A young friend of mine is visiting Vietnam. He stays well in touch with me via emails for advice & suggestions on mapping out his itinerary. Last night, he asked me if he should try the dog meat when arriving Hanoi this weekend since he heard that in Korea, boshin-tang (dog meat stew) is believed to be an energy-restoring health food, and many men swear by its power to increase sexual potency — a Korean version of Viagra. It’s a tough question to reply. I am going to send the link of today posting of an old picture — snapped in a restaurant at intersection of Yen Phu and Hang Than Street, Hanoi during a few short hours of my recent trip sandwiched between China and Laos to him — in lieu of a direct answer. To eat or not to eat is entirely up to him. Dog meat is considered a popular dish in some Asian cultures including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. However, he is from the USA — a country where we respect this social scale: nhất đàn bà, nh́ chó, ba cỏ, bốn đàn ông (first: ladies; second: dog; third: grass, and last: men).
More than 800 dogs destined to be smuggled to Vietnam where they would be butchered and eaten, have been rescued in a police raid on a farm in north-eastern Thailand.
Authorities acting on a tip-off found the dogs crammed into small metal cages on a farm in Nakhon Phanom Province, Thailand. The dogs were caught all over north-eastern provinces and were to be traded in exchange for consumer products like plastic tubs.
Six people were arrested in the raid and charged with smuggling animals out of the country, which carries a maximum two-year jail term and a fine of 40,000 baht. Licensed dog breeders can sell the creatures, but smuggling them across Thai borders is illegal.
The dogs, many of which appeared well-groomed and in healthy condition, were to be ferried across the Mekong River to Laos before their journey to Vietnam where they would be sold for 300 to 400 baht each.
Dog eating has come under fire in places like South Korea, but the practice has gone unchallenged in Vietnam.
The communist country has no animal welfare organizations and no laws to protect animals from cruelty, and the practice enjoys runaway popularity in the country's north including the capital Hanoi, where streets in some neighborhoods are lined with dog meat restaurants. (AFP)
Well, this forum is open. You are welcome to add your point-of-taste into critiques (pro & con) or in Discussions area provided by Adam below. Thanks.
Critiques | Translate
Yuanclarkson (38) 2006-07-15 6:39
What an interesting topic that everyone wishes to... ignore when being asked for point-of-view ;o)
Me too, no exception. I know that getting involved in this potential crossfire maybe no less hardship than the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah militants and Israeli military...
I don't have a yes or no to your friend, but I learn the way you approached this hot topic. The method you applied here is professional to suck others into the spine of the patient while still maintaining your neutral position.
Thanks, and have a good weekend!
markoci (3927) 2006-07-15 6:59
if one eats meat, i see no reason why they shouldn't eat dogs.. why cows or pigs (they're just as smart..) and not dogs? sounds hyppocritical to me...
one main issue though is the way these animals are sometimes slaughtered. it is beleived that if they suffer before they die, the meat becomes even more tender (the adrenalin level rises in their bodies) thus they are often savagely beaten to death, sometimes burned alive... i'm not sure if this is the case in vietnam or not but the very notion that it may be is the main reason why i have always stayed away from this "delicacy"...
an excellent and graphic documentary photo thanh
TRASH (0) 2006-07-15 10:28
Dog meat, to me, is a splinter under my skin. Not a vegetarian but I was the only one in my parent family who doesn't eat it. However, my father told me it is a special field like the military with both negative and positive sides. "Not lived with it yet, you have no authority to speak about it!" he said.
So I don't. Instead, I am contributing a collected article about the topic. They are in Vietnamese: sorry that I am not qualified to make decent translations:
Hope someone will help doing such tasks. Thanks.
NgocSon (282) 2006-07-15 13:47
I didn't eat before leaving Vietnam 16 years ago (was too young and my dad was in re-education, my mom couldn't afford for such a luxury dish?)
I returned to Vietnam 6 months ago. Friends took me to the "cầy tơ restaurant" where I sat with beers while they enjoyed the dishes. They blamed me for being a monk but I didn't blame them for their enjoyment. Was I too bad both ways?
I forwarded your link to another friend in Boston, Massachusetts who doesn't join TrekEarth and following are his words — if you want to hear a voice:
Hi đại ca,
Long time no talk. Everything is ok, i guess. Dog meat! I had tried years ago when I visited VN for the second time. Still drinking 'nhậu', yet I did not enjoyed it. It seems tasteless. Why? Because I have been here so long?
So my mind was tamed or my body has forgotten the taste that I had enjoyed very much years ago? The questions are left is that should we advise others to eat or not to eat. I think everyone has his answer: It depends on the individuals. However, I would think that everyone who thinks that dogs are killed inhumanely should not eat. If someone who likes to try the new thing and thinks that these dogs are raised purposely to be killed for meat, go ahead and try.
Thank you for a "hot posting".
crettaz (2767) 2006-07-16 19:37
This photo is very comic for me. The girl with the kniv and the rost dog...
kogawa (4348) 2006-07-17 2:55
An interesting issue Thanh!
Normal people are eating animals; Vegetarians are eating the animal's food.
How is crueler?
Just an hour ago three missiles coming from Lebanon missed my home by 2 miles (killing no one fortunately) while I'm seating at home writing a guide book about "traveling in Lebanon", all in the name of god. So eating dogs is the least of the brutality that the human kind is doing.
It's for sure the most brutal animal of all kind – killing for ideology and not just for food.
Have a nice week.
Yuval Naaman Israel
JasonR (71) 2006-07-24 1:15
I think your photo is well taken. The colors are good - American families long for a Thanksgiving turkey so golden brown as that pooch. I don't have a strong opinion about which animals to eat. I find that I would not like to eat my own dog because he is really cute. Perhaps if I owned a cow I would become just as attached. What I find striking about the photo is that there is a stereotypical image of "Asian market" we often have in the West (I find many such photos on TE that back up our image) but in this case, the girl is stylishly dressed with make-up, highlighted hair, and for an outdoor market, the surroundings are very sparse.
arturo (31) 2006-08-01 16:41
not a typical activity for me to seat & contemplate over an image of a roasted dog to be honest...dogs are hardly a culinary hit in Europe...even the highly developed French cuisine do not include them;-)...but from time to time you can hear about people with lesser or no income taking on eating dogs, pigeons or even cats!! and other creatures usually not available in the supermarkets...
recently in Germany the scandal erupted as big supermarket chains were reselling repacked old, green, stinking meat...for me it was the time to stop eating this processed crap they still try to call food...also the idea of how animals are treated during their short lives before they are slaughtered taught me to have some more respect towards them...
however, avoiding individual aspects, this roast look a like a proper chunk of meat...for all meat eaters it simply must bring a natural reaction...i guess my stomach would love it, too...had no problems to eat rodents or insects while visiting other countries...i mean what's a big deal...in Italy they eat baby goats or horse meat, in Poland some soup based on baby duck blood, the French eat frogs...ever tried criadillas?? these are bull's testicals...usually from Spain...
a successfull post, already almost 1000 viewers/or readers;-)...you brought us some intersting bit of a daily life from Vietnam to compare...cheers, arturo
judhi (769) 2006-08-03 21:37
Very interesting. I have heard about dog meat sold on the roadside in Hanoi but this is the first time I saw it presented in very graphic picture.
Andre-H (1271) 2006-09-01 4:17
Personally, I think this is a great photo. Not so much for aesthetic reasons: there are distracting and irrelevant objects in the background; there isn't anything especially 'beautiful' in there; the position of the woman and the food are awkward and don't enhance the composition. But then again, photography is much more than merely aesthetic. On the other hand, the picture is vibrant with bright colours and sharp contours. But of course, I think it's the documentary, cultural aspect of the photo that is most valuable. Well captred.
Lanaud (625) 2006-09-23 16:14
Interesting photo although the killing methods are questionnable. I do not find this disgusting at all. We are not used to seeing this. Most people think nothing of doing the same to a pig or a calf. Why would someone 'burn in Hell' for this? It's part of that people's culture. I'm not saying it's nice to see, just different
Dpbours (222) 2007-06-16 22:44
Tasty! B1 pangang is a good lunch. But I prefer cat, which has a bit more of a bite.
Greetings from Indonesia,
otherblackmeat (0) 2008-05-07 18:22
Yes, I may be an American and thusly biased, but the very IDEA is disgusting.
And NOT simply because of the affection that I share with my fellow Yanks for canines.
The MAJORITY of humans as a whole would not eat FECES.
But I know firsthand that MY dog did. He had a particular fancy for cat turds!!
The fact is that the diet of a dog ALONE is deterrent enough to not eat them.
And, since the posters in question feel the compulsion to make the non-sequiters of baselessly injecting the ISRAEL issue into the discussion:
May I suggest that the "poor" and "oppressed" Israelis just MIGHT have to deal with missiles and other weapons continually fired at THEM if they, I dunno......WERE NOT THERE!!!
Not ONLY did you all set up camp in an already-occupied area, but YOU ALL have been BRUTALLY oppressive YOURSELVES.
The bottom line is simple:
If the Jewish people HAVE TO have their "own" country, FINE!!
Do it somewhere ELSE!! Like somewhere where there are not people ALREADY THERE. The Palestinians were there for 2000 years before 1947, and frankly....you all deserve every stone thrown at you. Not so much the bombings, but then again, ultimately.....all's fair in war.
And mind you, I'M JEWISH!!!
I suppose not a very KOSHER one.
And before any of you start playing the violin and call ME a "traitor", there are PLENTY of ANTI-Zionist Jews.
brevbrev14 (140) 2008-09-01 6:51
man33m (61) 2009-01-02 11:35
Dogs are not to be eaten. This is awful
Rosa (0) 2009-01-02 11:42
Je trouve cela atroce d'en arriver la ! j'espere que cet animal n'a pas trop souffert.
titou (805) 2009-01-13 14:17
I went in Vietnam but I did not want to taste dog meat. It is my choice.
However I do not understand why you are shocked with that.
Are you vegetarian? No?
Didn't you eat cow, sheep, rabbit, chicken, ... one time in your life?
So is it necessary to learn them what they have to eat?
It seems you do not understand their culture, that is the point.
baladeva (252) 2009-06-07 22:35
So gross, and so well captured, Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
I sure dont eat meat of any kind but can really feal for this dog.
arvinnino (436) 2009-06-12 20:33
i remember the comic that i recently watch on you tube, its actually funny but i found it true, you decide...
click here ---> comic act
BennyV (13848) 2009-06-19 9:04
I saw this one on the "most views page", or whatever it's called. The ad that popped up next to it, read "5 TIPS TO GET A FLAT STOMACH"! Oh, how I love this new style of TE!!!
The news item in the note seems to suggest there somehow is a connection between communism and the wellfare of dogs! LOL!!!
Cheers & enjoy the food of your own free choice. The only shame is that so many people in the world can't afford it...and this has nothing to do with eating cows, pigs, dogs or broccoli, for that matter.
fritzi007 (6619) 2009-06-19 9:16
That I could not eat with the best will not!
The photo is perfect!
macjake (57490) 2009-08-23 15:46
Intersting story indeed. I personally believe its disgusting. I cant imagine eating a dog....but i suppose thats b'c of the canadian culture we live in.
kabe (2011) 2009-11-07 10:45
bulgarianrose (2) 2009-12-15 11:08
Disgusting! These people are sick!!
melike13 (0) 2010-03-31 15:44
Wierdiest ilhess coming from those land, like the made in japan tech usurped from russia.Dogs are brilliant Buddies, They can feel pain,. no blame, but also dont forget ratio ie. Google Today; "Wu Xiaoyan tumor" . some religious call it dirty" is may not necessarily be the Superman by killing the buddies.
imageme (1790) 2013-10-20 13:11
This is very disgusting moment for the dogs' colonies to see this picture. We are living in Canada, this would never happen but check the news ever yday, there has ton of the dog and cat slaughtered behind the loving care cover of the Animal shelters... another way of killing dogs but this picture is going to far.....roasted,cut and being eaten. By looking at the face expression of the lady, it seems it is a routine job for her to take care of and she seems very used to it. No feeling for the roasted dog what so ever
- Copyright: Ngy Thanh (ngythanh) (8580)
- Genre: People
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2005-02-28
- Categories: Daily Life, Food
- Camera: Canon EOS 10D, Canon EF 24-70mm L, SanDisk Ultra II 2Gg
- Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
- Theme(s): Dog Meat — yes or no?, men & meat /1/, °°°Vietnam on my Mind°°° [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2006-07-15 4:07
- Favorites: 10 [view]