When images of the Yulin, China Dog Meat Festival hit the internet, it caused anger, shock, and outrage among the animal lovers nationwide. Issues continue with dog meat farms throughout Asia, including Korea. After all, dogs and cats are not for human consumption but as sweet and loyal family pets. Efforts were made to stop these cruel practices and horror through petitions, letters, and pleas on social media on the other side of the world, yet we are not entirely aware that this barbaric dog meat issue is happening right here in the United States.
The life of a dog held for its meat
Photos and images of dogs kept for slaughter and their meat are kept confined in tiny cages, crammed together so tightly that the animals could barely breathe. With the belief that torture enhances their meat, the cats and dogs were burned, electrocuted and boiled alive. In Yulin, there were despicable photos of cat and dog corpses hanging from meat hooks for the “pleasure” of festival attendees. They later would be seen with their dog meat stew. Thanks to the efforts of animal activists, the problem has gained extreme exposure while educating the public, leading to a decline of dog meat markets. It is cruel to eat companion animals. Most dog lovers would be appalled to learn that, depending on the interpretation of the law, it is still legal to eat dog meat in 43 U.S.
states.
Be aware; legal dog meat consumption is legal in some U.S. states
CALL your U.S. rep to STOP the consumption of dog and cat meat in the USA! https://t.co/S7rKmt83aX pic.twitter.com/L0Rn7jWej1
— Beth Sheehan (@goldenre) March 11, 2017
A handful of states explicitly outlaws dog meat, including Georgia, California, Michigan, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey and Virginia.
It is clearly illegal anywhere throughout our nation to slaughter dogs and for stores to sell the meat. There is no real control over what an individual would do when not going through a store. The laws do vary regarding the ban on dog meat consumption, actually allowing citizens to kill and consume dogs as long as they are killed “humanely.”
What you can do to stop this
Because of the confusion in the various laws, it would benefit to implement and enforce a federal ban on the killing dogs for their meat throughout all states.
A bill, H.R. 1406 has been introduced to Congress just for that purpose and to amend the Animal Welfare Act. To support this issue, it is encouraged that all concerned citizens contact their local representations to show support of this bill and make a difference to save all companion animals from such brutality.
