Dog meat is believed to keep the body warm and improve virility. It has a sour and salty taste and comforts the digestive system. The South Korean dog meat industry in itself involved about 1 million dogs, 6,000 restaurants, and 10 percent of the population. Various parts of China also find eating dog meat socially acceptable.
The Western society, however, is outraged, calling such a practice barbaric. Not only is the consumption of dog meat in America a cultural taboo, those who do eat dog are criticized. Numerous animal rights activists have publicly criticized the dog meat industry and even FIFA, the world soccer organization, has called on South Korean to stop eating dogs.
But there is an essential question yet to have been answered: What’s wrong with eating dogs?
Anti-dog-meat activists claim that eating dog meat is inhumane because dogs are pets—friends, not animals. Brigitte Bardot, the French actress-turned-activist who called on FIFA to protest dog meat consumption in South Korea said “I had protested against the cruel treatment of geese for food. But geese are generally seen as food. Meanwhile, dogs are close friends to humans so that people must not make them suffer." But “food dogs” are not pets nor are they close friends to humans. They are bred in farms, just like any other livestock. They are killed humanely, just like any other livestock. And they are sold and prepared for consumption, just like any livestock.
However, despite the parallel treatment between “food dogs” and any other livestock on the market, most people, even the Korean government itself, do not widely accept such a practice. In fact, though not strictly enforced, it is illegal to eat dog meat in Korea. And contrary to popular belief, dogs are rarely eaten, if at all, in most Asian households.
The debate on whether eating dog meat seems to be based on cultural differences and like most controversies, no side can win completely without continuing opposition. An international ban on dog meat would be imperialistic and would almost seem like a blatant attempt by the Western world to impose their cultural standards on the East. However, the continuation of the dog meat industry would anger animal activists and would be an act of insensitivity towards those who hold that dogs, despite what country they were raised in, are truly man’s best friends.