Historically, all kinds of animals – including humans – have been used for food production.
Stray dog - Paraty, Brazil, 2012
Cannibalism aside, in some parts of the world certain animals have been seen as ‘impure’ to eat according to religion or tradition, and have therefore been kept off the plate (often under the threat of all sorts of punishments).
In other cases, the life of animals considered useful for other purposes has been defended in many ways, including by law. This used to happen in ancient Rome, where the killing of an ox was punishable by death, because that animal was seen as essential for work in the fields. Bovine farms started to be established in Rome only towards the end of the 4th century. Before then, only oxen and cows that were no longer suitable for other uses because of age or illness could be sold for food production.
Other animals have had the good fortune of being seen as closer to us humans, either genetically or because of bonds of affection and proximity formed over centuries, and have thus been taken off the menu and even granted legal protection from slaughter. This is the case for dogs and cats in many countries, and public pressure is increasing to grant such status to other animals, such as horses, too.
Dogs and cats are popular in most parts of the world and make good friends for many humans, to the extent that in Europe there are over 60 million owned dogs and over 65 million owned cats.
Nevertheless, in some countries man’s best friends are routinely slaughtered in all kinds of ways, and then cooked and eaten. A recent article published by The Economist highlights the situation in Vietnam, where in 2013 the single-party government pledged – albeit non-bindingly – to stop the dog-meat trade. Despite that, thousands of dogs and cats are still regularly sold, kidnapped or taken from the streets every day. They are then sold to restaurants, which serve their meat without violating any law. Some organisations are trying to break this habit, but they meet strong resistance.
If we look at the intelligence, abilities, social skills and sensitiveness of different species, it is difficult to argue that eating a dog is worse than eating a pig. Still, if in most parts of the world the status of some animals has finally been upgraded by recognising them as friends rather than food, it would be both sensible and consistent to increase protection for them worldwide, rather than condoning – or even promoting – a form of abuse that could so easily be consigned to history.
You can read the article in The Economist by clicking here, and you can find information on the activities of the Vietnamese Animal Welfare Organization (VAWO) to combat the dog- and cat-meat trade here.
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