Man’s best friend betrayed, Animal Equality exposes the cruel dog meat trade of China

PUNE, India - April 8, 2013 - PRLog -- The investigation, carried out by the international animal rights organisation in the slaughterhouses and businesses of Jiangmen, in the province of Guangdon, and in Zhanjiang, in the Leizhou peninsula, exposes how animals are clubbed repeatedly on the head with sticks and stabbed whilst still conscious.

So terrified are the animals at the time, that they do not even dare to bark. “Their lack of locomotive or vocal responses and their despondent gazes are consistent with learned helplessness.” says Dr. Katherine Van Ekert, President, Sentient- The Veterinary Institure for Animal Ethics.

“This video of dog slaughterhouses is, without the shadow of a doubt, the worst, the most evil and horrific I have seen in my life” commented Bernard Rollin, Professor of Animal Sciences and Biomedical Sciences at the State University of Colorado, after viewing the investigation of Animal Equality.

Dogs raised for meat are often grabbed from the streets or stolen from families.  According to a survey performed by the investigative group Guo, more than 80% of households in Jinan (Shandong Province) reported dogs stolen, presumably for retailing to slaughterhouses.

Other dogs are reared on farms in Peixian and other northern provinces, where they spend four months enclosed in wire cages, surrounded by dirt and feces. The dogs are given a poor quality diet which leads to weakness and diseases among them; some also resort to cannibalism. Once they reach the desired weight for slaughter, they are transported by lorry from Nanjing, Shanghai, Jiashan, Suzhou, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei and Heibei to the slaughterhouses of Guangzho, Guangdon and Zhanjiang.

The investigator’s observations:

- In the dog holding center, an area where dogs are held until they were sold, either to a slaughterhouse or another buyer; severe injuries were visible on the dogs, probably a result of being grabbed from the street, being beaten and thrown into cages, being bit by cage mates or being scraped against the rusted metal during their transport.

- In the markets, dogs are trapped in small metal cages. The animals were filthy with their own excrement, and the excrement of their cage mates. There was no water provided to the dogs while they were held for hours in the cages. Many dogs and puppies were wearing collars which indicate that they were stolen pets.

After viewing the slaughtering of dogs, Andrew Knight, Veterinarian and Bioethicist and Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, UK says, “The method of killing used was shockingly cruel. After being beaten with a crude wooden club in an apparent attempt to induce unconsciousness, the major arteries in the throat were cut by what appeared to be a dirty knife.

The dogs were then suspended by a hind leg, and bled to death. Unfortunately however, most of the dogs filmed recovered consciousness either while their throats were cut open, or once they were unceremoniously thrown onto a pile of bodies nearby. These dogs would clearly have endured enormous pain and fear before death released them. Some were seen struggling desperately for survival. The whole procedure was watched by other clearly fearful dogs in a cage very close by, further demonstrating the absolute callousness of the slaughtering process.”

In China, dog meat has been eaten for thousands of years and, in some parts of the country, it is considered a socially acceptable practice that is even promoted by the government. Eating dog meat is especially popular in the north-east of the country, on the frontier with Korea, but also in southern regions such as Guizhou, Guandong and Guangxi.  The only region where the consumption of dog meat is prohibited is Hong Kong.  At the present, China has no animal protection laws.

It is estimated that around 18 million dogs are killed worldwide every year, out of these 10 million are killed in China alone.

With this investigation, presented simultaneously in Italy, Germany, England, France, Mexico and India, Animal Equality launches an international campaign to end the cruel dog meat trade in China, in collaboration with Chinese animal defence organisations and activists.

*Video of the Investigation:

https://vimeo.com/52395101 (password: bestfriends)



* Photo gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/igualdadanimal/sets/72157629902243010

* Web page:  

http://www.voicelessfriends.org