June 12th,
2013
The Asian dog meat trade is a
market in Asia, where they traffic dogs for their meat. Before I started to research
this issue I didn't even know that it existed. Much like most of Asia. The scope
of this issue is a local-national level, because it effects most of Asia but it
is centered around two countries. Those two countries are Thailand, and
Vietnam. This issue effects: people, the environment, and the economy, also
being a local-national issue. One of the major effects of this issue is that
the dogs are in such a high demand, they are running out of strays to use so
they are stealing pets to fit the demand.
The dog meat market in Asia is
thriving which is great for the economy, but bad for its environment and its
people. Why you say? Because to make the meat trade possible they need meat. And
what these smugglers do to their 'meat' is so inhumane its worse than a
slaughterhouse. While in a slaughterhouse when they are harvesting their meat,
the workers try their best to keep the environment calm so the met won't spoil,
but in Vietnam, they do the exact opposite. What I found in my research is that they'd induce
fear into the dogs in as many ways as
possible. Some of those ways are slaughtering dogs in front of the others,
skinning them alive, breaking bones and shattering skulls, as well as boiling
them alive. The smugglers would take stray dogs from off the street in Thailand
and ship them to Vietnam. That is a long trip and these dogs would be squished
into a cage that would hold twelve of them uncomfortably. And they would be
stacked on -top of each other, in a truck with anywhere from 70-100 other
cages. The trip would be so long that some dogs would die of starvation, dehydration,
and or attacks from other dogs because they are so scared. This is inhumane for
the animals and unheard of in many places. But it's still there and its
thriving.
This issue also effects the citizens
of both Thailand and Vietnam, this is because once they run out of stray dogs, the
smugglers would take family pets, and that would be a goal for them because a
more pedigree dog is worth more money. Sick but true. But one scary thought is
that most of the stray dogs that were being picked up and sold for food, had
rabies, and other dieses. But that didn't stop Vietnam's demand for dog meat. They
love dog meat in Vietnam because in the great depression era they didn't have
much to any food available, so they ate dogs. And that's where the whole demand
started. There are so many factors that can go wrong in this business but the
government doesn't care because the economy is getting greater benefits, so the
concerns are over looked.
The dog meat market brings in a
lot of money for the trade business, because of the smuggling. With smuggling they don't have to pay any tariffs, so they
get more buck for their bang. But it is still smuggling and it is illegal. It is
also illegal to eat dogs in Thailand, but it's perfectly fine to eat them in Vietnam.
So when Vietnam ran out of their strays and the demand was not lowering, they
resorted to smuggling, and do you know where they have a lot of stray dogs? That's
right Thailand. Each dog they smuggle can be worth anything between $10 - $30
and that can skyrocket to over $250 in Vietnam because the meat is rarer, and
we all know importing is cheaper. And that is just for the stray dogs from the
street, if the traffickers got a family dog the price would nearly double.
This issue first started near
the great depression because of the lack of resources, and it's still going on
today. This issue is still not seeing an end which is scary. This issue doesn't
even touch the scale of brutality when it comes to dealing with meat trade,
because they use barbaric tactics to scare the meat, to get better use out of
it. The way they are dealing with these animals is nothing like how we deal
with them, we try to do it as quick and as efficient as possible, while here
they drag out the kill. But sadly the demand is not going to go away, it will
always be there. But one really sad thing is that the majority of the residents
don't know how they got their meat, or the tactics used. But because of the
high demand for the meat, it's not going to change. Even some foundations like
Soi Dog Foundation that is in place to rescue some of the dogs on the market,
they will rehabilitate them and make them healthy again, but if they don't get
adopted they will end up back on the street, back into the ring. Its and ongoing
cycle that doesn't seem to have an end, until they run out of dogs. But if the
demand is still very high they will just get them from somewhere else.
The effects are ongoing and will
be for a while until we try and do something to change their ways. I'm not
saying to make dog meat illegal, because the demand is too high they would just
sell it on the black market still using the same tactics. There's no way we can
end this issue but there are ways we can improve it. One way is to take away
the inhumane tactics to the slaughter, and take away the smuggling. If you take
away the smuggling it will be even greater for both parties, the dogs wouldn't
have to travel the same way they used to, and you would get more money because
you could charge more, to balance the tariffs. There's not a lot we can do to
stop this from happening, but there are always ways we can improve.
Bibliography
Animal Welfare Groups Form International Alliance to
End Dog Meat Trade in Key Southeast Asian Countries : Humane Society
International . (2013, May 29). Humane Society International : Humane Society
International. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from
http://www.hsi.org/news/press_releases/2013/05/acpa_dog_meat_alliance_052913.html
This source is
trying to end the dog meat trade in asia.
Coren, A. (2013, June 6). At front line of fight
against illegal dog trade - CNN.com. CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World,
Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Retrieved June 10, 2013, from
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/06/world/asia/dog-smuggling-coren-thailand/index.html?hpt=wo_t3
This site game
me a first look on the issue and what the animals face.
Dog Meat Trade - Thailand - ESDAW. (n.d.). ESDAW -
ESDAW. Retrieved June 10, 2013, from
http://www.esdaw.eu/dog-meat-trade---thailand.html
This gave me
even more of a look into the issue, with a British persons point of view.
Dog Meat Trade : Humane Society International .
(n.d.). Humane Society International
: Humane Society International. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from
http://www.hsi.org/issues/dog_meat/
This gave me an
inside look on the issue and how terrible the smugglers are to the dogs.
Ending the dog meat trade. (n.d.). World Society
for the Protection of Animals (WSPA): the latest news on animal welfare and
animal cruelty issues. Retrieved June 10, 2013, from
http://www.wspa.ca/wspaswork/dogs/dogmeattrade/?gclid=COiwr4_U2bcCFZFFMgod1zUAsg
This site highlighted
what was wrong in the industry and that they should be protecting the animals.
Keeble, J. (2013, April 4). Thailand’s illegal dog
meat trade - The Ecologist. Environment, Climate Change, News, Eco, Green,
Energy - The Ecologist. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1874146/thailands_illegal_dog_meat_trade.html
This gave an
inside look on a documentary they will highlight the terrors the go on in Thailand
that the residents don’t even know about.
Sattar, M., & Reed, S. (2013, April 2). Dog meat trafficking disgusts
health experts - Features - Al Jazeera English. Al Jazeera English - Live
US, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Sports, Weather & Business News.
Retrieved June 11, 2013, from
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/03/2013328132714178410.html
Talked about
the health effects of people eating the dogs and how they are brutally
murdered.
Shadbolt, P. (2013, June 3). Smugglers drive
Thailand's grim trade in dog meat - CNN.com. CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S.,
World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Retrieved June 10, 2013,
from http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/02/world/asia/thailand-dogs
This site
talked about the growing trade and how it'll effect the resident dogs.
Soi Dog Foundation - Join The Magic 1000 Today!.
(n.d.). Soi Dog Foundation - Join The Magic 1000 Today!. Retrieved June
10, 2013, from http://www.soidog.org/
This was the
website for the foundation that was for the dogs.
Tamara Myskiw: I had no idea that there was that high of a demand for dogs in both Thailand and Vietnam. Do you think that perhaps it is legal for dogs to be eaten in Vietnam because it is something that they have adapted into their culture, more specifically an eastern culture, as of the Great Depression and view it as something acceptable? If you think about it, in western cultures we would not consider eating horse but many other eastern cultures do just because it is something that has adapted into their way of life. It is something interesting to consider and I wish I knew more about their culture to better understand their reasoning besides the fact that they were in need of food during the Great Depression.
ReplyDeleteThis is the case for the want of dogs, because they got used to it and they liked it. That is very true, this is very much a cultural thing, and the great depression was just the kick starter to their want.
DeleteLiam Richardson- You mention the government ignoring the trade and not getting involved. Is the trade itself illegal or simply the mistreatment and smuggling?
ReplyDeleteIn Thailand it is illegal to smuggle, and to trade. In Vietnam, smuggling is frowned upon but the actual community is unaware of what really happens when it comes to mistreatment. But on a smuggling and trade outlook its technically not illegal.
DeleteBilli: A couple questions…
ReplyDelete1) How does the dog trade in Vietnam and Thailand affect the environment?
2) You noted how they “scare the meat” to get better use of it. How is this beneficial for them?
3) Is there any regulation within this trade? Yes it’s been noted as illegal but if it’s being sold there must be some sort of regulation within it, especially with diseases, even if it’s between smugglers and public suppliers. In relation, did you find any facilities that are supplying the demand for dog meat which is a) human and b) disease-free? Is there a responsible portion of this trade?
4) More of a personal reflection. Do you think society is more concerned with the ethicalities of this trade than with the ethicalities of other domestic livestock (like cows, pigs, chickens, etc. who can be and are treated just as inhumanely in some cases)?
I included animals as the environmental effect, i have not read anything about it actually effecting the environment, like the ecosystem. They do this to make the meat taste better, and its beneficial to have better tasting meat because they would get more money, I still don't agree with it, but that's what i got from my sources. I did not find anything about that, what i read was more on the mistreatment and the brutality of the trade, not the actual companies (if i can even call them that). But what I read, is that they aren't concerned if the dogs are diseased, they will sell them either way, which is terrible. Yes, because people view dogs as pets so they put more of a concern towards them, I know that there are places when our livestock will be treated the same, and that's not right either. I just wanted to highlight this issue to show at least one side of things.
DeleteLaura McFarlan - wow Sam, that's a scary trade. Why do they think that dog meat is so much better than other meats. What makes it so high in demand? There are so may other alternative s so other than it being rare? Why? Do you think that people in Thailand would go to dog pounds and buy the dogs so that they could sell them later? is that how messed up this dog trade is?
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