Dog meat is a delicacy in many North East states in India. But many organisations have been fighting to end this trade, moved by the love for this pet that is so close and caring to human beings.
Mizoram has taken the first step towards ending its dog meat trade, by amending the law to remove dogs from the definition of animals suitable for slaughter. the Mizoram Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the Animal Slaughter Bill 2020.
Humane Society International/India, which has been one of the organisations fighting to stop this practice, now has urged the Government of Mizoram to end the cruel and illegal dog meat trade.
“The consumption of dogs is prohibited under India’s food safety regulations. However, this is poorly enforced and thousands of dogs each year are illegally captured from the streets or stolen from their homes, stuffed into gunny bags with their mouth stitched or tied, and transported over many days to Mizoram districts such as Aizawl. There have even been reports of dogs transported from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh. The cruel transport and slaughter of dogs violates several provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Indian Penal Code, and Food Safety and Standard Authority (FSSAI) regulations, said a release by the HIS.
HSI/India, a former member of the State Animal Welfare Board of Mizoram, has been working to end the dog meat trade in Mizoram since 2016, including helping to rescue more than 150 dogs from the brutal trade.
Alokparna Sengupta, managing director, HSI/India said, “This is a very welcome and much-needed move by the Legislative Assembly to remove dogs from the definition of animals for slaughter. We hope that this law will now ensure an end to dog slaughter in Mizoram, but in order to shut down the trade completely, we urge the Government of Mizoram to take action to ban the sale and consumption of dog meat too,”he said.
Around 30 million dogs and 10 million cats a year are killed across Asia for human consumption, with the trade most widespread in China, South Korea, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam and parts of northern India. However, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore have dog meat bans in place.
