China’s dog meat trade back in spotlight after celebrity canine reportedly stolen and eaten

Animal welfare advocates say further legal reforms are needed.

“We do hope that fundamentally, the Chinese government can legislate a special act to outlaw dog and cat meat trade,” said Peter Li, China policy advisor at Humane World for Animals.

“Importantly, China has a huge community of pet lovers, so it is time for the Chinese government to outlaw the trade once and for all,” added Li, who is also an associate professor of East Asian politics at the University of Houston-Downtown.

An Xiang the lawyer concurred, saying he would “much rather live in an environment where no one abuses animals; where everyone agrees that such behaviour should be punished by law”.

“Once this view is shared by a certain proportion of society, it creates the foundation for legislation, then it’s up to policymakers to act on it,” he added.

Some Beijing residents told CNA that public attitudes towards eating dog meat have changed significantly. This comes as pet ownership in the country has been on the rise in recent years.

“It seems that people in Beijing used to eat it more often in the past, but now it’s basically disappeared. Hardly anyone eats dog meat in Beijing,” said one resident.

Another said: “I have a dog myself, so I can’t accept it. The little dogs and pets are part of our everyday lives.”