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Hanoi’s Government is urging the public to stop eating dog meat, citing concerns of rabies and tarnishing the image of the Vietnamese capital.
A written statement from Vice Mayor Nguyen Van Suu said that the practice could ‘negatively impact the image’ of Hanoi as a ‘civilized and modern’ city internationally.
He also mentioned concerns of rabies being spread via dog meat in the event of improper raising and slaughter of the animals – a risk which has been confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
‘No problem’
The Vice Mayor is not without opposition – dog meat restaurateur Nguyen Thi Minh spoke in defence of the practice.
She said: “People eat dog meat and there’s no problem.
“I serve customers from South Korea, the United States and other countries.”
Controversy
However, dog meat has been the source of significant international controversy in recent years, despite the fact that eating other animals is a widely accepted practice.
In South Korea, animal protection campaigners delivered a petition against dog meat signed directly to the President’s residence – while in Indonesia, the Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition (DMFIC) launched an campaign in August backed by a number of famous faces.
