(CN) Dog meat sale upsets activists

[Guest guest]

Sunday Morning Post August 4th 2002

 

ParknShop urged to remove seasonal favourite from shelves of its 20 mainland

supermarkets

by Victoria Button

 

Animal activists are putting pressure on Hong Kong-based supermarket chain

ParknShop to stop selling dog meat for human consumption at its outlets in

China.

 

A spokeswoman for ParknShop, which has 20 branches in China, including

Guangdong, said dog meat - sold only during winter - was legal in the

mainland and was also sold by the chain's competitors.

 

ParknShop dog meat was sourced from a " licensed and reliable " supplier, she

said, without identifying the supplier or providing further details of the

slaughter methods it used.

 

The Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the

Animals Asia Foundation called on the chain to stop selling dog meat.

 

Jill Robinson, founder of the foundation, said dogs were more valuable to

society as companions than food.

 

She also urged ParknShop to allow the group to inspect the breeding and

slaughter facilities used by its supplier if it planned to continue to sell

dog meat.

 

There are no animal welfare laws in China to govern the breeding of dogs for

meat or for their slaughter.

 

Assistant director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department

Dr Les Sims has said publicly that he is not aware of any humane way of

slaughtering dogs en masse for consumption.

 

The sale of dog and cat flesh is illegal in Hong Kong.

 

The executive director of the SPCA, Chris Hanselman, said it was argue that

eating dog was no different to any other meat.

 

" There's definitely a much stronger [human] bond with dogs, so that's where

you should start the battle, " he said. " They [ParknShop] should be setting

an example and stop selling it. "

 

He also urged ParknShop to explain the breeding and slaughter methods used

by its supplier.

 

The ParknShop spokeswoman refused to say whether dog meat sales would

continue or whether it would allow animal welfare groups to inspect its

supplier's breeding and slaughter facilities.

 

She said that dog meat is popular with customers in Guangdong. Dog -

considered a " warming " food - was used to make hotpots in winter, she said.

 

The spokeswoman also declined to provide details of the price it charged

customers for dog meat or its sales volume.

 

ParknShop is part of the retail empire of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.

 

Dog meat is more expensive than beef of chicken, according to Ms Robinson.

It is served in stews, mainly in southern China, and is most popular with

older generations, she said. Meanwhile, the penis is used as an aphrodisiac

and the fur is used in fashion trims, she said.

 

Ms Robinson said there is a growing awareness of animal rights issues on the

mainland, reflected in campaigns such as one on in February by the Chinese

Wildlife Conservation Association to collect signatures from chefs who vowed

not to use wild animals in their cooking.

 

She said that most slaughtered dogs were farmed for their meat, but some

were also sold by disgruntled per-owners because there were sick, ld or had

become a nuisance.

 

Cats were also slaughtered and eaten, and their fur used in items such as

novelty key rings and fashion trims, she said.