Org. wants to ban dog / cat meat in China

This story has been popping up in the press here recently, the Chinese Animal Protection Network (CAPN) is lobbying to outlaw dog and cat meat in mainland China.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a very strong argument from them about exactly why dog and cat meat should be banned. They fail to answer why these animals shouldn't be eaten, while pigs and cows can, etc. etc. I know I've beaten down this topic a bit much, but these people are sure going to a lot of effort -- for what reason? -- and I'm still hoping to see a good argument.

This comes at the same time that PETA is making moves to voice their views in China. I should add, I'm completely in favor of the fundamentals -- ethical treatment of animals -- but don't always understand their tactics or philosophical inconsistencies.

Alas, bring on the hate mail...

China Bans Dog Meat During Olympics

[Photo from TrekEarth]

During the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, the government banned some restaurants from serving dog meat and encouraged Koreans to not eat dog when around foreign visitors. There was a lot of hoopla surrounding this, with anti-dog meat organizations rallying and "Korean culture" supporters defending their right to eat dog meat. It's important to note that there were Korean natives and foreigners on both sides of the argument, and I'm sure there always will be.

Looks like China has done the same for the Beijing 2008 Olympic summer games. "Restaurant workers are advised to 'patiently' suggest other options to diners who order dog." [source]

That goes along with a list of all sorts of things they've covered up from foreign eyes for the Olympics.

We've eaten dog meat in many places around China, and other countries, and we've even seen in on the menu at some luxury hotels and airport lounges. The shocking, gruesome pictures of dog meat you might find on the internet are often taken in rural villages, where the butchering and cooking of animals is usually out in the open, for public viewing. It's the same for most slaughtered animals there. You can hand-pick your fish or chicken or goat, and have it slaughtered, butchered, bled, and cooked right before your eyes. How is this different from what happens every day in the modern, urban, Western world? We do our slaughter behind closed doors. But we still do it, and you eat it and you pay for it to be done again (vegetarians excluded, of course).

More about eating dog meat.

And more about anti-weird meat propaganda.

DJs Do Dog Meat

I recently did a proper restaurant review of Lao Tan, which is a Guizhou minority food restaurant near Logo bar in Shanghai. While we don't come here specifically for the strange foods they have on the menu, there are a few worth a weird meat mention.

Allow me to quote myself, "Some readers might pass on the Bamboo Worms (48rmb) or the Fried King Bees (60rmb), or even the delicious Grilled Dog Meat (45rmb)..." There's also Cow Hooves and Pig Intestines and Chicken Feet.



The menu is also chock-full of chinglish doozies like "Old Alter Speculation Dumplings," (very good, like Italian ravioli) "The Pot Green Pepper Young Lad Chicken," (which we assume means a young cock? rooster?), "Jew's Ear Frying with Leek," (not many Jews in China, so this is very expensive... Joking. What is Jew's Ear?) and "Lao Lao Murphy" (will try that next time).

We've been dining here frequently because we really like the food here. Guizhou food is known for its sour flavors, and that's not an understatement -- it can get really really SOUR. But in a good way. I think this stuff is great for hangovers, something about the sourness seems to help, but I can't verify that scientifically. The sour flavor, like the numb flavor of Sichuan food, causes us to salivate excessively, and that feels good when you've got cotton-mouth.

Recently we dropped in for a hangover-cure lunch with Mr. Knifehandchop, who we invited to China to play music at our party. After 2 nights of rocking Beijing and Shanghai, Knifehandchop was ready to try some dog meat. Unfortunately he lost his camera the night before, so there's no photographic proof. We ate the sauteed dog meat. It was well-done, in a dark brown gravy, served in a clay pot with garlic, and there was a lot of jiggly fat on the meat. A lot of Chinese dishes are like that, especially "fatty pork," which can sometimes be 90% fat. This was no lean dog! The meat was probably 40 or 50% fat. Jiggly fat. You shake it with your chopsticks and it goes "whoooba whoooba" like a firm jello. Reminds me of some of Knifehandchop's songs.



Since we didn't get any pics last time, I had to double dog dare some other DJ friends into dining on dog meat. Actually it wasn't a dare, cause these guys had dog before. This time, Kid Fresh (DMC world champ from Germany) had his iPhone and even though he's a vegetarian, was kind enough to snap some shots of the dog eaters, including Mr. Stokes (DJ from USA), B6 (Chinese DJ and producer), and myself (just a DJ groupie, from USA). The dog meat was fatty and chewy, and someone made a joke that we were eating a fat bitch, but then the waitress spoiled it by informing us the dog had a penis.



Read more about eating dog meat here.

(If you have comments about eating dog meat, there's already quite a lengthy debate on our last post. Say what you will, but can we at least request the courtesy not to use profanity, because that just gets your post deleted.)



Incidentally, it appears you can order dog meat (and cat meat!) from this company. Or is it a hoax?

Another good article on dog meat, and an honest response from a Western chef.

Dog Meat

I've actually eaten dog a few times before -- once in California, once in southern China, and in South Korea, but never as the focus of a meal. So I rounded up a few brave men for a trip out to "Koreatown" in Shanghai, where there are several restaurants specializing in dog meat. I asked a few ladies to join us, but they all had excuses ... what's up with that? Is dog meat macho?



We ordered 5 courses of dog meat -- hot pot (raw dog meat you put into a boiling pot to cook briefly), dog soup, stir-fried dog, dog chops, and grilled BBQ dog. I enjoyed the grilled dog best. Good tender prime cuts of doggy deliciousness!

Dog soup:



Dog hot pot (spicy-hot dog):


Grilled dog meat:


The other 3 gentlemen who joined me for the dog dinner all agreed the meat was delicious. It was their first time. You're probably curious, so yeah, we're all from countries other than China -- Italy, Australia, Malaysia, and USA. Each of us agreed we'd eat dog meat again.

We asked for details on the dogs we were eating, but all we could get was "they're big dogs." Judging from the amount of meat in the portions, one would assume they're big dogs. No idea what breed. Maybe a mutt? Anyone know which breed tastes best? Does it seem like I'm a lazy researcher? If you've ever had first-hand experience with waitstaff in Shanghai, you can't blame me...

In fact ... Our slightly neurotic waitress spilled an entire bowl of boiling hot dog soup into Mr. M's lap. Poor fellow smelled like dog all night after that, so probably didn't find a date, even at everyone's favorite meat market "Windows" bar. Lots of dogs there, but everyone scores.



Here's a list of recipes for dog meat. What do they mean by "digested dogmeat" in "Dogmeat cooky" ?? And wow, they have "Dogmeat cosmetics"...

Now, we're aware that some of our readers are offended by the culinary consumption of dogs. Is there a reason why you are offended, but not when someone eats a chicken or a cow? Is it because of the culture you come from? Some cultures forbid eating pigs, others cows. Pigs are intelligent animals at the top of the food chain, and can make good pets. And chickens are cute. So, what's your beef with eating dog?

Mr. J, a white boy, enjoying fresh cooked dog:


Yes, some Europeans eat dog. French. Swiss.

During the Olympics and World Cup Soccer in South Korea, there were protests (by foreigners mostly), and to save face, the government asked Koreans to avoid eating dog meat during the events. However, "Many people have argued that international organizations such as FIFA and PETA have no right to interfere with an ancient Korean custom, maintaining that the only difference between slaughtering a dog for food and slaughtering a cow or a pig or other animal is the culture in which it is done." [Wikipedia]

Here is an organization devoted to stopping dog meat consumption: Anti-Dog Meat Movement.

Most of the agruments against eating dog meat seem to focus on the poor, inhumane treatment of the dogs before they die, or how they are killed. I agree. That totally sucks. But how is that any different from how all the other animals-for-consumption are treated? And protesting dog meat consumption is a different issue than the bad treatment of dogs. I say protest the inhumane treatment of animals, all animals. Otherwise, let them eat dog.

The dog restaurant we ate at is at 290 Ziteng Lu, near Wuzhong Lu, Shanghai.

* Addition, July 2007 -- Looks like this post finally caused the controversy I expected it to -- and I mean expected, not necessary "desired" -- although I think part of this whole project is to spark a dialog. Also, as I expected, I haven't seen what I'd consider a reasonable, factual, logical argument against eating dog. Some of the responses are comic -- I have an ugly evil face? Dogs are angels? Because it's illegal? -- keep'm coming folks! I am not necessarily pro-dog-eating, I just don't see any reason NOT to. And I certainly don't see any reason to force someone else not to.

Now here's additional questions to consider -- what do dogs eat? What do you dog lovers feed your pets? What happens to those animals, and how do they live and get slaughtered? Also, do you consider it cruel to feed dogs a vegan diet?

We've got a newer post about Dog Meat here.