any of it?


That's what international politics are for, but you sometimes can't do anything.

I've found, contrary to Western ideals (the world I grew up in), a lot of the world and its cultures don't hold much empathy for the suffering of animals.

Not much you can do.


If you want to get involved there is an ongoing campaign against the Yulin Festival.



Zajie
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18 Jun 2015, 8:14 pm

I don't eat dog meat but I think if they're going to eat the dog or any animal then they shouldn't torture it like that and just kill it in a different fast less painful way



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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18 Jun 2015, 8:23 pm

Zajie wrote:
I don't eat dog meat but I think if they're going to eat the dog or any animal then they shouldn't torture it like that and just kill it in a different fast less painful way

They do have this belief if the animal is afraid right before it dies the meat's better due to the release of various hormones.



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18 Jun 2015, 9:53 pm

Lobster is put in a pot with a half inch of cold water. Then it is slowly brought to a boil.

Meat is meat in China.

Mostly called unwanted pets. Here the Vet, the Animal Shelter, kills millions, and throws them in a dumpster.

Americans spend more on dog food than Africa spends on food. We feed horses to dogs, or send them to Mexico where people eat them. The French eat horsemeat.

The intelligent thing to do would be collect unwanted pets in America, feed them the scraps from the slaughter of unwanted pets, as we do with cows and sheep. Then we can send them to a nice farm upstate where they can run and play all the way to the slaughter house, and their good meat can be frozen and sent to China.

One of our exports is chicken feet. They are popular in China.

As for China, a hundred years ago human flesh was openly for sale in the markets. Like the Aztecs meat is a craving where it is in short supply. Live on rice or corn, meat is drug strength food.

We are past peak soil. Worldwide a third of farmland has been ruined. It was the best that was farmed first. A hundred years ago most all farming was animal powered. Our mechanical and chemical farming is very new, and has reached the limits.

World population keeps increasing, and everyone wants some meat with their grain.

We as a people are throwing away hundreds of tons of meat others would eat.

We are valuing our pets above world hunger, and yet we abandon, take to the pound, or have killed at the vet, vast numbers of dogs.

Hungry people would think we are just mean. I have seen many people keep dogs that are dying alive. They are not happy.

I have had a stronger attachment to horses. All old, injured, or sick horses go to the glue factory. No one wants a 1200 pound dead animal in the yard.

All cattle are raised with slaughter in mind.

AIDS came from eating apes for bush meat.

Guinea pigs were developed as food by the Inca.

I do not think we should tell people what to eat.



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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18 Jun 2015, 10:04 pm

Inventor wrote:
Lobster is put in a pot with a half inch of cold water. Then it is slowly brought to a boil.

Meat is meat in China.

Mostly called unwanted pets. Here the Vet, the Animal Shelter, kills millions, and throws them in a dumpster.

Americans spend more on dog food than Africa spends on food. We feed horses to dogs, or send them to Mexico where people eat them. The French eat horsemeat.

The intelligent thing to do would be collect unwanted pets in America, feed them the scraps from the slaughter of unwanted pets, as we do with cows and sheep. Then we can send them to a nice farm upstate where they can run and play all the way to the slaughter house, and their good meat can be frozen and sent to China.

One of our exports is chicken feet. They are popular in China.

As for China, a hundred years ago human flesh was openly for sale in the markets. Like the Aztecs meat is a craving where it is in short supply. Live on rice or corn, meat is drug strength food.

We are past peak soil. Worldwide a third of farmland has been ruined. It was the best that was farmed first. A hundred years ago most all farming was animal powered. Our mechanical and chemical farming is very new, and has reached the limits.

World population keeps increasing, and everyone wants some meat with their grain.

We as a people are throwing away hundreds of tons of meat others would eat.

We are valuing our pets above world hunger, and yet we abandon, take to the pound, or have killed at the vet, vast numbers of dogs.

Hungry people would think we are just mean. I have seen many people keep dogs that are dying alive. They are not happy.

I have had a stronger attachment to horses. All old, injured, or sick horses go to the glue factory. No one wants a 1200 pound dead animal in the yard.

All cattle are raised with slaughter in mind.

AIDS came from eating apes for bush meat.

Guinea pigs were developed as food by the Inca.

I do not think we should tell people what to eat.


That's the thing. We send so many unwanted pets to be killed then go and complain about places like this in China. I am seeing all kinds of retweet requests to stop this festival. We should focus on our own pet population instead of thinking it's the other guy with the problem when it's us as well. There are plenty of ugly realities in this country yet no one is willing to spend the money or take the time and make the effort. It's all about convenience.



izzeme
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19 Jun 2015, 2:17 am

Why ban eating one kind of animal but still allow another kind to be eaten?
Why eat pigs but not dogs? There are plenty of people that keep a pig as a pet, they are as smart and loyal as dogs, so should be stop eating pigs as well?

I understand why it is taboo to eat "traditional pets", but banning it, especially worldwide, is going too far.
As long as the animal has been treated with respect and killed quickly and painlessly, i don't see a problem with eating any kind of animal.



heavenlyabyss
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19 Jun 2015, 3:51 am

Personally, I find it a little weird how America places so much value on dogs and cats while not seeming to give a s**t about chickens or pigs or cows.



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19 Jun 2015, 6:15 am

I agree there does seem to be a certain amount of hypocisy about eating dogs in China, But you should see the way animals are kept for sale and chickens waiting to be killed in private homes.



naturalplastic
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19 Jun 2015, 4:22 pm

Dont like the idea of folks eating rover.

And I especially don't like the idea of folks torturing rover before eating him/her.

But there isnt much we can do about it. And the thing is that dogs aren't an endangered species. They may suffer, but they arent about to go extinct.

So for the moment I would rather see energy put into a moratorium on bushmeat, or on elephant ivory, than on one on eating a numerous non endangered domestic animal. At least thats the fight I would pick.



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19 Jun 2015, 4:28 pm

izzeme wrote:
As long as the animal has been treated with respect and killed quickly and painlessly, i don't see a problem with eating any kind of animal.

Pretty much.

Chinese dog farmers might treat their stock with cruelty and carelessness, but just look at the beef and pork industry for comparison; Americans don't exactly treat their livestock like royalty.

I see no difference. If some people want to eat dog, let them. If some people want to eat pig, let them. I would never do either, obviously, but it makes no sense to ban one and not the other.



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19 Jun 2015, 9:07 pm

When I was in China, they didn't care what animal it was, they're all treated the same. Everything is food, and I'm fine with the idea of being able to eat everything (why should we waste dogs who are going to be killed anyway? Why not use the meat and the fur? Put them to use!) but I do not like the idea of how they treat animals.

Here in the states we have our own problems, and yes, a lot of hypocrisy. We also have organizations that try to help fix the problems we have here, so while we do have a lot of animal wastage, we have a higher rate of happier animals.
I don't think we should mess with them unless we're going to attack them for everything they torture, kill, and eat. We can't just pick one.


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