ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide. Founded in 1992, ANIMAL PEOPLE has no alignment or affiliation with any other entity.

 

This site built and maintained by: GREANVILLE ASSOCIATESand CRESCENT COMMUNICATIONS •Rev. 12.1.05 Copyright ANIMAL PEOPLE, INC. 1992--2006

 

 

 

 

 
   

 
powered by FreeFind

ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

MONTH: January/February 2007

Pacific rim anti-dog & cat meat activism gains momentum

 

HONG KONG, BANGKOK, MANILA--Tuen Mun magistrate Kwok Wai-kin on December 22, 2006 sentenced four men to serve 30 days in jail apiece for killing and butchering two dogs just 40 days earlier, on November 12.

Kwok Wai-kin "rejected the defendants' argument that eating dog was simply a matter of culture, saying society could not accept or condone such an act," reported Jonathan Cheng of the the Hong Kong Standard.

The four men--Lau Lap-kei, 49; Wong Yung-hung, 44; Liu Wai-hong, 40; and Wong Chun-hung, 49--immediately appealed their sentences, and were released on bail.

Slaughtering dogs and cats has been illegal in Hong Kong since 1950, but the four are believed to be the first offenders who have received jail sentences.

The prompt convictions and judicial response encouraged opponents of the clandestine dog and cat meat traffic in Thailand, the Philippines, and Nagaland, part of an arm of India that lies between China and Burma.

Selling dogs for meat is nominally illegal in Thailand, the Philippines, and India, except among the Igorot tribal people of the Philippines, but the authorities of all three nations tend to find pretexts to avoid enforcing the weak existing legislation, chiefly based on claims that dog-eating is a traditional practice of ethnic minorities.

Hope in Thailand

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand "on his birthday, December 5, opened a photo exhibition of his beloved street dogs," reported Marianne Willemse of the Bangkok charity Love Animal House, "and asked that mercy and compassion be shown to all animals. Next year he will be 80. We want to push the interim government, who loves the royal family, to make a law in Thailand that consumption of cat and dog meat is illegal. This would be a great gift for His Majesty.

"Yesterday animal rights lawyer Sanya Sukrasorn went to San Patong market to investigate the situation," Willemse posted to the Asian Animal Protection Network on December 23. "He found dog meat readily available. Five restaurants served dog meat in every way."

A day earlier, Willemse said, Sanya Sukrasorn asked the Ministry of Culture "to change the law to protect our companion animals. He went alone, as we respect the martial law order of no gatherings to protest," but "brought along his guitar and a long banner which he stretched out in front of the Ministry of Culture.

"The General Secretary accepted the letter with gratitude," Willemse continued. "The week before, ministry officials visited Sakon Nakon and witnessed themselves a dog slaughter house where 600,000 dogs [per year] get killed and shipped to Vietnam frozen. The officials were horrified about it. They had been given orders from above to inspect the situation and to stop it. A law will be made, they said."

The prospect of Thai action against dog meat followed a November 24, 2006 Bangkok Post report that "Dog meat is gaining in popularity in Chiang Mai, with an increasing number of roadside food stalls serving dog meat dishes over the past few years."

Dog-eating was rare in Thailand until after the U.S. war in Vietnam, when thousands of ethnic Chinese refugees from Vietnam and some from Laos and Cambodia were resettled in the Chiang Mai region, with U.S. economic aid. Alleged dog thefts for slaughter subsequently became a frequent source of ethnic tension between native Thais and the immigrants.

The existing law was enforced on November 6, 2006, the Bangkok Nation reported, as Mekong Patrol Police "rescued 350 dogs before they were smuggled to Laos. Police captain Sommai Duangkam said his unit heard dogs barking and howling from a river bank at 5 a.m.," the Nation elaborated. "Sommai said that when he checked, he found that villagers were transporting 39 cages with 350 dogs on two boats. He said the villagers fled on foot upon seeing his patrol boat. The dogs were sent to the Nakhon Phanom animals quarantine center for further action."

The Philippines

Melchor Alipio of the Network for Animals on December 12, 2006 urged the Philippine government to "go after the dog traders."

Wrote Jane Cadalig of the Manila Sun Star, "Most of the dogs bought by restaurant owners in Baguio, Benguet, and other North Luzon provinces come from the southern provinces, including Laguna, Bicol, Lucena, Quezon, and Batangas. Alipio said only one trader has been penalized with six months in jail," as others "pay cash for their liberty."