Pacific rim anti-dog & cat meat activism gains momentum

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2007:

 

 

 

Pacific rim anti-dog & cat meat activism gains momentum

 

HONG KONG, BANGKOK, MANILA--Tuen Mun magistrate Kwok

Wai-kin on December 22, 2006 sentenced four men to serve 30 days in

jail apiece for killing and butchering two dogs just 40 days earlier,

on November 12.

Kwok Wai-kin " rejected the defendants' argument that eating dog was

simply a matter of culture, saying society could not accept or

condone such an act, " reported Jonathan Cheng of the the Hong Kong

Standard.

The four men--Lau Lap-kei, 49; Wong Yung-hung, 44; Liu

Wai-hong, 40; and Wong Chun-hung, 49--immediately appealed their

sentences, and were released on bail.

Slaughtering dogs and cats has been illegal in Hong Kong

since 1950, but the four are believed to be the first offenders who

have received jail sentences.

The prompt convictions and judicial response encouraged

opponents of the clandestine dog and cat meat traffic in Thailand,

the Philippines, and Nagaland, part of an arm of India that lies

between China and Burma.

Selling dogs for meat is nominally illegal in Thailand, the

Philippines, and India, except among the Igorot tribal people of

the Philippines, but the authorities of all three nations tend to

find pretexts to avoid enforcing the weak existing legislation,

chiefly based on claims that dog-eating is a traditional practice of

ethnic minorities.

 

Hope in Thailand

 

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thai-land " on his birthday,

December 5, opened a photo exhibition of his beloved street dogs, "

reported Marianne Willemse of the Bangkok charity Love Animal House,

" and asked that mercy and compassion be shown to all animals. Next

year he will be 80. We want to push the interim government, who

loves the royal family, to make a law in Thailand that consumption

of cat and dog meat is illegal. This would be a great gift for His

Majesty.

" Yesterday animal rights lawyer Sanya Sukrasorn went to San

Patong market to investigate the situation, " Willemse posted to the

Asian Animal Protection Network on December 23. " He found dog meat

readily available. Five restaurants served dog meat in every way. "

A day earlier, Willemse said, Sanya Sukrasorn asked the

Ministry of Culture " to change the law to protect our companion

animals. He went alone, as we respect the martial law order of no

gatherings to protest, " but " brought along his guitar and a long

banner which he stretched out in front of the Ministry of Culture.

" The General Secretary accepted the letter with gratitude, "

Willemse continued. " The week before, ministry officials visited

Sakon Nakon and witnessed themselves a dog slaughter house where

600,000 dogs [per year] get killed and shipped to Vietnam frozen.

The officials were horrified about it. They had been given orders

from above to inspect the situation and to stop it. A law will be

made, they said. "

The prospect of Thai action against dog meat followed a

November 24, 2006 Bangkok Post report that " Dog meat is gaining in

popularity in Chiang Mai, with an increasing number of roadside food

stalls serving dog meat dishes over the past few years. "

Dog-eating was rare in Thailand until after the U.S. war in

Vietnam, when thousands of ethnic Chinese refugees from Vietnam and

some from Laos and Cambodia were resettled in the Chiang Mai region,

with U.S. economic aid. Alleged dog thefts for slaughter

subsequently became a frequent source of ethnic tension between

native Thais and the immigrants.

The existing law was enforced on November 6, 2006, the

Bangkok Nation reported, as Mekong Patrol Police " rescued 350 dogs

before they were smuggled to Laos. Police captain Sommai Duangkam

said his unit heard dogs barking and howling from a river bank at 5

a.m., " the Nation elaborated. " Sommai said that when he checked,

he found that villagers were transporting 39 cages with 350 dogs on

two boats. He said the villagers fled on foot upon seeing his patrol

boat. The dogs were sent to the Nakhon Phanom animals quarantine

center for further action. "

 

The Philippines

 

Melchor Alipio of the Network for Animals on December 12,

2006 urged the Philippine government to " go after the dog traders. "

Wrote Jane Cadalig of the Manila Sun Star, " Most of the dogs

bought by restaurant owners in Baguio, Benguet, and other North

Luzon provinces come from the southern provinces, including Laguna,

Bicol, Lucena, Quezon, and Batangas. Alipio said only one trader

has been penalized with six months in jail, " as others " pay cash for

their liberty. "

 

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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