Millions of dogs and cats butchered in Asia amid disease risks: animal groups report

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by themickey, Feb 22, 2020.

  1. themickey

    themickey

    https://www.smh.com.au/environment/...sks-animal-groups-report-20200220-p542w6.html

    • As the coronavirus crisis grinds on, animal campaigners operating in Asia are shining a light on the staggering number of dogs and cats butchered for human consumption.

      Dog and cat meat is available in many live-animal markets and restaurants, whose visitors are mostly locals, but may also include tourists, especially from South Korea and China.

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      Dogs in a tiny cage await to be slaughtered in Siem Reap, Cambodia.Credit:FOUR PAWS

      The trade and eating of companion and wild animals not only causes immense suffering, but also poses serious risks to human health, such as the spread of rabies.

      FOUR PAWS, a global animal protection organisation based in Vienna and with offices in Australia, has just published a report that estimates 9 million dogs and 1 million cats are brutally slaughtered in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia every year.

      Many of the animals are pets that are stolen from their owners and then drowned, hung, stabbed or burnt alive, FOUR PAWS says.

      In addition, the Dog Meat-Free Indonesia (DMFI') coalition - which is made up of FOUR PAWS, Humane Society International, Jakarta Animal Aid Network, Animal Friends Jogja and Change for Animals Foundation - last month sent an open letter to President Joko Widodo, expressing its concerns about coronavirus, wildlife, and the dog and cat meat trade in Indonesia.

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      Dogs in cages in the back of a van in Cambodia. Credit:FOUR PAWS

      FOUR PAWS chief executive Josef Pfabigan says in his group's report that every aspect of the cat and dog-meat trade involves extreme levels of cruelty.

      "Our investigations have documented the horrendous suffering inflicted on dogs and cats as they
      are snatched from the streets or stolen from their homes, transported and held in appalling conditions, to be brutally and mercilessly slaughtered by the crudest of means.

      "But it is not only animal welfare at stake; the trade also presents grave implications for human
      health and welfare. People involved in the trade and those consuming the meat are at risk of contracting and spreading life-threatening diseases such as rabies.

      "Exposure to extremely violent slaughter methods has the potential to affect the psychological
      welfare of adults, children and tourists who witness them. All of these considerations can have a negative impact on tourism and the economy in these countries."

      The FOUR PAWS investigation found that, each year, more than 3 million dogs are estimated to be killed for their meat in Cambodia, more than 1 million dogs in Indonesia and more than 5 million dogs and 1 million cats in Vietnam.

      In December, the governor of the Indonesian province of Central Java ordered officials in the city of Solo, a hot spot for dog meat, to end the practice, after an investigation by DMFI exposed the extreme cruelty to the estimated 13,700 dogs killed in the city every month.

      Solo, where Joko was born, is notorious for its trade which goes on despite a directive issued by the central government's Ministry of Agriculture last year calling on provincial governments to tackle the trade.

      "We are writing to you ... to express our grave concerns following the outbreak of the zoonotic coronavirus in China, and the confirmation that the virus originates from wild animal markets," the DMFI letter to Joko says.

      "We urge the Indonesian government to take strong and immediate action to mitigate the risk posed by Indonesia’s animal markets.

      "We have visited many live animal markets in Indonesia, where the conditions are the same as those being described by scientists as the perfect breeding grounds for new and deadly zoonotic viruses, such as the coronaviruses.

      "Wild animals – many of which are protected species that have been illegally traded – are
      sold and slaughtered in public and unsanitary conditions alongside domestic animal species, including dogs and cats, potentially exposing thousands of people every day to a variety of zoonotic diseases throughout Indonesia."
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      Dr Katherine Polak, veterinarian and head of FOUR PAWS Stray Animal Care in south-east Asia, says, "The traders steal pets as well as stray animals and transport them all over the country, even across national borders. No one knows if the animals are infected with rabies or other diseases.

      "The keeping and slaughtering of the dogs and cats, mostly in live animal markets or backyards, is not only extremely brutal, but also fails to meet minimum hygienic standards.

      "This creates the perfect breeding ground for novel and deadly zoonotic viruses, such as the coronavirus.

      "Although most local people in south-east Asia oppose dog and cat meat, the trade in around 10 million animals per year has continued to serve as a niche business.......
     
  2. d08

    d08

    I've no problem with the actual slaughter, saying that it's okay to kill rabbits, hogs and deer but not dogs and cats is absurd.
    How they treat the animals before and how they slaughter them is sick. There's a severe lack of empathy in most Asians from what I've seen. Causing pain and suffering makes many laugh, it says a lot about the people.
     
  3. Bree98

    Bree98

    That's really sick. How can humans be so brutal and cruel to animals, I mean they have no right!
     
  4. themickey

    themickey

    Welp, killing lambs, calves, piglets, ducks, any livestock or poultry is also not something I would enjoy participating in, alas, that's how life is.
    One country harvests human organs - now that is absolutely gross.
     
  5. Maybe stop eating fucking disgusting animals like Bats and this would not have happened....don't kill dogs and cats who had nothing to do with it...
     
    Clubber Lang likes this.