Dogs dinner???

[Paul mabbott]

Would agree in principal but a lot of this talk about how animals are treated in other countries is not actually verified by observations. As you say, animals in this country are not treated as they should be by law - many British abattoirs are a disgrace.

Sure, cavies as we know them were actually bred, selectively as a food source. I've never tried them.... but I know that in France, and many other countries, Rabbits are grown as pets in just the same way that we grow them but, at some stage, their necks are twisted and they go into the pot. They're treated very kindly until that last moment. Personally, I have always found the idea of cultivating pets in cages as somewhat dubious to start with - so whether you eat them or not is really by the bye! If you're a carnivore, what's the problem?

I don't think I should be in this thread because basically I wouldn't grow animals to eat or as pets but, as a non-vegetarian, I don't think that I can criticise anyone else for eating whatever they can ....

Originally Posted by demicav

I don't have a problem with what people eat, but I do have a problem with uneducated people claiming that dog tastes better if it's given a long, painful death. Don't know about Africa but in China they certainly believe in a lingering, cruel death due to ignorance and superstition in their culture. Dogs are electrocuted and slowly beaten to death, all the time being watched by others awaiting the same fate. They don't kill cattle in such a dispicable way, so why dogs ? It beggers belief. Don't get me wrong, I'm no veggie, but we have laws governing how our animals are raised and slaughtered ( even though not always followed ) , these countries seriously lack animal welfare anyway and lets face it many of these people have difficult lives and don't have our options. Doubt I could ever try dog as I love them, they're intelligent and a part of family life, love my two to bits. We also keep guinea pigs, which I know are eaten regular in Peru. It's not for me but that's their culture.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Thank you.. everyone else failed to mention that these animals in 'other' countries are treated terribly and usually barbarically killed.
A pet lamb is as loving and intelligent as a pet dog, just depends on what you class as a pet and what you consider food. Many people against Fox hunting and the like happily eat meat from poor welfare standards and so on(ok the Fox doesn't get eaten but it seems a bit hypocritical, at least foxy had a natural life). Meat is murder to me but you can't really descriminate from one animal to another if you're going to eat meat can you?
I hear vietnam is very low on cats as most people have eaten them.

I am a meat eater but I try to only eat that which has been treated and killed humanely - in an ideal world i would only eat that which i had killed myself but i dont have time in practice so i try to make the next best choice in animal welfare terms in buying my meat from suplier that i know and trust. (I know it can be argued that the best form of animal welfare would be to not eat them at all , but i believe in the counter argument that the cute fluffy baa lambs that a lot of people get so attached too would not be there at all if they were not farmed for meat - and equally the survival of rare breeds in toto depends on their being farmed and often the meat is the only viable product - however i digress)

the one argument against eating strange things , that does stand up for me. is that this can often lead to diseases entery the human popluation - there is a viable theory that SARS came about as a result of people eating civet , while the bush meat trade is responsible for a wide range of disease outbreaks in africa and maybe the route by which HIV moved from being SIV in primates to the currently infectious human form

[Paul mabbott]

Yes and no.
There is a solitary record (whose species name I don't remember off hand) of a parasite infesting humans after eating an undercooked West African snake ... So, yes, exotic foods can be a problem but I suspect that undercooked meats (exotic or not) are the biggest problem

Originally Posted by eeyore

I am a meat eater but I try to only eat that which has been treated and killed humanely - in an ideal world i would only eat that which i had killed myself but i dont have time in practice so i try to make the next best choice in animal welfare terms in buying my meat from suplier that i know and trust. (I know it can be argued that the best form of animal welfare would be to not eat them at all , but i believe in the counter argument that the cute fluffy baa lambs that a lot of people get so attached too would not be there at all if they were not farmed for meat - and equally the survival of rare breeds in toto depends on their being farmed and often the meat is the only viable product - however i digress)

the one argument against eating strange things , that does stand up for me. is that this can often lead to diseases entery the human popluation - there is a viable theory that SARS came about as a result of people eating civet , while the bush meat trade is responsible for a wide range of disease outbreaks in africa and maybe the route by which HIV moved from being SIV in primates to the currently infectious human form

[Madelinew]

About the only thing I really can't bring myself to eat is anything in insect form and having lived in and travelled around South East Asia a fair amount, it's something that was a regular option! My problem is on the rare occasions I've seen that Celebrity Washed Up in The Jungle thingumy where they are eating the beasties ALIVE! Why is that acceptable?

Says the person who used to apologise to spiders when she squashed them and now no longer squashes them at all even though she's still a bit squeamish about them.

Yes I know spiders aren't insects..............

[nightshade]

The Book of General Ignorance (a quite interesting book)
by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson States:The sensible law-abiding Swiss are the only Europeans that eat dog meat

[Susie]

Originally Posted by Madelinew

About the only thing I really can't bring myself to eat is anything in insect form and having lived in and travelled around South East Asia a fair amount, it's something that was a regular option! My problem is on the rare occasions I've seen that Celebrity Washed Up in The Jungle thingumy where they are eating the beasties ALIVE! Why is that acceptable?

Says the person who used to apologise to spiders when she squashed them and now no longer squashes them at all even though she's still a bit squeamish about them.

Yes I know spiders aren't insects..............

I don't believe that eating them alive is acceptable.

I wouldn't eat a raw insect anymore than I would eat raw chicken, but prepare it nicely and cook it well and I am sure it would taste just fine.

I am sure lots of people would not be happy to eat earth worms but if well washed and chopped I am sure they would provide a very good mince for bolognaise or chilli con carne. I'd be quite happy to try it anyway.

I understand that tarantula spiders taste of prawn when cooked and eaten so I wouldn't mind giving that a go either.

I understand that people taste like pork and that in China there is a nickname for children of "little piglets" - a throwback to cannibalism which was the result of starvation which caused people to swop children with their neighbours, so they could eat them.

[Madelinew]

Originally Posted by Susie

a throwback to cannibalism which was the result of starvation which caused people to swop children with their neighbours, so they could eat them.

EWWWW!!!!

[Susie]

Better than eating your own.

[demicav]

Originally Posted by Madelinew

About the only thing I really can't bring myself to eat is anything in insect form and having lived in and travelled around South East Asia a fair amount, it's something that was a regular option! My problem is on the rare occasions I've seen that Celebrity Washed Up in The Jungle thingumy where they are eating the beasties ALIVE! Why is that acceptable?

Says the person who used to apologise to spiders when she squashed them and now no longer squashes them at all even though she's still a bit squeamish about them.

Yes I know spiders aren't insects..............

It has been said that insects could be the answer to ending world famine. That's an interesting one.

[Madelinew]

It's also said that eating the problem is the cure to non-indigenous species of mammal that take over the country.

Grey squirrel anyone?

[Kymba]

Originally Posted by Madelinew

It's also said that eating the problem is the cure to non-indigenous species of mammal that take over the country.

Grey squirrel anyone?

Stop Picking on the Grey Squirrel!!!!!

Gonna open a centre for abused grey squirrels

[Garden Carpet]

I imagine that hunger puts an entirely different outlook on things. I would probably feel differently if I had a family to feed in times of famine. We have the luxury in our lives of being disgusted at the thought of eating some meats. Why though, some cultures believe it better to kill slowly I can not fathom.
jaki

[Susie]

Especially as anxious animals' meat doesn't taste as nice.

[Blackdog]

Originally Posted by demicav

It has been said that insects could be the answer to ending world famine. That's an interesting one.

Eureka! That's it...

Feed the Chavs and Pikeys to the insects. Less mouths to feed; famine problem solved

[demicav]

Originally Posted by Garden Carpet

I imagine that hunger puts an entirely different outlook on things. I would probably feel differently if I had a family to feed in times of famine. We have the luxury in our lives of being disgusted at the thought of eating some meats. Why though, some cultures believe it better to kill slowly I can not fathom.
jaki

The chinese believe a slow death equals nicer tasting meat and believe it will keep them warm in winter. In remote areas some families may keep a dog for a year or two but if it fails to breed, for example, they will then beat it to death slowly, at the same time showing the children how it's done. In other areas dogs are kept on markets and slaughtered to order.

[Madelinew]

I used to take a shortcut thro the wet market in Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur and often saw livestock crammed into baskets and killed to order. They supplied the local restaurants and food stalls and I never once got food poisoning from any one of them - nothing was stored long enough. Not a pleasant sight however but then neither are battery chickens nor ones kept in sheds with hock burn on their feet due to poor living conditions in the UK.

[jennyb]

Originally Posted by demicav

It has been said that insects could be the answer to ending world famine. That's an interesting one.

Selfridges do a nice line in chocolate ants and scorpion vodka

Actually the scorpion vodka is rather nice but the ants legs get stuck between your teeth!

Getting back to the original topic - I don't see the difference between eating dogs and eating cows, sheep or pigs. I am not vegetarian but not very keen on eating meat and certainly would not kill an animal to eat it.

However, if it was a question of life or death, I don't think I would be so fussy.

Jenny

[demicav]

Originally Posted by jennyb

Selfridges do a nice line in chocolate ants and scorpion vodka

Actually the scorpion vodka is rather nice but the ants legs get stuck between your teeth!

Getting back to the original topic - I don't see the difference between eating dogs and eating cows, sheep or pigs. I am not vegetarian but not very keen on eating meat and certainly would not kill an animal to eat it.

However, if it was a question of life or death, I don't think I would be so fussy.

Jenny

I agree that if it was a question of life and death I would not be fussy with my food. I wouldn't see my children starve for fear of consuming something different. I don't eat a great deal of meat and for me eating dogs is different because they are not a farmed animal. I see them differently. Of course everyone has their own views on the matter. I only wish that if dogs were eaten they were't tortured to death.

[Paul mabbott]

Changing the subject almost entirely. I was reading an article a few weeks ago about dog whippers in Derbyshire. Dog whipper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Was this simply a Derbys thing or did they have them elsewhere in the country?

[ripplingwave]

My problem with the dog meat trade (and many other meat trades) is the way they are kept, carried and despatched,for example in korea and many other countries, they are kept in small cages with tins on their muzzles until they are killed to stop them from barking and biting the vendors. Its disgusting how the majority of animals are kept over here for intensive farming let alone the way they are kept overseas....

Im a vegetarian but see nothing wrong in an animal that has lived free range, domestic or wild, being shot and eaten. Its the ones that suffer horrendous lives and deaths that is so upsetting