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This dog was rescued in China from being sent to the slaughterhouse, others are not doing so well
Photo:
SHI TOU/ REUTERS
The World Dog Alliance (WDA) wants to achieve an international agreement to ban the consumption of dog and cat meat.
According to the organization, around 30 million dogs are slaughtered and eaten in Asia every year.
70 percent of them are stolen pets, says Him Lo, director of legal affairs at WDA, the German Press Agency.
"The thieves drive to more rural areas in big vans - and if there's a guard dog outside, for example, they just take it with them," says Lo.
In a single truck there are sometimes 300 to 400 stolen dogs.
Their meat is considered a special food in most Asian countries: "They believe that it has medicinal properties, such as improved blood circulation or healing certain diseases," says Lo.
This is superstition, there is no scientific evidence for it.
An international agreement is difficult to get through because most countries do not want to deal with it.
Because they don't have a problem with it themselves - or don't want to put a strain on political relationships, says Kike Yuen, project manager at the WDA: "It's very sad that animal welfare is always at the bottom of the priority list."
Consumption ban in Taiwan, in the USA
Nevertheless, the organization founded in Hong Kong in 2014 claims success for itself.
Eating dog and cat meat has been banned in Taiwan since 2017.
This has been the case in the USA since 2018 and in the Chinese city of Shenzhen since 2020.
"Dogs and cats are considered not just animals but family members around the world, even in Asian countries," says Lo.
"In addition, dogs do an enormous amount for our society, there are sniffer dogs, cancer search dogs, guide dogs, police dogs, to name just a few."
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The biggest supporter of the organization is the United States.
"If the German government is willing to cooperate with the US government to bring about an international agreement, that would really be our top priority," says Lo.
She hopes that more and more countries will follow suit and that the goal of an international agreement will be achieved.
sak/dpa