When a government encourages its citizens to no longer eat a dog

In Vietnam, a tourist destination that I advise all Asian enthusiasts, there are still people who eat the dog. The Government, well aware that it is not good for image and tourism, is trying by all means to educate its population so that this practice ceases, even if it currently, in any case in urban areas, almost disappeared.

I fell today, on an English-speaking Vietnamese site and visibly close to the government and its propaganda, on an article that argues about why it's wrong to eat dog. It is not known to whom this article is intended: (a) The Vietnamese population or the international audience? In any case, it is a good thing for the government to let the whole planet know that the Vietnamese should no longer eat a dog.

And by the way, the president of Vietnam died today of a "rare and serious viral disease" for which doctors have not yet found a cure. But we stray…

To smile, therefore, a translation of this article:

Why dogs are not meant to be eaten

There are many reasons for citizens to avoid eating dog meat, health is one of them.

Humans tamed dogs a long time ago, around 18 000 years before Jesus Christ. They domesticated the pigs (13 000 Av. BC) and cows (10 000 Av. BC) Much later.

If our ancestors had decided that the dogs were destined to be eaten as pigs, cows or chickens, there would have been no debate on this subject.

The ancient texts of Vietnamese cuisine have never spoken of canine meat.

Before 1930, Hanoi had only one or two food stalls that sold canine meat. In the south, almost no one was selling it.

Although there are some irrational beliefs associated with eating canine meat, at least in Vietnam, I think people should also take into account the following facts:

• First, dog meat is not as nutritious as you might think. On the contrary, the risks associated with its consumption are real. Dog meat can contain parasitic worms, such as the notorious Toxocara Canis, which can lead to blindness, myocarditis, and respiratory failure.
  Rabies is another legitimate concern. Although the virus itself can be destroyed at high temperatures during cooking, kitchen utensils such as knives and cutting boards are vulnerable to cross-contamination, without consumers knowing it.
• Second, dogs have proven to be one of the most intelligent and loyal companions. You don't often see a chicken running out to greet you after a long day of work, do you? But the dogs are different. Whatever happens, they will always turn your back, wiggling their tail and showing their happiness every time they see you. If it's not unconditional love, I don't know what it is.
• Thirdly, and this may be the most important, the majority of the canine meat consumed in Vietnam does not come from farms, and it is likely to be stolen from its owners. In light of the above, there is a good chance that when you have dog meat on your table, you are complicit in the abduction of a loved one and that a family is in mourning somewhere.
• Fourth, we have already exceeded by far the time when we were hunter-gatherers, and we had to hunt, fish and harvest fruit to support ourselves. Now we have a lot of choices, and not consuming dog meat is one of them.

In China, a dog meat festival where tens of thousands of dogs are killed every year is regularly criticized by animal rights defenders.

In South Korea, another country that traditionally consumes canine meat, things are changing. In 2016, a survey of South Korean youth found that 60% had never eaten canine meat and considered dogs as friends, not as food.

Last year, Taiwan banned the sale of dog and cat meat, and the offenders were fined from $37 000 to $65 000.

Some may say that if dogs should not be eaten, it should be the same for all animals. We should not eat pork or beef either. The fact is that humans are at the top of the food chain. But there is a difference between eating animals for food and killing them and eating them for pleasure. It's really a mess.

We should accept that dogs are simply not destined to be eaten by humans.

(Editor's Note: About 25 million of dogs are eaten in the world every year.)

Translated with Www.DeepL.com/Translator, and also, a little, by Quelbazar.