An online food delivery service’s decision to remove restaurants selling dog meat from its platform received mixed reaction from netizens, as the debate over eating dog meat in China continues.
Ele.me recently announced that it had removed from its app and website 294 restaurants that sell a total of 7,733 dishes containing dog meat, citing food safety concerns.
“Currently, there are no quarantine and slaughter standards for dogs in China and the origin of most dog meat in the market is unclear,” the company said.
There is no law or regulation that prohibits people from eating dog meat.
Many netizens supported the decision.
AFP, Reuters
“The dog meat market is chaotic and many dogs sold are stolen pets,” one netizen said.
However, some opposed the decision, like one who said that “if these dog lovers eat meat of other animals, they don’t have the right to stop other people from eating dogs”.
The debate over eating dog meat in China has grown in recent years, especially during the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
The event is said to be responsible for the slaughter of thousands of dogs each year.
The Yulin government distanced itself from the festival in 2014, saying that it is businessmen who organise the event to promote their business.
Video screengrabs, China Daily/ANN
