A dog is hog-tied in a Chinese market before being killed for his meat.
The method of slaughtering dogs and cats in live animal markets and restaurants is tragically cruel. Markets in China employ killing methods that leave both dogs and cats suffering a lingering, violent death as they are either bludgeoned over the head, stabbed in the neck or groin, hanged, electrocuted or thrown conscious into drums of boiling water.
There are numerous conflicting beliefs regarding dog-eating, for example dogs are eaten in the summer months in Korea to cool the body down, but in China they are eaten in the winter to warm the body.
In Korea, contrary to popular belief, dog-eating is a relatively recent phenomenon and has never been a part of their culinary history. The fabrication of dog and cat meat as an age-old part of Korean cultural heritage is a marketing strategy by unscrupulous vendors who are exploiting an easy-to-produce commodity.
Dogs are eaten in large numbers in China and Korea, and on a smaller scale in parts of Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Myanmar, the Asian portions of the former Soviet Union, Thailand and Vietnam. In many of these countries, the practice is less than a few generations old.
Cats are eaten in southern China, Korea and some parts of Indonesia.
Animal People estimates that 13-16 million dogs and 4 million cats are butchered each year for human consumption in Asia.
It is estimated that as many as 30% of the dogs sold for food in Korea are stolen pets.
Dog eating is illegal in Hong Kong, Korea and the Philippines and was banned in Taiwan in 2001.
