XPost: alt.atheism, soc.culture.israel, uk.legal   
   XPost: sci.med.cardiology   
   From: efberg73@gmx.com   
      
   Hey Gook, you still expect us to believe that you and Chung aren't   
   eating American domestic dogs and cats? All the other habits you had   
   over there you brought here; why would this be the exception   
      
      
   https://awionline.org/awi-quarterly/2013-summer/awi-investigates   
   illegal-dog-meat-trade-philippines-and-thailand   
      
   y Rosalyn Morrison   
      
   This past March, I traveled from Bangkok—where I had been attending   
   the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade   
   in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)—to Manila to   
   participate in an undercover investigation on the dog meat trade in   
   the Philippines. Raising awareness on this issue is of utmost   
   importance to me; for two years, I campaigned in South Korea against   
   this cruel trade (See the Winter 2012 AWI Quarterly.), returning home   
   accompanied by Lucy, one of the so-called “dong-gae” dogs commonly   
   raised and slaughtered for meat in South Korea. Lucy is now my   
   constant companion and my ambassador on behalf of South Korean dogs.   
      
   I arrived in Manila at 7 a.m. on Friday, March 15. Although utterly   
   exhausted (after having barely slept the past two weeks at the CITES   
   meeting), I was ready for another fast-paced—and incredibly   
   emotional—adventure. From the airport, I took a taxi to the hotel,   
   quickly showered, and then hopped in the bus with Andrew Plumbly, the   
   executive director of Network for Animals; Frank Loftus, videographer   
   from the Humane Society of the United States; and Martin Usborne, a   
   photographer from the United Kingdom.   
      
   Despite the interesting company, I soon passed out in the back seat of   
   the bus. Even though it was stiflingly hot, I somehow managed to sleep   
   throughout the bumpy drive to Baguio, a city of about 320,000 people   
   in the northern province of Benguet and six hours (minimum) from the   
   bustling capital of Manila. Baguio is the center of the Philippine dog   
   meat trade and the location of most of the known dog meat restaurants   
   in the country.   
      
   The killing and selling of dogs for food is not legal in the   
   Philippines. It was banned in Manila in 1982. A similar ban was   
   enacted nationally in 1998 via the Animal Welfare Act (Republic Act   
   No. 8485). The Act prohibits killing dogs for food with minimum   
   penalties set at 1,000 pesos (equivalent to about US$22 at the time)   
   and not less than six months in prison. The Anti-Rabies Act (RA 9482),   
   passed in 2007, includes more severe penalties with minimum fines of   
   5,000 pesos per dog and not less than one year of imprisonment for   
   participating in the trading of dogs for their meat. Despite the   
   sanctions encoded in the law, however, law enforcement officials have   
   done little to actually end this illicit trade.   
      
   Upon arrival in Baguio, we headed for Comiles 2, a restaurant reputed   
   to sell dog meat, where the waitress politely asked us if we wanted   
   pork, chicken, or dog. Frank documented the encounter on film and as a   
   result we have actual evidence, not just rumors, that the restaurant   
   sells dog meat. Within a few minutes, another customer—a man who   
   looked to be in his 40s—came into the restaurant and ordered a dish of   
   barbequed dog meat. Martin walked over to take a picture of the   
   customer’s dish, and the customer became very defensive, got his food   
   to go, and left the restaurant noticeably upset. The owner of the   
   restaurant became very aggressive, denied selling dog meat, and   
   everyone in the room became very tense. After several minutes of   
   disputing, we abruptly left the restaurant, evidence in hand.   
      
   Afterward, we visited a local market and a city veterinarian, and   
   spoke with a man who is building a shelter in the town of Bulakan for   
   dogs rescued from slaughter. A few years ago, dog meat was sold in the   
   open-air markets. On our trip, we did not see any dog meat for sale in   
   the markets, which hopefully is a sign that the trade here is   
   declining. We also stopped at a Korean restaurant to ask if they   
   served dog meat and were pleased to learn they did not.   
      
   Sunday, we drove to the town of San Pedro in Laguna province, where   
   multiple dog meat traders are reported to operate. While there, we   
   rescued a two-month-old puppy who was tied on a short chain—persuading   
   the owner to part with her for $10. She was very dehydrated and   
   hungry, with ticks in her flesh and parasites in her stomach. She will   
   stay in the Philippines for a few months until she is ready to be   
   adopted.   
      
   The next morning, Andrew and I met with Ferdinand Manuel from the   
   National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)—the equivalent of the FBI in   
   the United States—to work on coordinating a raid to help save other   
   dogs like our rescued puppy. After our meeting, two colleagues from   
   the Humane Society International joined us at a meeting with Rubina   
   Cresencio, the director of the Bureau of Animal Industry (a division   
   of the Department of Agriculture) to discuss the best strategies for   
   stopping the trade.   
      
   Even though selling dog meat is illegal in the Philippines, half a   
   million dogs are still brutally tortured and consumed every year.   
   Historically, dog meat was associated with celebratory events and   
   rituals of mourning and only affected a small number of dogs. However,   
   over the past quarter century or so, the dog meat trade has rapidly   
   expanded for commercial rather than cultural reasons.   
      
   Investigators have documented the existence of at least 25 dog meat   
   restaurants and four slaughterhouses in Baguio, seven dog meat traders   
   in Laguna and Batangas provinces, and two slaughterhouses in   
   Pangasinan province. Unfortunately, there are also many more   
   underground entities involved in the industry throughout the northern   
   provinces.   
      
   Stray dogs are rounded up off the street and transported to Benguet   
   and neighboring provinces under extremely inhumane conditions without   
   food or water. Steel cans are forced around their muzzles and their   
   legs are tied behind their backs. Many of the dogs are pets—some are   
   still wearing their collars. According to international animal   
   protection organizations who have engaged in extensive enforcement,   
   nearly half the dogs die before they reach their final destination due   
   to the stressful conditions of the transportation; at times of extreme   
   heat and overcrowding, as many as 90 percent of the dogs may die. Such   
   startling mortality rates are of no concern to the dog meat traders,   
   as the dead animals are processed along with the live ones. Behind   
   closed doors, dogs are clubbed, throats are cut, and fur is scorched   
   off with a blowtorch—often while the dogs are still conscious.   
      
   Human Health Implications of the Dog Meat Trade   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)