Breeders raising thousands of puppies to feed diners in China despite ban on eating pets including dogs
A Chinese restaurant owner recently revealed the grim reality of the nation's dog meat industry, claiming that some breeders are raising "thousands of puppies" to feed diners. The owner of a dog meat restaurant in southern China, who wanted to remain anonymous, revealed the horrors inside these markets at a time when the country passed its first law to ban residents from eating dogs and cats.
The measure was taken amid a coronavirus pandemic, which is believed to have originated from wild animals.
The restaurateur from Shenzhen, a city bordering Hong Kong, while speaking to Chinese video outlet Pear, said: "Many people eat dogs in Guangxi and Leizhou, where I am from." The man is believed to run a store selling dog meat hotpot in Leizhou, a city with nearly 1.7 million residents in neighboring Guangdong province.
"Some people in Guangxi raise dogs to sell them. They bring them up like pigs. One household would keep thousands of dogs for their meat," he said. The notorious Yulin Dog Meat Festival takes place in Guangxi every year in June. The event sees thousands of dogs tortured and skinned with blow-torches before the locals eat them.
The restaurant owner said that although the federal ban is only imposed on Shenzhen, nearly 346 miles from Leizhou, its effects will be witnessed in his region too. He is expecting a 40 percent drop in his business.
"Many people ask [us] if there is dog meat. And if we don't, they would just leave," he said. "It is certain that my business will be affected. [The drop is estimated] to be 30 to 40 per cent."
Another restaurateur told the outlet that the business for dog meat had been declining even before the approval of the law. "After the ban, I will just stop selling [dog meat]. I will sell something else," she said.
Shenzhen lawmakers, on Tuesday, March 31, passed drafted legislation, prohibiting the consumption of pet meat, including cats and dogs. The legislation will come into effect on May 1.
China, before the passing of the legislation, had already banned trade and consumption of wild animals. At least nine types of livestock have been classified for people to eat, including pigs, cows, sheep, donkeys, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons.
China policy specialist for animal protection charity Humane Society International, Dr Peter Li, in a statement, lauded the historic decision."With Shenzhen taking the historic decision to become mainland China's first city to ban dog and cat meat consumption, this really could be a watershed moment in efforts to end this brutal trade that kills an estimated 10 million dogs and four million cats in China every year," he said.
"The majority of these companion animals are stolen from people's back yards or snatched from the streets, and are spirited away on the backs of trucks to be beaten to death in slaughterhouses and restaurants across China," he added.
Although the exact source of the novel coronavirus continues to remain unconfirmed, scientists believe that the virus originated from the wet markets in Wuhan and was likely present in bats or snakes. The deadly virus has now infected over a million people across the world, claiming more than 55,000 lives.