Pet theft-to-eat cases prosecuted in China, Korea, Hawaii

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2008:

 

 

Pet theft-to-eat cases prosecuted in China, Korea, Hawaii

 

ZHENGZHOU--Eating dogs and cats is legal

in China, but stealing them isn't, a Zhengzhou

judge emphasized recently, fining " a man

surnamed Zhang " $214, about two weeks' wages,

for " killing and cooking what he thought was a

stray dog, " the Zhengzhou Evening News reported.

The dog was actually a lost pet belonging to a woman surnamed Liu.

Summarized China Daily, distributing the

story nationwide, " Zhang, who likes to eat dogs

and cats, hung the dog's skin from a fence over

a bridge so that he could dry and sell it. Upon

seeing the skin, Liu tracked down Zhang and

demanded that he pay her for killing her pet.

The woman recognized her pet's skin because she

had dyed his fur. "

Chinese state-run media have reported

increasingly critically about dog and cat

consumption in recent years. Reportage linking a

disapproved practice to crime is a frequent

prelude in China to regulatory discouragement.

Also seen recently in connection with wildlife

consumption, this trend is more familiar to

westerners in reference to praise of the Dalai

Lama, the practice of Falun Gong, and uses of

Google and search engines to research

banned topics.

Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, a

province identified in 2007 by the Guangzhou

newspaper Xin Kuai Bao as one of five that supply

cats to Guangzhou live markets. The Xin Kuai Bao

report, illustrated with photos of a cat being

beaten and boiled alive, was intensely critical

of the traffic.

The Zhengzhou case was apparently the

first publicized prosecution of a case involving

dog and cat eating in mainland China since two

men were sentenced to serve three months in

prison for marketing dog and cat meat as " rabbit "

in Shanghai in mid-1939.

A case believed to be the first Hong Kong

prosecution for dog-eating in decades ended when

the four defendants on June 28, 2007 began

serving 14-day jail sentences, reduced on appeal

from 30-day sentences issued in December 2006.

" Counsel for Lau Lap-kei, 49, Wong Yung-hung,

43, Liu Wai-hong, 41, and Wong Chun-hung, 49,

argued that a jail sentence was excessive because

no one before had received more than a suspended

sentence for such an offence, " reported Anita

Lam of the South China Morning Post.

Responded Justice Louis Tong Po-sun,

" The vast majority of Hong Kongers, whether they

keep dogs or not, no longer tolerate killing

dogs for food, nor do they believe such an act

is a trivial matter. Lenient penalties such as

fines no longer reflect the degree of public

disgust against such acts, their impact on

public hygiene, and the pain it inflicts upon

the dogs. A bad tradition should be denied and

shunned. "

Korea Times staff reporter Kim Rahn on

February 19, 2008 reported that " A 52-year-old

man identified as Park was booked without

physical detention on charges of theft " for

killing and attempting to cook his 69-year-old

landlady Jeon's pet Chihuahua. Attempting to

sear the hair off the dog, Park set his clothing

on fire, and was caught when neighbors called

firefighters and police.

Korean newspapers have mostly defended

and praised dog-eating, but appear to be

following public opinion in taking a more

critical view since the broadcast of several

well-received TV exposés of the harsh treatment

of the dogs.

Covert dog-eating in Hawaii has been

under sporadic scrutiny since the December 16,

2007 arrests of then- Moanalua Golf Club

employees Saturnino Palting, 58, and Nelson

Domingo, 43, both of Kalihi, for allegedly

stealing golfer Frank Manuma's 8-month-old German

shepherd-Labrador mix, named Caddy, who had

been tethered at the caddy shack while Manuma was

on the course. Palting and Domingo " were

indicted by an Oahu grand jury on charges of

second-degree theft and first-degree cruelty to

animals, " reported Nelson Daranciang of the

Honolulu Star-Bulletin on January 23, 2008.

" Both crimes are felonies punishable by up to

five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

 

 

 

--

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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