Risky diet

[Guest guest]

Lin:

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/7/7/lifefocus/21710102 & sec=\

lifefocus

 

*Risky diet*

 

*Eating stray dogs or cats carries with it the risk of contracting diseases.

*

**

IS DOG meat safe for consumption? " If dogs are well taken care of, they may

be free of diseases. However, eating stray dogs are not encouraged because

some of them may have viruses, bacteria and parasites and can bring about

parasitic problems such as cysts and tapeworm infection.

 

 

" These can be transmitted from animals to humans if the meat is not cooked

thoroughly. People can also be infected with tapeworms and rabies when

slaughtering the infected animals with their bare hands, " says Dr S.

Vellayan, 56, associate professor of parasitology, Medical Faculty of UiTM,

Shah Alam, and president of the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and

Tropical Medicine.

 

" But most viruses and bacteria in dogs will be killed if the meat is

properly cooked, " he adds.

 

Stray dogs in the northern states and the border areas may have rabies, a

viral disease, he says. Such dogs can be victims of internal parasites

frequently referred to as worms. The most common are roundworms (that infest

puppies), tapeworms and whipworms.

 

These strays pick up parasitic infections from different hosts, depending on

what they eat. They get infected when they eat garbage, snails and insects,

and they can be a problem to humans who eat them.

 

" Large tapeworms may not be killed if dog meat is not prepared properly as

these worms can break up into segments and survive cooking, " he warns.

 

Dr Vellayan says bacterial diseases spread by infected dogs include

tuberculosis, salmonellosis and leptospirosis (if there is contact with

infected urine or when the germs are transferred to the mouth or a skin

abrasion; this could result in canicola fever in the person). Protozoan

diseases such as toxoplasmosis can be transmitted via the oral route to

humans. In the congenital form, transplacental infection can take place in

the early months of a woman's pregnancy, resulting in abortion or

stillbirth.

 

Dog-eating, says Dr Vellayan, has crept into Malaysia from countries such as

Vietnam and China.

 

" It is culturally and religiously unacceptable in our country. Such practice

is a social taboo to Hindus, Buddhists and Christians alike. The Islamic

culture also forbids the eating of dogs, " he says.

 

Non-government organisations and government bodies should use religion as a

basis to educate people and stop this practice, suggests Dr Vellayan.

 

*Cruelty*

 

Consuming dog meat (and often cat meat, too) is a practice that is inhumane

and unacceptable all over the world, says SPCA Selangor chairman Christine

Chin.

 

" This is because the slaughter of dogs – by bludgeoning, strangulation and

stabbing – is very gruesome, often leading to prolonged suffering of the

animals.

 

" Time and again, the issue of dog eating has been highlighted in the media

but not much has changed for these poor strays. "

 

Many dog owners love their pets, which they see as companion animals, not

livestock. " It is revolting and culturally unacceptable to eat these

animals, " says Chin.

 

" There are no laws against the eating of cats and dogs in this country, but

there are laws against cruelty to animals. Unfortunately these laws are not

enforced on foreign workers, " says Chin, referring to a news report in *The

Star* (June 25) on foreign labourers in Malaysia driven by the high cost of

foodstuff to kill stray puppies for food.

 

Chin has urged the authorities to ban the eating of dog and cat meat.

 

" Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines have banned the eating of dogs and

cats. This practice is widely accepted in the homelands of foreign workers

from Vietnam, Indonesia and even Myanmar, but it is abhorred by animal

lovers here, " she says.

 

SPCA Selangor plans to initiate a campaign to ban the consumption of cats

and dogs in Malaysia.

 

" This culture must not be allowed to spread and gain popularity, " says Chin.

 

 

--

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[Guest guest]

³Eating stray dogs or cats carries with it the risk of contracting

diseases.²

 

And I suppose eating factory farmed chicken, pigs and cows or drinking their

secretions does not.

 

Nandita